Addison's 3-in-1 Mite & Bird Mite Extermination in Toronto

You want…

• To quickly eliminate a mite infestation from your Ontario home, garden or balcony, stop the bites and anxiety caused by this invasive pest...

• An affordable, professional, honest and warrantied spider exterminator...

• An environmentally conscious treatment that is safe for the whole family, including your pets.

Here’s what to expect:

• Answers to all of your questions

• A no-obligation quote over the phone in seconds

• Flexible scheduling with 24/7 same-day service throughout the GTA of Ontario.

• No hidden service fees or follow up costs.

Addison has...

• Decades of experience

• A trusted track record

• All-inclusive warranty

• Comprehensive customer service

• Rigorously trained technicians

• Tried and tested extermination methods

• The safest, most effective insecticides

Key Facts about Mites

• Mites are a large classification of tiny arachnids

• Mites that infest animal nests commonly enter homes and infest beds, couches and chairs

• Addison can get rid of any species of mites

• The most common species in the GTA are the bird mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum) and the rat mite (Ornithonyssus bacoti)

• These mites feed on the blood of their host

• Mites depend on their hosts and are therefore most active in warmer months when rats and birds are nesting close to or in the home

• Their bites can cause extremely itchy welts, painful rash or an outbreak of dermatitis.

• Mites are a vector for transmission of diseases, such as salmonella, to humans

Step 1: Mite Heat Treatment

Category:

• Physical

Equipment:

• Handheld heat treatment gun

Method:

• Direct heat applied locally to areas of mite concentration such as animal nesting site, couches, chairs, beds, curtains, window sills

Strengths:

• Heat kills mite eggs

• No damage to furniture

• Instantly kills all mites and eggs

• Avoids pesticide resistance

Weakness

• No residual protection

• Only kills the mites and eggs that are visible and accessible to technicians

• Not sufficient without other complementary bed bug extermination techniques.

Step 2: Mite Powder Treatment

Category:

• Physical + Chemical

Equipment:

• Power duster

Method:

• Fine silica dust insecticide injected into all crevices and wall cavities through electrical sockets and gaps underneath baseboards

• Electrical items at risk of infestation, such as a power bars, or electronics in storage are treated with powder

Strengths:

• Cuts up the mite abdomen

• Coats the insides of the wall cavities to create a protective powder barrier around your home.

• No mites can spread to or from attached houses, adjacent apartments or condo units.

• Essential lasting protection.

• Fully approved by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, safe and non-toxic for humans and animals of all shapes and sizes.

Weakness

• Only suitable for crack and crevice treatment.

Step 3: Mite Spray Treatment

Category:

• Chemical + Residual

Equipment:

• Precision surface sprayer

Method:

• A fine mist of residual spray applied throughout infested area, including the animal nesting site, beds, box springs, chairs, couches, window sills, door thresholds, baseboards and floors throughout the home

Strengths:

• Kills mites on contact and remains active as a protective surface treatment to continue to kill spiders as they come out of hiding

• Keeps your home and furniture protected for up to 6 months

• Fully approved by Ontario Ministry of Environment, safe and non-toxic for humans and animals of all shapes and sizes

Weakness

•  If used improperly, may promote pesticide resistance

Beware of Discount Pest Control in Ontario

Low quality or low concentration surface sprays don’t work

• Many budget companies use watered-down insecticides with only 10 to 14 days of protection.

• The tip-off is when they offer to do a “follow-up spray” two weeks after the first treatment.

• While this may seem extra thorough, mites can survive without a host for up to 9 months.

• By this time the budget treatment will have long worn off and the new population of mites will be free to re-infest your home.

• These budget services can breed pesticide resistance in the bugs in your home, making future treatments increasingly challenging.

Removing the Animal Nest is key to getting rid of a mite problem in Ontario

• We often encounter companies that have failed to adequately eliminate the source of a mite infestation.

• New mites will continue to enter and infest your home unless the rodent, bird, or raccoon nest is located and eliminated in conjunction with a thorough insecticidal protection program.

If you suspect you have a mite infestation in your Toronto, ON home, clear and complete information is the first step to getting rid of them. Here are a few facts, myths, and tips that will help you to make a well informed decision about what to do next.

How to Identify Mites

Mites are a very large classification of arachnids that have a wide range of appearance and behaviour

Most mites encountered near the Toronto area in Ontario are tiny insects that feed on the blood of animals and humans.

What do Mites look like?

