Rodents are a group of mammals with sharp teeth they use for chewing, long tails, and they often live in burrows or crevices. They can be found all over the world. They have a variety of habitats and lifestyles, but they typically live off of human food. Some rodents you might find around your house include mice, rats, squirrels, and chipmunks.
Rodents may seem like an overwhelming problem, but they can be dealt with. Unfortunately, rodents are not only a nuisance when inside your home; they also spread diseases and cause property damage. This blog post will show you how rodents get into homes and what you can do about it.
Why Do Rodents Gain Access to Your Home?
There are many reasons why rodents invade homes and buildings. However, some of the common causes include:
Food and Water. Rodents need both food and water to survive, and both attract them. The only limiting factor is their level of motivation.
A Dry, Warm Place to Sleep. This doesn’t have to be inside a building, though. A dry hole in the ground will work just fine.
Prey Animals. The scent of freshly killed prey even draws rats, so they might travel quite some distance if they smell it from afar. They’re even known to follow the trail of a dead rodent through sewers, storm drains, and yards.
No Competition. If too many rodents move into an area, they’ll head off searching for another shelter, but there has to be some — otherwise, they will fight over territory until only one or two remain.
Protection from Predators. This is especially true in the winter when rodents must prepare to hibernate.
Another one is since outside cats are one of their biggest threats, you can expect mice and rats to explore every possible location in search of a safe place to live. For this reason, even sealed attics sometimes become infested with rodents. They climb up inside attic vents, chew their way through walls, or hide behind the insulation.
How Rodents Gain Access to Your Home?
Rodents usually get into homes through small holes or cracks. For example, spacing around the foundation of a home, gaps in brick walls and sidewalks, and similar weak points can allow rodents to enter a home without being noticed. Rats have also been able to get into homes from sewer systems even with a metal cover on the pipe.
Rats are not the only animals that can get into a house this way – chipmunks, squirrels, mice, voles, and shrews can enter your home through gaps around the foundation. So even if you don’t see damage to your home’s exterior, that doesn’t mean rodents aren’t living in your walls or in the space between your home and the ground.
Rats and mice can also enter a home through holes found in garbage cans. They can chew right through smaller plastic trash containers, so they’ll eventually find their way around lids on metal cans as well. Mice are also attracted to foods left on counters and pet food bowls where they will gnaw on the container or anything else they find near them, including wires or wood that is starting to rot.
Food or water spills on the floor can also attract these animals. Likewise, a leak in the plumbing, a broken pipe, flooding, or even something as simple as food particles in the sink can attract rodents to your home.
How to Get Rid of Rodents From Entering Your Home?
Rodents are a common problem in homes today. One of the most effective ways to get rid of rodents is to get them out of your home. Let’s take a look at some common methods for getting rodents out of your home.
Glue Traps. Another method of getting rid of rodents is using glue traps. This is a great way to get rodents out, but it can also be dangerous for pets or children who might see the trap and decide to play with it. Nevertheless, glue traps are often considered one of the most effective methods when getting rid of rodents.
Sealing the Home Off. One of the most effective ways to get rid of mice or other small rodents is to seal off your home completely. This way, you won’t have any openings through which they can enter your house. To make sure it’s sealed off effectively, you should use steel wool on all openings.
Using Pets. If you have a pet, such as a cat or a dog, they can be very effective in getting rid of rodents. Cats and dogs are natural hunters and love to catch and kill rodents when they see them. You should keep your pets inside at all times when you’re trying to get rid of mice in your home because if they see one, they’ll try to kill them.
Traps. One of the most common ways people try to get rid of rodents is using old-fashioned traps. These are effective when trying to eliminate mice or other small rodents. The best thing about traps is that you don’t need to leave your home. However, you should try to use humane traps.
If you have a pest problem in your home, one of the best ways to get rid of them is to look at the methods above and see which one works best for you. If you have questions about any of these methods or other suggestions on how to get rid of mice or other small rodents, contact Pest Control Company like Pestcom.