As a strict vegetarian for 44 years, I’m a big-time animal lover.
But my mouse friends who share our century home in Midland are starting to test my patience.
I tried to do my best to help them enjoy a nice winter in our detached shed after catching them in a live trap filled with a few of our dog Jasper’s treats.
Each morning, I’d wake up and while making my coffee, I’d check the trap. And more often than not, there would be a little guy or gal looking up through the trap’s plastic window.
And with temperatures dropping, I knew I couldn’t, in good conscience, bring them out into the woods behind our house at this late date to fend for themselves. They are just mice after all, not exactly high up on the wilderness pecking order.
So, I’d head outside into the shed and open the trap’s door so they could frolic in a nice home to wile away the winter days. In fact, it’s such an ideal space for a mouse that even a sophisticated rodent like Ratatouille likely would have appreciated it.
And after bringing about eight of these guys and girls out to the shed, I thought we were done for the year. And for the first two weeks, nothing. No one in the trap, no scurrying sounds, silence.
But they got greedy and weren't content with their living accommodations. So about a week ago, I began hearing the tell-tale signs they had returned 'home', including the scurrying sounds at three in the morning.
And so with that in mind and without further adieu, I give you Orkin Canada’s predictions for the top pests Canadians can expect to see as the snow and cold have finally arrived.
"Unwelcome creatures and critters stuck around for longer to enjoy the warm temperatures, but the winter winds could send these pests straight into your home seeking food and shelter," Orkin notes.
Topping the list is everyone’s favourite misunderstood insect, the lowly earwig.
“After a population explosion over the summer, earwigs may stick around as they look to escape the cold by hitchhiking indoors when you bring in your outdoor furniture for the season,” Orkin notes.
And now onto a category that includes my former shed dwellers.
“Business owners saw a busy summer as more folks returned to pre-pandemic dining patterns, creating more food waste for rats and mice to feast on and leading to the potential growth of robust populations,” according to Orkin.
Then we have boxelder bugs, an overwintering insect that may wake up on sunny winter days to invade your property in large numbers, leaving an unpleasant odour behind when crushed.
But not to be outdone in the odour department are stink bugs, best known for releasing a noxious odour when threatened or crushed, these pests reproduce at a rapid rate over the summer and look to overwinter indoors.
Rounding out the insect family are cluster flies that feed on decomposing organic matter and can emerge in large numbers when spring arrives, cockroaches that usually thrive outdoors, but might seek shelter in homes due to extreme cold or flooding, and European firebugs, a pest that’s becoming more prevalent in Canada.
And that brings us back to the animal kingdom.
Orkin rounds out its list with raccoons, squirrels and skunks, who have been feasting on abundant food resources, which may result in increased wildlife populations seeking shelter during a potentially harsh winter.
So enjoy the warmth and feelings of peace that many often feel as they nestle inside their homes.
Enjoy it, that is, until 3 a.m. when it’s time to wake up and enjoy the sounds of someone scurrying by underneath your bedroom floorboards.
