Today I was working with Steve Light from Pest Bee Gone over near Goring / Wallingford doing some much needed rabbit control with the ferrets. Ferreting, when done well, is one of the most effective ways of clearing an area of rabbits and is also the most environmentally friendly one too as its all natural. Rabbits are a major agricultural and domestic pest in the Berkshire and Oxfordshire area.

I have been ferreting since is was very small, but I am still surprised when I come across people who have never done it. Well today, Steve was one of those guys.

When it comes to rabbit control using birds and hawks, Steve is one of the best Falconers in this area. Sadly, his best hawk died recently, and getting a good hawk to replace one lost is not an easy thing, so Steve needed to deal with the rabbit problem in another way – by using ferrets to control a growing rabbit problem in one of his customers gardens.

Anyway, I am happy to pass on skills to friends and colleagues and also work with like minded pest control professionals who have their clients interests at heart, so after a short chat to go through what we were going to do today, we set off for the first rabbit burrow to net up.

Ferreting is a skill you learn over many years – every hole is different and every situation is ever changing, so whilst you can show somebody how to do it, it is something that only experience can teach. Steve however took to it like a duck to water and soon was clearing bushes, netting up and getting on well. Then came the crunch moment….handling the ferrets!

It turns out that Steve was not a lover of ferrets, and having read a few of my previous blogs with various people getting bitten, he was very nervous. The thing is, the more you handle the ferrets the easier they get with you, so its something you have to do. The biggest issue is getting the radio collars on them, you are right at the business end and they do get cross if you fiddle about. Today, they were in a good mood, so getting them ready was very easy.

The next thing to overcome is grabbing the rabbits when they are in the net (the ferret will chase the rabbit into a net over the hole, which closes around them and holds them while you get there). I am a great believer in diving on the rabbit, despatching it quickly and humanly, then getting another net on before another one comes out. Sounds simple but when you have 30 holes all netted and two ferrets going nuts in the burrow, it does get a bit crazy – as Steve found out!

Anyway, we had to dig once to get a killed rabbit out (sometimes a ferret will actually kill a rabbit in the burrow and stay with it, trying to eat it) but the radio tracking worked perfectly and I dug down the 3 feet straight onto the rabbit and ferret, saving loads of time.

The day ended nicely with 14 rabbits in the bag, a very happy customer as the rabbits had devastated the garden, and a very happy Steve – who funnily enough now loves ferrets and can’t wait to do it all again soon!

If you live in the Oxford Area and have a rabbit problem, contact Steve at Pest Bee Gone now, and of course if you have a rabbit problem in the Newbury area, contact us now! Also, if you want to try your hand at ferreting, why not give me a call and we can sort something out – I am always looking to pass on these skills and willing students are always welcome – just call me – maybe a birthday present with a difference for a loved one??

Here is a few pictures of the day:

This has got to be one of the strangest winters we have had in a long while.

Nature is all over the place. All indications earlier in the year were pointing to a harsh winter – loads of fruit on the trees and berries on bush – a real bumper crop. Our plum tree was so full this year we just did not know what to do with the fruit and the hawthorn bush down the garden is still plastered in berries (the birds are having a field day at the moment!).

This week, I found daffodils in flower in our local wood and the bluebells are already shooting up, but the most odd thing I saw was yesterday.

I was down in Chichester for the day on a course and during the break, I took a walk around the gardens, only to see the most enormous Bumble Bee going from flower to flower on the Jasmine and Heather! I have never seen one in January, and I do feel a bit sad as I am pretty sure that today’s frost will have killed it.

Of all insects, the Bumble Bee has got to be my favourite and I do look forward to seeing them each year. quite a lot of people are frightened of them but they are pretty harmless – so just leave them alone and they are just fine.

All indications are now pointing towards harsh weather later in the month, especially the number of mice coming into houses at the moment, so I guess winter will hit soon.

If you hear noises in the loft, it most probably is mice and you really need to get them sorted as they do love to chew cables for some reason – the biggest cause of house fires is from chewed cables – so call Rapid Pest Control now so we can sort your mouse in the loft problem.

