Roger-Luc Chayer
Doing an interview with Hélène Bouchard, President of MBM Gestion Parasitaire, is always a jealous pleasure for me. Today’s subject is however very serious, because it concerns the arrangement of our homes, for the winter, against insects, rodents and other small bugs which will seek, especially with the cold of autumn, to enter our homes at all costs. Prevention is better than cure and the saying applies exactly to this situation.
Among the small critters that are the most invasive in the fall are spiders, ants, squirrels, mice and voles, better known as field mice! « When you hear small scratches in your walls, if it’s night, think of mice, if it’s day, think of squirrels, because the two species act at different times », explains Hélène with humor .
As Hélène explains very well, it is much simpler to carry out prevention, which is called « parasite management » instead of a one-off treatment (extermination) to stop the infestation already present because very often , invading insects and animals live and reproduce within our walls, out of reach for most people. “For us, parasite management is precisely management, a plan aimed at preventing invaders from entering homes and businesses. It is also a question of reputation for traders. Imagine eating in a restaurant and seeing ants along the walls or worse…” continues Hélène, who is an excellent communicator and can be seen regularly on Quebec TV.
The popular belief in Quebec about pest management is that if there is a service truck in front of a business or a house, it must be infested and dirty, but it is quite the opposite, pest management c It is precisely a management, a control, a plan aimed at preventing invaders from entering homes and businesses.
Concretely, there are simple ways to prevent invaders from gaining access to the property. It is important to go around the house, up and down, but also up and down and identify every crack, every space, because a mouse can enter a hole as small as a dime! Thoroughly check the caulking around windows and doors, the slightest creak of which can let in spiders, ants or other critters. A simple tube of caulking is enough to close all the gaps. All that is entries of electrical wiring, cables, pipes, it is necessary to make sure that the holes are well caulked. People like the famous climbing vines that transform a house wall into a pretty green garden, it’s one of the best ways to give access to your home to many insects and rodents.
As for the chantepleures, such a beautiful word to designate the spaces between the bricks that allow houses to breathe, they are entrance doors directly between the walls.
A simple mesh or flexible mosquito net on sale in hardware stores is enough to block the entrance without blocking the hole. Finally, never take out your garbage in the evening, but in the morning so that it does not serve as food for rodents, which are more active in the evening and at night.
With these inexpensive means, you will manage to protect your interior well. You can consult a pest control expert if you want to do a professional job.