Rats and mice cause serious damage if they are allowed access to your home. Rodents most often cause damage to older, inner-city buildings and homes in poor repair. But, even new housing developments can experience rodent problems without proper rodent control. Neighborhoods with mature ornamental plantings, accumulation of refuse, woodpiles, and other such sources of food are more quickly occupied by rodents.
The good news is with proper rodent control techniques, your home can be free of pesky rodents and the damage they bring. Read below to pick up a few tips to help control rodents in your home.
Rodent Control Using Xcluder® Material
Tips for Rodent Control
Eliminate or Reduce Shelter and Food Sources Around Your Home
If you notice rodents in or around your home then you may have an abundance of shelters and food sources. You can reduce the population by simply removing or reducing shelter locations and rodent food. Steps you can take to eliminate these factors include:
- Remove all rubbish piles and refuse from your property. Encourage neighbors to follow this same practice.
- Perform consistent property maintenance and keep wood piles elevated off the ground.
- Make sure your garbage containers and dumpsters have tight fitting lids.
- Minimize surplus food from bird feeders and pet food.
- Mind your Chickens! Chickens and chicken feed/water naturally attract rodents to your home. Ensure chicken food is stored in a metal bin with a tight fitting lid. Collect eggs regularly as rodents when hungry will dine on raw eggs. If possible, build an elevated coop or one on a cement foundation to prevent rodents from tunneling into the chicken coop.
Conduct a Thorough Inspection of the Exterior and Interior of Your Home to Eliminate Rodent Entry Points
There are many steps you as a homeowner can take to prevent rodent damage. Rodent control in structures is based on one simple rule: rodents must be prevented from entering a building or a room. Excluding rodents by closing all possible holes where they can enter or leave a structure is always the most important measure against infestation.
Rodents can enter your home in several locations. Here is a list of areas you should check and fix if you see signs of rodents infestation:
- Holes and openings in siding or roofing
- Vents and window openings
- Exterior doors
- Foundations and floors
- Drains and pipes
Rodent control is difficult and time consuming. It is imperative, however, for the safety of your family that you take action when finding evidence of rodents in your home. Rodents can carry diseases and taint food via their waste, fur, and saliva. Some mice can contaminate about 10 times the amount of food they eat. According to the CDC, worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. The CDC also links some rodents to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease that has been found fatal in about 36 percent of all reported U.S. cases.
The pests are also hosts for fleas, ticks and mites and can spread diseases like the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. This virus can threaten those with weakened immune systems and may result in headaches, fever and meningitis. It can also cause complications during pregnancy.
When you find you have not been successful in your rodent control efforts, it’s time to call a pest management professional. Crawl Pros has controlled rodent infestations in hundreds of home throughout the greater Seattle, Tacoma and Portland areas.
Rodent Control the Crawl Pros Way
Crawl Pros offers a methodical and professional solution to rodent control.
Crawl Pros installers painstakingly look for and fill access points used by rodents to gain entrance to your home.
We use Xcluder®, a non-corrosive material made of stainless steel fibers, to seal entry points. Xcluder® is the only material tested and proven effective by USDA / APHIS. . It will not rust or react to moisture. Xcluder® does not contain any harmful chemicals or pesticides, so it doesn’t kill or harm animals or bugs. It simply makes the cracks and crevices so difficult to navigate that pests give up!
We can also replace damaged vent screens and if necessary construct an entirely new access door.
Depending on the circumstances, Crawl Pros will fog the infested area with EXPEL. EXPEL Odor Neutralizer is a non-toxic anti-microbial enzyme that eliminates the bacteria that causes health problems and the pheromones that attract more rodents.
Finally, Crawl Pros can install its unique and innovative rodent elimination trap that provides a humane kill procedure for up to 24 instances without need for services. The trap tracks the number of rodent kills letting you know that it is working or if needs to be located to another area of your home.
Trust Crawl Pros to help you control rodents in your home. We provide free estimates and complete the job in less than one day. Give us a call at 866-673-9626 or fill out our Contact Form to learn more.