As the weather is getting colder and natural cover is starting die off, rats will look to move to more suitable accommodation. Rapid Pest Control has put together a list of do’s and don’ts to minimise the possibility of your property becoming a rat heaven and their winter residence.

1. Make sure your dustbin lid fits firmly. Most bins are wheelie bin types these days so make sure you do not over fill them and leave any gaps that a rodent might get in to it. Be selective in what you put inside the bin, making sure all food stuffs are wrapped up in plastic bags if possible to stop the smell attracting unwanted guests.
2. If you have filled the bin, try not to put additional bin bags out until the morning of collection – especially if there are any food scraps in them.
3. Most gardens have that corner where all the brick rubble, old bikes and stuff is piled. Try to dispose of this at the local tip etc as this is an ideal habitat for rats. You may not really notice the evidence, but they will be in there.
4. Clear up any fallen fruit from apple trees etc. Whilst this is not a great job, this is a valuable food source and attracts rats from far and wide to your garden.
5. Place your mulch heap on top of concrete slabs. Most people now have plastic mulchers and so it is easy to place them on top of slab. Rats love these heaps and will do anything to get inside them, so make sure the trap door fits snugly.
6. Inspect sheds and outbuilding. Make sure the door fits properly and that there are no holes in the skirting area. If the shed is not placed on concrete or slabs, it will almost certainly be home for a family of rats. If possible, re-site it on a slab of concrete.
7. Make sure bushes and trees are trimmed so they do not over hang flat roofs of sheds or conservatories, garages etc. Rats will use this as a pathway to your loft if they can.
8. Do not put loose food out for the birds – especially on the ground. If you have a bird table, rats will easily climb onto them to eat any food left out. If you want to put loose food out, make sure you take it away after a few hours. Better still, use a fat ball and hang from a suitable point so rats cannot get to it.

Finally, if you are in any doubt of what to do or suspect you may have rats, contact your local professional pest control experts, Newbury based Rapid Pest Control. We will be able to offer advice on prevention and deal with any rats you may have.

Badger picture by wikipedia

After many studies and years of waiting, the long debated subject of badger culling is given the green light.

So why do badgers need to be culled? Last year alone, over 25,000 cattle were culled after failing the Bovine Tuberculosis (BTB) test and the bill of £1 Billion over the next ten years will be bourn by the taxpayer. BTB is rampant in the West and South of England with at least 25% of all farms carrying the disease.

This is not just an open licence to go and kill badgers. Badgers are highly protected under the Protection of Badger Act 1992 and Natural England is responsible for enforcing the law under this Act.

There will be two carefully controlled pilot schemes run over a controlled time period. The results will be monitored closely by DEFRA and panels of experts to ensure the cull is effective and humane. This will then be evaluated as to the outcome and if successful a wider plan will be implemented.

It is believed that the pilot schemes will be carried out in secret locations, and after the Olympic Games has happened, due to the possibility of civil unrest and the policing requirements as this is a highly charged and emotional topic.

Other alternative are also being considered like badger vaccination schemes, where badgers are caught in live traps by trained operatives (pest controllers are being asked to get trained in readiness for this) and the government has earmarked £250,000 for a trial scheme for this method.  The Government has already spent £35 million on developing badger and cattle vaccines since 1994 and plan to spend another £20 million on the development of practical and usable vaccines over the next five years.

Whatever happens, the badger population will end up being reduced, especially in high BTB areas. I am sure this is not the last we will hear about this and so we will keep you informed as news breaks on this topic.

Ironically, DEFRA has just announced its plan for a National Badger Survey to happen in 2012/2013 to establish the exact number of badger in the UK. The last one was held in 1997 where the results showed a significant increase in the badger population.

This week we have been very busy, but not too busy to save a few waifs and strays along the way!

As most of you will know, we have  collection of weird and wonderful creatures – we are a pretty soft touch for a story and end up with everybody’s left overs.

So this week, we did have an influx of calls from customers who wanted to get rid for some birds….so our collection grew somewhat.

Firstly, I get a call from a gamekeeper friend who needed to get rid of of some guinea fowl – they either went to people who wanted them or they were destined for the pot. I love the sound of guinea fowl in Africa so I thought we would have a few to see how we got on…we ended up with 10!

