As the weather outside heats up, Toronto pests are making themselves more known than ever. This season tends to bring out the rodents, cockroaches, and bed bugs – all of which you want to keep out of your home.

There are a variety of ways these pests make their way into your home. Here’s what you need to know about these common Toronto pests and how to keep them from making your home their home for the summer and beyond!

Rodents: More Than Just a Fuzzy Friend

Mice and rats are a menace. And in Ontario, Toronto is one of the most rodent-infested cities – which isn’t exactly something to be known for. Norway rats, the deer mouse, and the house mouse are some of the most common rodents to invade Toronto homes.

House mice like to stick close to urban centres while deer mice are found in areas close to the woods and fields. Norway rats burrow into crawl spaces and building perimeters to make a cozy space for themselves. Each type of rat or mouse is looking for the same thing: warmth and food.

Having mice or rats in your home can make you sick, so it’s important to try to keep them out. You can prevent getting these rodents in your home by first identifying the invader and then taking measures to eradicate them.

Preventative Measures for Mice, Rats and Other Rodents

A few preventative measures you can take include:

• Storing garbage in rodent-proof containers
• Cleaning out infested areas
• Closing any cracks, holes, or other entry points into your home
• Remove access to all food sources including pet food
• Eliminate clutter in and around your home

Cockroaches: The Scourge of Toronto

Another pest commonly found in Toronto is cockroaches. They’re a very unhealthy pest to share space with since they can transmit pathogens that can make you and your family sick. These pests like to live in places they can’t easily be seen but where they have access to food and water. That’s why in homes you commonly find them in places like under the sink, under a bathtub, in the attic, or in the basement.

Cockroaches emerge from their shadows at night seeking food. They’ll get into spills on the floor, dirty dishes, or garbage cans to make a meal. Plus, they’ll feed on just about anything including things such as wallpaper paste, grease, shoes, and bookbindings.

The most common cockroach species found in Toronto include the American cockroach, German cockroach, and Oriental cockroach.

Controlling Cockroaches

To keep cockroaches from invading, you should:

• Keep all areas of the home clean and free from clutter or exposed food
• Keep all areas of the home dry
• Keep uncooked foods in sealed bags
• Clean up water spills in the bathroom and kitchen areas
• Remove dirty laundry

If you have an infestation, then you should call a cockroach pest control professional to help you get rid of them immediately.

Bed Bugs: Don’t Let Them Bite

Bed bugs strike fear in the heart of Canadians and for good reason – they’re very difficult to eliminate. Bed bugs run wild in large cities like Toronto simply because the population is so dense, and they can easily move from place to place with the help of unwitting humans.

Bed bugs feed on the blood of humans and animals. They sneak into your home in a variety of ways, such as on clothes, in furniture, in bedding, on luggage, or inside boxes. It takes about eight weeks for bed bugs to infest a home after landing there.

Keeping Bed Bugs at Bay

You can keep bed bugs away by making sure to:

• Keep luggage off the floor when travelling
• Cheque for bed bugs before purchasing used furniture

To control a bed bug infestation, you need a pro. Bugs are annoying, so make sure to zap them before they take up residence in your home!

About the Author:

Daniel Mackie, co-owner of Greenleaf Pest Control, is a Toronto pest control expert and a regular guest on HGTV. He is renowned in the industry as an innovator of safe, effective pest control solutions. Mackie and business partner Sandy Costa were the first pest control professionals in Canada to use detection dogs and thermal remediation for the successful eradication of bed bugs. In his free time, he is an avid gardener.