Cashing In on Pests : Exterminators Have Field Day With Mice, Fleas

Alex Nguyen begins his workday by counting the dead mice in a San Clemente warehouse.

“It’s something to talk about at lunch,” Nguyen says wryly.

The daily toll has risen as high as 13 but lately has been in single digits since the company where Nguyen works, C&E; Vision Services, called in the experts: Mission Pest Control in Laguna Hills.

Pest extermination companies have benefited mightily from the invasion of mice in South County and of fleas and other insects just about everywhere else in the state. The pests are an outgrowth of the winter rains that ended years of drought.

“It’s a pretty good summer,” said Eric Paulsen, education director for Pest Control Operators of California, a Sacramento trade group representing 1,500 companies and 8,500 licensed pest-control specialists. “No matter what happens with the economy,there are always insects and mice that are a concern.”

For exterminators, the rat race could not have come at a better time. The real estate slump has carved a hefty chunk out of their bread and butter, termite inspections. The winter rains, however, caused lush vegetation growth, which in turn made nice homes for pests. When the summer heat dried up the hillsides, the rodents scurried for shade inside buildings with well-watered yards.

“It’s a boom year for mice,” Mission President Timothy Saunders said. And that means a boom year for the people who snuff the squeakers. Saunders said business is up 20%--mouse calls alone have tripled--and most other companies say that business has jumped 10% or more since the start of the summer.

Western Exterminator Co., the state’s largest, has added 78 workers to its force of 700 since the start of the year because of the upsurge in business, Vice President Roy Ashton said. The company, based in Irvine, has 27 offices.

Ventura County exterminators say that mice have not presented a significant problem but that they are seeing sharp increases in all other sorts of pests, “especially the spider hatch,” said Tim Miller, who mans the office for M&M; Termite and Pest Control in Newbury Park.

Ashton of Western Exterminator said: “We have been real busy, not only with the mice but with all insects because of the rain and high humidity. We’ve had some flat seasons, but this year we see fleas and mice are coming in.”

Many people try to take care of the mouse problem themselves, exterminators say, by plugging holes and setting out mechanical traps and poisoned bait. But many, knowing little about mouse habits, underestimate the rodents’ ability to wriggle into houses. And others discover that they are squeamish about disposing of the carcasses.

“Mice are able to squeeze in anywhere you can put your little finger,” Ashton said. “They walk close to walls and they like darkness. They can be very trap-savvy. They walk around rather than go through.”

There are no quick fixes, he said. “They are so prolific.”

Exterminators find that most folks would rather plunk down the $50, or whatever it costs, than match wits with Pixie and Dixie.

“A lot of people have the phobias. They are afraid of the things,” said Dave Taylor, an entomologist and training director for the Antimite pest-control service in Rancho Cucamonga. “It is enough for them to tackle, but when they are overwhelmed with 40 or 50 mice in a night, it’s good to have someone come in.”

C&E; Vision Services, a distributor of contact lenses and sunglasses, is among companies that have turned to the pros for help.

In early July, C&E; officials started hearing neighboring companies complain about a mouse problem, said Nguyen, director of information services for the warehouse, which is part of an office complex near the hills of southern Orange County.

Then came the invasion.

“One night we were here, and we started seeing the little guys running around all over the place,” he said. The company, defending itself with snap traps, glue boards and poison, counted 13 dead rodents after the following weekend.

That carnage turned out not to have solved the problem, Nguyen said. When more bodies kept turning up daily, the company called Mission Pest Control, first for a consultation, then for a spray treatment.

The spray helped but the war continues. Nguyen said he extracted one carcass from beneath a soda machine, only to find another an hour later.

“It’s beginning to be a challenge as to how many we’ll catch,” he said. “We’ve had them die everywhere--on carpet, under a desk, on a desk.”

The staff has been holding up well under the circumstances. There are occasional shrieks from startled office workers when an unwanted visitor makes a sudden dash. One unwary warehouseman lifted a pallet and sent a whole family of mice scurrying.

“It’s a little bit of a nuisance,” Nguyen said.