The next call was from a customer with a small holding who has had terrible problems with rats and foxes, so much so that they were reducing all livestock to a bare minimum. The foxes had killed all the female turkeys and all the female ducks, so this customer just had males now – not a good breeding strategy! The options were to kill them but they are all too old to eat and would just end up being buried, so I thought we could look after them as well!

The poor, ever suffering Karen just shook her head when I appeared with all this lot, on top of the guinea fowl!

Now turkeys are pretty big birds and quite a handful to catch etc. They are really strong and go a bit mental when you grab them, so catching them was interesting to say the least, but even more fun was letting them out back at home. As soon as the cage was opened, they all flew out in all directions! You cannot imagine that anything so big could actually fly. Later on, after they had settled down, I went out to see if everything was OK, only to discover they had made it on top of the very high shed roof!

Our mornings are now filled with the sounds of Africa and the sounds of god knows what as these turkeys kick off too – they don’t half make a racket!

Our menagerie now consists of lots of assorted chickens, geese, guinea fowl, turkeys, ducks, ferrets, tortoises and 3 dogs – Not to mention the kids as well…give me strength! Luckily, we managed not to take the pigs and goats we were offered recently – Karen drew the line at that!

At least they now have a fighting chance to live out the rest of their lives in relative peace, rather than just being killed and buried. Turkeys are just ugly, but already they are quite tame now and come when called for food. They seem to be enjoying it all here!

This year, November has seen a rash of calls for wasp problems. Our unusually mild weather has allowed nests to still continue to thrive as we have had no real frosts to kill off the nests.

Most people never go into the loft, except to get or store Christmas decorations, so as soon as they open the loft up, wasps appear. These wasps are still capable of delivering a nasty sting or too – they are confused and usually quite aggressive as the nest is in total decay now and they really should all be dead, so are defending whats left to the end.

One problem is that they have probably crawled into bags and boxes looking for food and to the unsuspecting house owner are now a danger to the kids.

This week we have attended several wasp nest removal jobs where the nest is highly active. Loft spaces seem to be much warmer than normal. One nest we removed was actually built in and under thick insulation, which proved quite a handful as the wasps attacked without mercy.

So before you get the Christmas decorations out of the loft, check that there are no wasps buzzing about – just switch a light on or leave the hatch open for 5 minutes to see if there is any activity. If so, call Rapid Pest Control now so we can deal with it for you.

Also, when unboxing the decorations, go slowly and carefully, looking for any signs of wasps, especially before the kids start helping you with it.

With winter moving ever closer, it is an ideal time to deal with rabbit control using ferrets. With the leaves dropping off the trees and the undergrowth suffering it’s first proper frost, rabbits now will move from summer runs (usually in bushes on top of ground) to winter burrows in the ground.

Whilst people often see rabbits running into holes during the summer, they only do this for protection, preferring to spend time above ground – doing what rabbits do best – eating and breeding. In the winter however, they go to ground as the temperatures are stable and conserve energy. That’s when ferreting is at its best.

The process of using ferrets for rabbit control is quite simple:

• Clear all the holes of debris
• Place Purse nests over the holes
• Put 1 or 2 ferrets in the burrow
• Stand back and keep quite
• Dive on the rabbits when the ferrets “bolt” them out of the holes
• Dispatch the rabbit, re-net the hole and repeat until no more rabbits are in the burrow

A ferret bite - note the 4 teeth marks - ouch!

This short video shows the remains of the hornets nest – unfortunately I never had the video camera with me to show it in situ – and we had to kill all the hornets before we could remove it, so quite a bit of damage occurred in getting it out. Despite this, it shows the amazing structure very clearly and is still in pretty good shape.

Hornets nests are significantly smaller in numbers than wasp nests – the average wasp nest is about 5 to 10 thousand wasps, where as the average hornets nest is about 500 tops. Hornets feed mostly on insects and at night, however if you ever disturb a hornets nest – get out of there quickly. They are very protective and aggressive to any attacks and a sting is not only painful, but potentially very dangerous – nest removal should only be attempted by a professional pest control company like Rapid Pest Control.