Spiders are part of the class of arachnids which have different anatomy than insects

• very small: approx. 0.5mm

• Egg-shaped

• Short hairs cover their bodies

• Semi-transparent, darker after a blood meal

• 8 legs: 4 pairs with 6 segments each

• Simple eyes

• No compound eyes

• Two body sections: abdomen and cephalothorax

• No antennae

• No wings

• Simple feeding part at the front of their body

• difficult to identify because they are so small

• easily confused with fleas, however mites do not jump like fleas

Foraging Behaviour

• Parasites that feed on the blood of an animal host

• Bird mites are found in birds nests – such as pigeons, starlings or sparrows – whereas rat mites will infest the nests of rodents and small mammals – Norway rats, house mice, raccoons

• Very adaptable parasites that can survive on a variety of hosts

• Most active after nightfall, normally hide on or near the host during the daytime

• Activity increases in a warm, moist environment when their host is more sedentary

• When birds or rodents depart from their nest mites will enter the home and infest beds, couches, chairs and other human resting places in search of a blood meal

• Attracted to CO2, warmth and moisture emitted by humans

• tend to cluster around mouth, nose, groin, armpits

• Mites can hibernate to survive up to 9 months without a sufficient blood feeding

• Mites use aggregation pheromones to attract other mites to a favourable feeding source

Life Cycle and Reproduction

• Complete their life cycle in about 7 days

• Approx 95% of bird and rat mite populations are female

• Male introduces spermatophore into the female’s body

• Eggs laid in aggregation area close to a host

• Eggs 2-6 weeks to hatch depending on temperature and humidity

• First-stage larvae have 6 legs

• Larvae feed on shed skin cells not on blood

• The larval stage lasts about 3-4 days

• Larvae undergo 3 moults to become nymphs

• Nymphs have 8 legs and feed on blood

• The nymphal stage lasts about 3-4 days

• Nymphs moult 3 more times before becoming an adult

How do I know if I have a mite infestation?

Mites are so small that they can often escape detection for long periods of time

• adaptable parasites that survive from the blood of birds, rodents, pets or humans

• a range of symptoms in humans

  • itchy, swollen or painful welts

  • red bumps around mouth, nose, eyes, armpits groin

  • respiratory irritation such as coughing or sneezing

  • dermatitis

  • weight loss

  • joint aches

• If you have a bird or rodent infestation you are at risk of a mite infestation

Where do I look for a mite infestation?

• Mites will live either on their host or in a secure hiding spot close by

• Mites tend to cluster close to their feeding or nesting area

• Check around window sills, dryer vents, heating vents, door jambs

• Mites infesting beds gather in the folds of mattresses and box springs, bed skirts, bed frames

How did mites get into my home?

• Most common for mites to invade your home through tiny cracks and crevices or vents

• Mites often infest rodent, mammal or birds nests

• Once these animals depart from the nests mites will make their way inside your home in search of a new host

Are mites dangerous?

• Multiply very quickly, minor infestation can escalate in a matter of weeks

• Since they have a very fast life cycle they develop pesticide resistance more quickly than longer lived bugs

• Excrete an aggregation pheromone to attract other mites in the area to a favourable feeding source

• Mites can spread diseases to pets, livestock and humans such as salmonella and encephalitis

• Mite bites cause painful skin reactions, respiratory irritation and dermatitis that may persist after eliminating the mite infestation

• The psychological strain of having these invasive pests in your home can cause loss of sleep, weight loss and anxiety

• Mites are able to hibernate for long periods and can be very difficult to eliminate completely.

How do I prevent a mite infestation?

Being proactive is the key to ensuring a mite-free home and garden in Ontario.

Give us a call today for more information or to schedule same-day mite removal in seconds.

Addison’s mite service includes a comprehensive mite inspection and prevention plan:

• a 360º perimeter inspection of the interior and exterior of your home and garden

• identification of potentially vulnerable nesting sites for birds rodents and other mammals

• Inspection and treatment of all sleeping and resting surfaces such as beds couches and chairs

• exclusion of the any entry points with spray foam and steel wool

• reinforcement of the roofline with sturdy wire mesh

• seal off balconies with bird-proof netting

• installation of bird spikes on ledges, rooflines and windowsills

• installation of deterrence items such as bird sound generators, predator scarecrows and outdoor flood lights

• Identification and elimination of feeding and water sources

• pheromone baited professional sticky traps to monitor mite activity

• Any rodent or bird removal service should be paired with a mite prevention program

Can I prevent a mite infestation on my own?

• Since mites are so tiny they can enter the home through almost any crack or crevice

• Inspect your home regularly to uncover bird, rodent or mammal nests as soon as possible

• Seal all screens, eaves, weather stripping, dryer and exhaust vents

• Check underneath furniture, beds, couches and chairs for evidence of mite activity

• Eliminate any attractive bird or mammal nesting site that gives access to homes

How can Addison help eliminate a mites infestation?

• Our goal: remove an infestation as quickly as possible and keep your home pest free for good

• How we accomplish our goal: Combine three pest-control techniques applied on a single appointment on a single day

• All of our treatments use the highest quality and safest insecticides with a long residual value to keep you protected for months

• Guarantee the effectiveness of the treatment to eradicate the infestation completely

• No pest control method is perfect

• With three-part treatment, each method compensates for the shortcomings of the other

• Yields quick and dependable results to eliminate mites

• Every treatment rodent or bird removal service should be accompanied by mite prevention and monitoring measures

• Ongoing protection against future infestations

• Prevention includes:

  • Thorough inspection

  • Entry point sealing

  • Identifying and eliminating feeding sources

  • Sticky traps and other monitoring techniques.

Do mites bite humans?

• Mites draw blood from humans, mammals and birds to survive

• Their saliva often causes an itchy painful reaction that can show up as red bumps, swollen welts or dermatitis

• Mites can spread dangerous pathogens and diseases to humans, pets and livestock