How Rodents Enter Your Home and Garage
As soon as you know that rodents have entered your home because you’ve noticed mouse droppings, rat droppings, gnawing marks, or other warning signs, it’s like the entire atmosphere has changed. You might not even feel safe or comfortable in your own home knowing that they’re present. We hate the idea of anyone experiencing that feeling, so let’s start today’s discussion by looking at a few ways that rodents can enter your home and garage:
Open Doors and Windows
What’s often surprising to many homeowners who are trying to keep rodents out of their house is that they’re the reason it’s happening. They’re leaving their doors and windows open, which is making it very easy for these nasty animals to get inside. This is especially common with the garage, since the garage door is left open for long periods of time at many homes.
Through Cracks and Gaps
When we talk about cracks and gaps around the perimeter of your home, we’re typically warning you of the dangers of insects getting inside because they’re so small. However, mice can also slip inside larger cracks, holes, and gaps in your home’s foundation, around your doors and windows, and other areas. It’s also possible for rats to get inside this way, but their entry method is a little different.
Chewing Their Way Inside
All rodents have huge teeth that are made for chewing through things. As for common pests that try to get inside your home, rats are the ones with the biggest teeth. If they find a vulnerable area, especially the spots with an existing crack or gap, they’ll chew through these areas and get inside your home before you know it.
How to Keep Rodents Out of Your House
Rodents may be able to get inside your house and garage, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fight back to avoid a rodent infestation. In fact, there are several different tactics that you can use to keep these creatures away from your property or, at the very least, from the inside of your home. You can start with these effective methods of rodent control:
Seal Potential Entry Points
It can be difficult to locate entry points, but it’s something that must be done. You can hire a professional to detect the location of air leaks throughout your home. Even though this is meant to improve your home’s heating and cooling efficiency, it will also tell you the places where rodents may be getting inside. You can fix these spots with weather-stripping, spray foam, or caulk.
Remove Any Food Sources
Rodents are primarily attracted to anything that they consider to be a food source. If you’re not taking out the trash on a regular basis or leaving out food, this is something that their nose will be acutely aware of. Make sure that you clean up your kitchen following each meal and seal leftovers in plastic containers.
Set Up Some Rodent Traps
When we say that you should set up some rodent traps, we understand that many people reading this are a lot more animal-friendly than in the past. For this reason, we suggest that you set up some humane rodent traps. There are traps that will eliminate rodents without pain, along with capture traps that allow you to catch the rodents and then set them free out into the wild far away from your home.
Contact ProHealth Pest Control to Eliminate a Rodent Infestation
ProHealth Pest Control can help you get rid of mice, rats, and other rodents. If you have any questions about how to keep rodents out of your house, reach out to us at (727) 308-4087 today.