As a side line, one night we watched a hornet attack a moth and kill it when it was flying around a lamp on the table outside – it took this moth on the wing like a hawk and simply landed on the table and ate this moth. One of our guests was totally freaked out by it all but he hornet was completely oblivious to us and just went about its business.

Anyway, all wasp and hornets nests are pretty much dead now so its time to service all the wasp control gear, dry clean the not so white wasp suit and put everything back into storage now until next season. Over the season we attended hundreds of wasp problems in the Newbury area, the worst house having 11 nests in and around the house – mainly because they failed to treat the problem of the previous year.

We are now moving towards rat and mouse problems with the weather turning as well as rabbit problems - ferreting is really just kicking off, so summer is now offically over at Rapid Pest Control headquarters!

If you have a pest problem, contact Rapid Pest Control now via the website or call Newbury 01635 247192 anytime for a fast and reliable pest control service in the Berkshire area.

On Wednesday, we decided to take a break from tackling the day to day pest problems we face and head off to Pesttech – one of the largest exhibitions for pest controllers in the UK.

Must be a strange gathering I hear you cry – and you are not wrong! Pest controllers from all over the country descending on one place…a casual visitor to the National Motorcycle Museum that day must think they have one hell of a pest problem with all these vans outside!

For us, it was a time to look at new things on the market and see if there is anything more effective available on the market. The pest control industry does move at quite a pace, so we always ride the wave of any new technology we find that improves on what we do.

One thing that caught my eye this year was a cost effective bed bug treatment – freezing the little blighters with liquid CO2. This technique has always been out of the reach of independent pest controllers, however now a company is producing a more sensibly priced and easy to use applicator which gives great results (so we are told!). The idea is simple, to spray liquid CO2 directly into the areas where bed bugs live, killing them instantly at all stages of life.

The time to do a treatment is about the same – the secret to dealing with bed bugs effectively is being methodical and thorough – so this is not short cut, but with liquid CO2, there are no chemicals to cope with and so has to be good for the environment. Furthermore, for hotels and B&B’s, the room can be used immediately after a treatment, so no isolation etc and smell of chemicals to stop a room being used. I am very interested in trying this so if you have a bed bug issue, we can do a reduced treatment to test this method – just contract us now.

Also, we had a seminar laid on by the CRRU for accredited ”Wildlife Aware” technicians, again a chance to meet other committed Pest Control experts like Rapid Pest Control who care for the environment when dealing with rodent and pest problems. The CRRU have just accredited their 100th technician and so a good cause to celebrate.

Catching up with old friends is also great – we car shared with Steve from Pestbeegone of Didcot and met up briefly with “Pigeon Barry” from Tendring Pest Control – we tweet and facebook each other a lot so its nice to meet in person too!

Our main suppliers were all in fine form, giving away an array of samples and gifts – mostly pens and other practical things as you can never have too many pens!

All in all, a good break from the normal pest problems and to re-charge batteries for the long winter ahead dealing with rat problems and rat problems in the Newbury area.

Think you have a pest problem? Contact Us Now by email or call Newbury (01635) 247192.

It is always a problem to know when to start the ferreting season. There are many factors which will determine the start point and to have all these factors lined up is the ideal start time, however the pressure to start rabbit control for clients is pushing the season start date closer to mid October.

This year, with the cold snap from mid October, we decided that now is the right time.

So, I hear you ask, what are these factors?

As I said there are lots, but we usually use a few guidelines to make the decision.

• Firstly, where are the rabbits? Are the still above ground and not using the burrows for protection from the weather? There is no point in going to loads of effort clearing burrows of brambles etc if the rabbits are still running around you.
• If they are underground, will they “bolt” (this is the term used for rabbits running out of the hole when a ferret is put in)?
• Has there been sufficient cold to flatten down the undergrowth, allowing us to find the holes – they always bolt from the holes you did not find of course!
• Are the ferrets fit and ready? They have to work hard and get pretty bashed about by a large buck rabbit when they get up to them.
• Are the rabbits seen all adults? You spend the day digging out the ferrets if they kill young part grown rabbits.