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Do pest control companies seal holes?
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Most pest control companies consider summer and fall to be peak rodent season, where mice problems tend to pop up. The tiny intruders shift from a period of spring breeding to hunting for food and shelter from the coming cold.
If you want to get ahead of the problem, now is the time to call a reliable pest control company. These experts can typically help by sealing off mice entry points and other holes where rodents and insects can sneak in.
Do pest control companies seal holes?
Mice can squeeze their way through cracks or holes as small as one-fourth of an inch. This impressive feat means that even the newest and most securely constructed homes may be vulnerable to intrusion. If you’ve never inspected your home for possible mice entry points — or if you’re already hearing the squeaky signs of a successful intruder hiding somewhere — it’s time to call a pest control company.
But what can a pest control company do?
Terminix offers comprehensive rodent solutions that can help resolve your mouse or rodent problem. These include:
- Pest exclusion. Exclusion is the lynchpin of any rodent solutions from a pest control company. This involves the straightforward business of checking and sealing your home from the ground up to keep pesky rodents out. A Terminix technician will typically start with a thorough inspection of your home’s exterior, looking for gaps, cracks, holes or signs of rodent activity before sealing any openings.
- Exterior rodent management. A Terminix technician will do a sweep of your home’s exterior, looking for any blatant sanitation or environmental factors that could attract rodent activity. Traps and rodent stations may be used here as well.
- Interior rodent management. This is a full inspection of your home’s interior where a technician seeks out any signs of rodent activity. Afterwards, they’ll draw up a custom plan for restricting, treating and monitoring your rodent problem going forward.
How do I keep mice out of my home?
Whether you rent or own your home, you’re not completely helpless against the threat of nosy rodents. A thorough sweep of your home can help highlight any homes, gaps or other weaknesses. In addition, we recommend keeping things as clean, dry and tidy as possible to further deter pest activity.
Don’t leave food out; keep fresh food and leftovers in the fridge or airtight containers to limit the temptation. Dispose of garbage regularly and try to keep attics, basements and crawl spaces dry and well ventilated as best you can.
Moisture is another thing that will attract rodents and insects, so inspect your home for leaky pipes, clogged drains or roof damage and take the appropriate steps to patch things up and keep things clean and dry. A pest control company can be worth the call if you want the added peace of mind that comes after an expert has inspected your home for these and any other vulnerabilities.
Can sealing holes keep out insects?
Rodents aren’t the only intruders who can sneak in through small gaps, cracks and holes around the house. Insects and pests like spiders, wasps and cockroaches can get just as much use out of an unsealed hole in your wall as mice can. Unlike mice, most insects only need a gap as big as one-sixteenth of an inch to make an appearance in your home.
Here are some tips for pest proofing your home to keep as many bugs and rodents out as possible:
- Use door sweeps or insulating material to block gaps around entry doors.
- Use caulk along the exterior edges of doorways to deter ants and other small insects.
- Check windows for any gaps, using caulk to fix any cracks or gaps.
- Repair any tears in your window or door screens. This helps keep out flies, gnats, mosquitoes, cluster flies and other flying pests during the summer and fall.
- Seal openings where exposed pipes or wires enter the home. Caulk, urethane expandable foam and copper mesh will all get the job done.
- Consider calling a pest control company like Aptive. Insect and pest control experts will inspect your home with you, pointing out possible entry points and anything you may have missed before concocting a custom pest exclusion and management plan for your home.
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Washington — The Senate on Friday confirmed President Biden’s 234th nominee to the federal judiciary, matching the number of judges approved for lifetime appointment to the nation’s courts during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term.
The confirmation of Benjamin Cheeks to the federal district court in Southern California by a 49 to 47 vote led Mr. Biden to tie the number of his predecessor’s judicial appointments. The president is on track to surpass Trump’s confirmations to the federal bench before the year’s end, with the Senate teeing up the nomination of Serena Murillo to the federal district court in Central California.
As he nears the end of his presidency, Mr. Biden will close out his four years in office having appointed one Supreme Court justice, 45 judges to the federal appeals courts, 186 to the district courts and two to the Court of International Trade. His selection of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made history, since she is the first Black woman to serve on the nation’s highest court.
Mr. Biden has also selected a record number of public defenders to serve as federal judges on the appeals courts, and his nominees are the most diverse compared to those tapped by his predecessors.
There’s been heightened focus on the judiciary by presidents in recent years as gridlock in Congress has led to unilateral executive actions on a variety of issues touching on American life. But often those efforts give way to legal challenges, leaving courts as the final deciders in disputes over hot-button policies.
While Mr. Biden will likely end his presidency with more judicial appointments than Trump, he did not see the same level of success as his predecessor in putting his stamp on the Supreme Court. Jackson replaced Justice Stephen Breyer, a member of the court’s liberal wing, following his retirement in 2022.
But Trump named three justices to the high court, Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett replaced the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal member, which locked in a 6-3 conservative supermajority.
Mr. Biden also trails Trump in appointments to the 13 courts of appeals, ending his presidency with 45 judges approved to those courts, compared to Trump’s 54.
But Trump had an advantage when he took office in 2017, inheriting 17 appellate court vacancies after the Republican-led Senate blocked then-President Barack Obama’s nominees in the last two years of his term. When Mr. Biden started his presidency, there were just two open seats on the courts of appeals.
With a second Trump term on the horizon, some judges who announced their plans to retire have reversed course as it became clear their replacements wouldn’t be confirmed before Jan. 3, when Republicans will assume control of the Senate.
Judge James Wynn of the 4th Circuit notified Mr. Biden last week that he would no longer assume senior status, a form of semi-retirement, and the White House withdrew the nomination of his possible successor, North Carolina Solicitor General Ryan Park.
North Carolina’s Republican senators, Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, opposed Park’s nomination, and Tillis lambasted Wynn’s decision to walk back his retirement, calling it “brazenly partisan” and driven by Trump’s election.
Two district court judges appointed by Democratic presidents, Judges Max Cogburn and Algenon Marbley, also rescinded their plans to take senior status following Trump’s victory, according to Reuters.
The reversals come after Senate Democrats reached a deal with Republicans to allow for swifter consideration of Mr. Biden’s district court picks. GOP senators — with Trump’s backing — had been working to slow the pace of judicial confirmations during the lame-duck session, but under the deal, they would forego procedural roadblocks on district court nominees if Democrats would not bring four remaining appellate court nominations up for a vote.
There will be four current or future vacancies on the courts of appeals for Trump to fill after he takes office and more than 30 on the district courts, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
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