Brown rat daga
- Size
- 19 to 25 mm long, about 6 mm thick
- Shape
- A thick capsule with blunt, rounded ends. Smooth, no ridges.
- Where
- At ground level: along the base of walls, behind the ref and the stove, in the bodega or the garage.
- Also look for
- Dark grease smudges at the edge of a hole or along a beam, gnaw marks, a musty smell.
- What to do
- Wet it before you clean it, never sweep it dry, then find the way in.
How to get rid of rats
Roof rat daga sa kisame
- Size
- About 13 mm long
- Shape
- Slimmer than the brown rat, tapering to a point at one or both ends.
- Where
- Up high: in the ceiling, on beams and ledges, on top of cabinets.
- Also look for
- Scratching overhead at night, stains on the ceiling boards, chewed wiring.
- What to do
- Traps go where they run, which here means off the ground.
Rodents in your ceiling
House mouse bubuwit
- Size
- 3 to 6 mm long
- Shape
- Like a dark grain of rice, pointed at both ends.
- Where
- Scattered in drawers and cabinets, along walls, inside opened food packs.
- Also look for
- Dozens at a time rather than a few, chewed packaging, holes about the width of a pencil.
- What to do
- Clean it wet, then block the gaps. A mouse fits through very little.
Rodent and rat removal
House gecko butiki
- Size
- About 6 mm long
- Shape
- A dark pellet with a chalky white or cream tip at one end. The white is the gecko’s urine, passed as a solid.
- Where
- On window sills, on walls under a light, and on the floor below wherever they sit.
- Also look for
- Nothing else. Rodent droppings are one colour all over; the white tip rules a rat or mouse out.
- What to do
- Nothing to treat. A butiki eats insects. Wipe it up and wash your hands.
Bat paniki
- Size
- Mouse-sized
- Shape
- Lumpy rather than smooth. Pressed with a stick it crumbles to a powder that glitters with insect wing; a mouse dropping stays hard.
- Where
- Heaped in one place under a gap at the roof edge, the eaves or a ceiling void.
- Also look for
- Stains below the entry gap, and bats leaving at dusk.
- What to do
- Not a pest we treat. Do not sweep a pile dry: wet it, and wear gloves and a mask.
Big cockroach ipis
- Size
- A few millimetres long
- Shape
- Dark little cylinders with blunt ends and fine ridges running along their length. Rodent droppings have no ridges.
- Where
- Near floor drains, under sinks, in bathrooms and storerooms.
- Also look for
- Egg cases like brown capsules, and a musty, oily smell.
- What to do
- Cover the drains and use bait rather than spray.
Cockroach poop
Small cockroach ipis
- Size
- Under 1 mm
- Shape
- Black specks like ground pepper or coffee grounds, and brown smears where they rest.
- Where
- Cabinet hinges, drawer corners, behind the ref, inside the rice cooker and other warm appliances.
- Also look for
- Small light-brown cockroaches with two dark stripes behind the head, out at night.
- What to do
- Gel bait in small dots on the hinges and runs. Spray pushes them deeper in.
Cockroach and ant control
Drywood termite anay
- Size
- Under 1 mm
- Shape
- Hard, sand-like grains with six flat sides and rounded ends, often the colour of the wood they came from.
- Where
- In small piles on the floor or a shelf, under pinholes in door frames, cabinets and furniture.
- Also look for
- The termites that do most of the damage here live in the soil and leave no pellets at all: they leave mud tubes. No pile does not mean no termites.
- What to do
- Sweep the pile, check in a few days. A new pile means they are still active.
How to get rid of termites
Bed bug surot
- Size
- Dots about 1 mm across
- Shape
- Not pellets. Dark spots that soak into the fabric like the tip of a marker pen.
- Where
- Along mattress seams, in the joints of the bed frame, on sofa piping.
- Also look for
- Small blood stains on sheets, pale shed skins, and itchy bites in a line.
- What to do
- Hot wash the bedding and vacuum the seams while you arrange treatment.
Paano mawala ang surot sa higaan