For most people, the appearance of the occasional unwanted pest is pretty much a fact of life. Apartment dwellers, for example, are likely to experience the displeasure of encountering a roach at some point, while those living in houses have a good chance of finding themselves faced with ants, termites, or wildlife at one period or another in time. Of course, not every pest-related issue requires the help of a pest management company. If a person spots a single roach but then doesn’t see another for several weeks, then there’s a good chance that the roach cameo was simply a one-time occurrence. On the other hand, the ongoing presence of pests within the home – be it carpenter ants, bedbugs, or cheese-nibbling rodents – needs to be dealt with professionally.
When it comes to household matters that could easily be classified as “real” pest problems (such as the continuing presence of vermin), it can be difficult for the affected residents to know how serious their issues actually are. While most good pest management companies offer 24-hour emergency service, plenty of issues, unpleasant and disturbing as they may be, do not actually constitute true pest emergencies. The question is: How can a person know when to dial for help right away, or when to take a deep breath and simply wait until morning?
As president of Boston’s Ultra Safe Pest Management Inc., Vic Palermo realizes that the notion of defining a true pest emergency is easier said than done. After all, each person has a different threshold when it comes to pest tolerance. For some people, the presence of a single roach might constitute a full-fledged emergency, while others might be less disturbed by the presence of the occasional roach or rodent. Therefore, the best that Palermo can suggest on a general level is that people try to take a step back and use common sense when dealing with pest-related infestations. As natural as it might be for a person to get extremely upset at the presence of multiple roaches, in most cases, a trio of small bugs will not put someone in immediate danger overnight. Even the unwanted company of a mouse can often wait until morning. So while Palermo does have a policy of making himself available to customers at all hours of the night, he’ll be the first to admit that he can’t rightfully round up his team and jump to a person’s rescue at 2 a.m. if the problem is one that can truly wait until regular business hours.
While it can be difficult for the average person to pinpoint a true pest-related emergency, Palermo does warn of one situation that easily warrants a midnight call: rats. Palermo’s philosophy is that any time a rat is involved, the situation is one that merits emergency status. While the extended presence of roaches does present a health risk, roaches are not known to bite or instantly infect people. Rats, on the other hand, will. While anyone who finds a rat on his premises should know to call for help, parents with small children should be especially certain to contact a trusted pest management company as soon as a rat is discovered. Since small children usually don’t know to avoid playing with rats, and rats have a tendency to bite, an act of amusement could quickly turn into a serious medical predicament if the rat situation is not immediately nipped in the bud.
While rats aren’t necessarily a common household invader, they have been known to infest their fair share of homes. In fact, contrary to what some might regard as mere urban legend, there have been cases of people lifting up their toilet seats and discovering a rat hanging out in the bowl. This horrifying phenomenon tends to occur when a person goes away on vacation and his toilet has not been flushed in awhile; in such cases, a rat can take advantage of a low water level in the local sewer by crawling through the pipes, thereby ending in an unsuspecting person’s toilet. And while some rats discovered in such situations are found to be dead, this unfortunately isn’t always the case. Since rats carry a host of deadly diseases and can be rather aggressive when cornered, the sooner a pest management company can get rid of a household rat, the better.
When it comes to pest emergencies, the key is to stay calm and evaluate the situation in as reasonable a fashion as possible. Remember, there’s a big difference between “dire” and “icky,” and while the midnight discovery of a roach or two might not let you sleep soundly, you’ll usually be perfectly fine contacting your pest management company first thing in the morning.
