Pest Control in Savage, MN

What is behind your lot: river, pond, bluff or field?

Behind a river-side lot, the floodplain brings water, wet ground and mosquitoes. Behind a pond-side lot, the same on a smaller scale, plus waterfowl and raccoons along the edge. Behind a bluff-top lot, wooded slopes send squirrels and raccoons to the roof. Behind a southern edge lot, open land sends field mice and voles toward the foundation as nights cool.

Tell the dispatcher which of those you have. It changes the plan. A technician working an edge lot looks at the line between yard and field first, and one working a bluff lot looks at the roof edge and trees. Vole and field mouse control, squirrel and raccoon exclusion and mouse control each cover one of those cases.

Floodplain, ponds and a long mosquito season

The river floodplain, ponds and wetlands support mosquitoes in summer. The Metropolitan Mosquito Control District treats public wetlands across seven counties, including Scott, from spring until about October. News reports have described a fall resurgence when warm weather follows heavy rain, so late-season bites are not unusual.

Your part is standing water on your own property. Check gutters, buckets, planters, toys and tarps weekly, and remove old tires. For a yard treatment and what it can and cannot do, see mosquito control. The guide to mosquito season and the district covers the public side.

Subdivision basements and autumn invaders

Houses from the 1980s onward have tighter shells than older homes, but garage doors, vents and pipe penetrations still admit mice, and the basements are where they settle. Boxelder bugs and Asian lady beetles gather on sunny walls in October, and a wall facing the open south is a good target. University of Minnesota Extension names them among the main home invaders. Sealing in September is the lever; see boxelder bug and Asian lady beetle control.

In a subdivision where houses share a builder, they also share weak points. A neighbor's problem is a hint about where to look on your house.

Winter at the metro's edge

Snow lies deepest across open ground, and wind scours the edge of town. Outdoor insects are dormant for the cold months, so the work shifts to what lives inside or under the snow. Voles tunnel beneath a good snow cover and feed on grass and bark; Extension says the damage shows after the melt, often leaving woody plants worse off than lawns.

Indoors, a house at the edge of town is the first warm shelter some animals meet. Mice that came in during the autumn keep nesting in insulation, and a heated garage or a mudroom with a pet food bin can hold them. If you hear movement on a cold night, a technician can set traps and monitors even when the ground is frozen. See the guide to voles under the snow for the spring side of the same story.

When the thaw comes, overwintered insects try to leave and ants restart. Walking the foundation in March, after the snow has gone but before the grass grows, shows exactly where voles and mice have been active. A short note on what you find is useful to the technician, and the ant control page covers the spring restart.