Rodent Tips For Your Home

Every homeowner has to deal with rodents. Not only are they scary to some people, but they cause a lot of damage. The reality is that it is getting colder. You like to stay home in a warm house and so do mice and rats. They want the same thing and burrow into your home to get it. So how can you shore up your house and get it ready for fall and winter? Here are some tips.

1. Seal up your house’s entry points. What you must realize about rats and mice is that they don’t need a lot of room to squeeze in. Their ribs are attached to their spines on hinge-like systems that allow them to compact their bodies. A small space between a door frame and a door may be enough for even a large rodent to work its way into the house. The same is true for windows. Your best bet is to scrutinize both to make sure that there isn’t any space for a pest to gain entry. A general rule of thumb is that rats can get into a ½-inch space!

2. On top of the entry points though, remember that there are many ways into your house. When you’re a few ounces in weight and have bodies that can squeeze just about anywhere, the possibilities of entry are endless. Piping, basements, foundations—all can have cracks in them that are just big enough for rodents to make their way in. All you need is one rodent who then has babies and you’re home is infested from top to bottom.

3. Don’t just rely on traps. Traps are great…if your rodents are inside the rooms of your house. What if they are in the walls? Your traps will never catch them and they can still do all their chewing damage. This is why sealing up all holes you can find and examining your house piece by piece is critical.

4. Protect your food items. Rodents want warmth—your house—and food—your food! A kitchen or pantry is the perfect home base for rodents, especially if they find open food or packages they can get into. It could be a plastic sleeve on bread or a bag of chips. Anything they can chew through is fair game to them and it will keep them coming back time and time again to that location to continue to feed.

It may not sound easy to truly get to all the places rodents can gain access to your home. The reality it isn’t easy. That’s why many people choose to hire a professional who can go step by step through their home—inside and out—to make sure that they are ready for a pest-free winter!

We can do it for you. In business since 1936, Extermital Termite & Pest Control  are the leaders in Pest Control in Ohio.