Musophobia..

Rodents are some people’s worst nightmare! Musophobia, which is a phobia of mice, is one of the most common fears. In our area, rats are the biggest concern. Rodents need three things to thrive; food, water and harborage, aka somewhere to stay.  Areas which have large bodies of water near them will have more rodents than others. Rodents are always looking for their next drink, and if a home is near the river or pond, it will likely attract rats and other types of rodents. Naturally, local landfills add to the rodent population because they offer all three necessities; luckily most landfills are further away from residential areas. Abandoned or foreclosed homes are another great opportunity for a rat to find shelter, along with clutter in and outside the home. 

Signs

What are the signs that your home may have rodents? If you notice that you have nests which are brought together with insulation, paper, cloth etc, and they are placed in dark secluded areas like your attic or crawlspace; then you may have rodents. Other signs would be, strange noises, gnawing marks, and droppings. Seeing a rodent is your dead give away! 

But how do you catch them?

There are a couple of different methods when it comes to catching rodents.  You can place snap traps which lure the rodent in through a bait and then kill the rodent with a snap. Many people buy these at local stores for a DIY attempt. While these can be effective, sometimes things can go badly. If the rodent isn’t killed right away, it may fight to get out and then fall in between their walls. There is nothing worse than a decomposing rat with no other way to get it out but to cut the wall open. Its best to call a professional so they can remove the rodents without incident. 

Prevention!

Prevention is the key! Once all of the rats have been removed, exclusion work needs to be completed around the home to ensure that there are no more entry points for the rats to enter through. Rodents are incredibly flexible and they can get through an entry point as small as 1/2 an inch in diameter. Its crucial to cover all of these entry points. Copper mesh can be used on the smaller holes and 19 gauge cloth is used for larger holes. Once the entry points are sealed off, you are protected. 

Keeping the trees and brushes trimmed away from the home is helpful to keep the rodents from coming back. The cooper mesh and 19 gauge cloth is strong, but rodents can chew threw anything, so we need to make sure they don’t venture towards your home again. Bait stations can be set up outside of the home which allow the technician to be able to monitor activity levels without allow further damage to your property. Call us today for your free inspection!