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Rodents on the rise: How to avoid an infestation this fall

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Rodents have become a larger problem for Canadian homeowners since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pests that lived near bars and restaurants moved into residential neighbourhoods during lockdowns, spreading out their colonies and causing trouble.

With colder weather just around the corner, these rodents are likely to break into people’s homes. Invasions are especially common in the fall and winter when pests seek a warmer place to stay. Mice sneak in via the holes in the wall, and rats dig underground and into the basement.

While many homeowners deal with mice every year, it is important that they be kept out. Rodents are potential carriers of disease, and they will damage the home’s interior. The following tips, when used together, will help ensure that your home is pest-free this winter.

Block Entry Points

Rodents come from outside. While it may seem like they appear out of thin air, rodents find openings in the outer walls of the home and sneak their way inside. Wall vents, cracked window frames, and doors that have been left open are often to blame.

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Examine your home’s exterior very carefully and use caulking or mesh to block the openings you find. Check between the layers of your siding, underneath your deck, and along the edges of your soffits for openings of 5mm or more. Put weatherstripping on the bottoms of your doors and seal cracks in the foundation with epoxy.

If you’re not sure you got them all, contact a mice exterminator for an inspection and pest-proofing service. Professionals offer complete pest-proofing in addition to pest control. They can find the entry points you missed and close them for you. If you know that there are rats in your neighbourhood, a professional can protect your foundation by digging a trench and attaching a mesh to its sides. This will prevent rats from digging into the basement.

Do Some Fall Cleaning

Spring isn’t the only time of year for cleaning. Mice, rats, ants, and other pests can smell the food you keep, and they will want their share. Deep clean the kitchen this fall and maintain it to keep pests out when it gets cold. Vacuum everywhere and clean the floors beneath your major appliances. Keep surfaces clean and store food in airtight containers to reduce odours. Never leave dirty dishes out overnight and use lidded garbage cans.

In addition to food, pests love clutter. Rodents like to hide in quiet, cluttered areas, like messy basements and storage rooms. This way, they can hide as they move from place to place. Get organized this fall and get rid of what you don’t need. Move objects off the floor and create space so there is nowhere for pests to hide.

Tidy up the Yard

Because rodents love food and clutter, it is important that you maintain the yard, as well. Trim back the vines, bushes, and plants that grow around the walls of the home to reduce the number of potential hiding spots. Move patio furniture and firewood away from the sides of the home, as well. Mow the lawn, rake the leaves, and bag all your organic materials for collection.

Pest control experts recommend getting rid of the bird feeder because it attracts rodents. While it is unfortunate, bird feeders are magnets of animal activity. Consider getting rid of it when the temperature cools or switch to one that hangs far away. Harvest your apples and home-grown produce on time, and secure your garbage cans with bungee cords or tight locks.

Health

Whooping cough cases up slightly in N.L., as officials warn about risks to infants – CBC.ca

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Newfoundland and Labrador’s top doctor is warning people to stay up to date on whooping cough vaccinations after a small increase in cases this year.

The province usually sees three to four cases of the disease annually. Up to 10 cases have been reported already since January, however, prompting the province’s chief medical officer to raise the issue publicly.

The increase “generally means there’s a little bit more circulating in the community than what’s presenting for care and testing,” Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said Tuesday.

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While officials aren’t overly concerned about a future spike in cases, Fitzgerald said, higher infection rates place infants in particular at risk.

Children under the age of one aren’t yet old enough for the whooping cough vaccine and don’t have immunity to the disease, Fitzgerald said. Infections in small children can be more severe and lead to pneumonia, neurological issues and hospitalization. 

Fitzgerald said parents, grandparents and caregivers should check to ensure their vaccinations are up to date.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, causes a persistent nagging cough that’s sometimes severe enough to cause vomiting. Vaccines for the disease are offered in early childhood, during high school and in adulthood. Booster shots should be given 10 years after the high school dose, Fitzgerald said.

“Immunity can wane over time,” she said. “Pertussis does circulate on a regular basis in our community.”

The small increase in cases isn’t yet ringing alarm bells for undervaccination within the general population, she added, noting the province still has a vaccination rate over 90 per cent. 

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.

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Supervised consumption sites urgently needed, says study – Sudbury.com

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A study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) said the opioid drug crisis has reached such a critical level that a public safety response is urgently required and that includes the need for expanded supervised consumption sites.

The report was published by the medical journal Monday and was authored by Shaleesa Ledlie, David N. Juurlink, Mina Tadrous, Muhammad Mamdani, J. Michael Paterson and Tara Gomes; physicians and scientists associated with the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Research Institute and the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital.

“The drug toxicity crisis continues to accelerate across Canada, with rapid increases in opioid-related harms following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote. “We sought to describe trends in the burden of opioid-related deaths across Canada throughout the pandemic, comparing these trends by province or territory, age and sex.”

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The study determined that across Canada, the burden of premature opioid-related deaths doubled between 2019 and 2021, representing more than one-quarter of deaths among younger adults. The disproportionate loss of life in this demographic group highlights the critical need for targeted prevention efforts, said the study.

The researchers found that the death rate increased significantly as fentanyl was introduced to the mix of street drugs that individuals were using, in some cases, unknowingly.  

The authors said this demonstrates the need for consumption sites, not only as overwatch as people with addictions consume their drugs, but also to make an effort to identify the substances and inform those people beforehand. 

“The increased detection of fentanyl in opioid-related deaths in Canada highlights the need for expansion of harm-reduction programs, including improved access to drug-checking services, supervised consumption sites, and treatment for substance use disorders,” the authors wrote. 

The study said a more intense public safety response is needed. 

“Given the rapidly evolving nature of the drug toxicity crisis, a public safety response is urgently required and may include continued funding of safer opioid supply programs that were expanded beginning in March 2020, improved flexibility in take-home doses of opioid agonist treatment, and enhanced training for health care workers, harm reduction workers, and people who use drugs on appropriate responses to opioid toxicities involving polysubstance use.

In conclusion, the authors wrote that during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the burden of premature death from accidental opioid toxicities in Canada dramatically increased, especially in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. 

“In 2021, more than 70 per cent of opioid-related deaths occurred among males and about 30 per cent occurred among people aged 30–39 years, representing one in every four deaths in this age group. The disproportionate rates of opioid-related deaths observed in these demographic groups highlight the critical need for the expansion of targeted harm reduction–based policies and programs across Canada,” said the study.

The full text of the report can be found online here.

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Business Plan Approved for Cancer Centre at NRGH – My Cowichan Valley Now

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A business plan for a new BC Cancer Centre at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital has been approved by the province. 

 

Health Minister Adrian Dix  says the state-of-the-art cancer facility will benefit patients in Nanaimo and the surrounding region through the latest medical technology.
 

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The facility will have 12 exam rooms, four consultation rooms and space for medical physicists and radiation therapists, medical imaging and radiation treatment of cancer patients. 

 

The procurement process is underway, and construction is expected to begin in 2025 and be complete in 2028. 

 

Upgrades to NRGH have also been approved, such as a new single-storey addition to the ambulatory care building and expanded pharmacy. 

 

Dix says Nanaimo’s population is growing rapidly and aging, and stronger health services in the region, so people get the health care they need closer to home. 

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