Kick mice and rats to the curb with these handy household tips
Nobody wants to share their home with rats and mice. They get into food, leave droppings everywhere, and can carry potentially dangerous diseases. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to keep rodents from deciding that your house is an ideal place to live.
Keep Them Out
Grab a pencil and take a walk around the outside of your house. Whenever you find a hole or gap, stop and measure it with the pencil. If the pencil fits, so will a rodent. After identifying all potential entry points, break out the weather stripping, caulking, insulation, and anything else you need to seal up those holes. Be as thorough as possible since even the smallest gap can be an open doorway for a mouse or rat.
Ditch the Rodent Buffet
If you could go to a delicious buffet any time and eat as much free food as you wanted, wouldn’t you take advantage? That’s how mice and rats see your garbage. Invest in metal cans with tight-fitting lids to discourage pests from snacking. Use the same kinds of cans to store other edibles such as bird seed. If you feed your pets or give them treats outside, clean up any leftovers as soon as possible.
Make sure you’re storing food securely indoors as well. Keep dry cat and dog food in airtight containers and never leave anything edible sitting out overnight. Clean counters thoroughly after preparing food and make sure that no scraps are left in the sink. If necessary, invest in plastic or glass food containers for non-perishables such as grains, cereal, and pasta.
Clean Up the Clutter
Rodents see wood piles, trash piles, and even broken-down cars as great places to live. Don’t give them a chance to move in and get comfortable. Take a day or a weekend and gather all the junk that’s been collecting in your yard. Move wood piles away from the house and put trash in cans. Trim back tree branches and other growth that’s close to the roof in order to prevent rodents, especially rats, from gaining access. Your goal should be to eliminate as much outdoor debris as possible to make the yard less friendly to pests.
If you’re already dealing with a rat or mouse infestation, call ABC Home & Commercial Services. Our rodent control specialists are trained to handle common pests. Let us banish troublesome rodents from your Austin area home once and for all.
Comments
Keeping your surroundings clean can be a sure way to ward off rodents. But, if you’ll observe it, not all rodents want to live in a messy or smelly atmosphere; they’ve also leveled up their taste in looking for a home. If you think humans enjoy living in a clean home, rodents too. But, how are we going to ward them off if they also lurk on clean surroundings?
Pest inspectors and professional rodent exterminators will come into play here. If don’t know what else to do, there are professionals who have extensive experience in inspecting and coming up with the right treatment to finally exterminate those pests.