Bubonic Plague Reported in Michigan

There have been 14 human cases of bubonic plague in the United States this year alone. A fact few Americans are aware of. Just recently the Michigan Dept. of Health & Human Services reported a new case near Lake Superior. Locating the "reservoir" of rats carrying bubonic plague is being complicated by the fact that this person had recently traveled to Colorado and back. See original article. Cases of bubonic plague, while rare, show up in various parts of the country. In the 1960's rats carrying fleas infested with bubonic plague were found. Since 1970 most cases have been from New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona. However, with Seattle ranking highly* among the most rat-infested cities in the U.S. could harbor some bubonic plague carrying rats as well. Rats actually carry fleas, particularly the oriental rat flea, which in turn carry the plague organism. See Cascade Pest Control YouTube channel with playlist devoted to rodent-borne diseases. For more information on Rats and Rodents in the greater Seattle, Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, Kirkland +), King county and Snohomish county. *Seattle ranked 7th and 1st on two different reports within the last 12 months.

NPR "Death Of Popular Hawk Highlights Concerns Over Rat Poison"

Today NPR hosted a needed piece about the use of certain rodenticides and their sometimes unfortunately unintended effects on wildlife and/or pets. Some rat and mouse baits can be toxic to wildlife and pets when they consume the mouse or rat that has died (or is ill) from the rodenticide poision. These animals are all omnivorse or carnivores--most notably raptors, birds of prey, becuase they are small and cannot tolerate much toxins. The dead or dying mouse or rat still carries the toxin in their bloodstream which is now consumed by the animal--wild or pet. Part of the controversy stems from consumer use where the average person is not trained, let alone licensed, to handle rodenticides with a full consideration of mitigating risks to children, pets and wildlife. California has banned the sale of some rat and mouse poisons to the general public for this reason. We at Cascade Pest Control greatly rely on trapping to being with. Trapping is likely more "humane" anyway and, besides eliminating secondary poisoning to hawks and other animals, insures that the dead rodent won't die inside a home causing a horrible odor problem. We do use rodenticides, however, they are applied by fully trained abnd licensed technicians and placed in tamper resistant bait stations when needed outdoors. Additionally, consideration of pets and wildlife is fully considered. Obviously, all of this has to be blanced with concern around rats and mice and the diseases they carry, as well as other damage they do. Thankfully, the NPR interview mentioned the fact that we do need effective rodent control because the threat from rodents is very real. They cited the recent illnesses that occurred in a National Park. Red Tailed Hawk, Rat Infestation, Enclosed Rodenticide Bait Station Don Leland