Keeping Rodents Out: Expert Control Strategies For Western Massachusetts Properties

Rodents are unsanitary animals when they explore urban environments. They have no trouble climbing up a wall, leaping into a dumpster, and having your decaying leftovers for dinner. When you find one in your home, it is cause for concern. They can make clean areas dirty and get into your stored food. The worst part is that you aren't likely to know it. Most of the time, rodents are as quiet as a mouse…pun intended. Join us today as we look at how you can detect early signs of rodent activity, some of the risks associated with rodent problems, how to keep rodents away from your home, and what to do when they invade your space. As always, we'd like to quickly remind you that help is available. If you live in Western Massachusetts, contact American Pest Solutions for rodent control near you. With that said, let's turn our attention to all you need to know for keeping rodents out.

Signs Of Rodent Activity: How To Detect A Problem Early

When rats or mice get into your home, they're going to want to position themselves as close to food as possible. That means they're likely to make a nest right in the wall of your kitchen or pantry. So, don't be surprised when you don't hear them climbing up and down through your walls. Here are a few tips to help you uncover rodent activity, along with some explanations as to why these signs show up where they do.

• Look for gnaw marks around the pipes underneath your kitchen sink. Rodents chew holes to go from wall voids to interior spaces. They are far more likely to enlarge an existing gap around a pipe than to create a new hole from scratch.
• Look for droppings in the cabinet under your kitchen sink. When rodents explore, they leave their black droppings behind.
• Mouse droppings are slightly smaller than grains of rice, and rats droppings are larger. 
• Look for droppings in the backs of your kitchen drawers. If you don't understand how kitchen counters and drawers are constructed, it may seem like a magic trick. Often, drawers are not stored inside solid pockets. The backs of most cabinets are open, and the rodents can scale them and climb right inside the drawers from the inside.
• Pull your oven out and check around it for droppings, or examine the wall for a chewed hole. Rodents can get right into this hidden space and hide inside the voids of your appliance. You may even find rodent droppings in the drawer at the base of your oven, depending on how it is made.
• Look for droppings and paw prints on food shelves. When food debris or dust sits on a shelf, rodents can leave their prints. While they're at it, they'll leave droppings as well.
• Look for damaged food packages in your pantry and kitchen.
• Look (or smell) for droppings or urine on the insulation in your attic. While not ideal, your attic can provide an appropriate space for rodents, particularly if you have stored items they can use to nest inside.
• Look for damage to stored items or soft material.
• Listen for sounds of bumping or scraping in your walls.
• Watch to see if your pets act strangely in the kitchen or pantry. They can hear and smell things you can't and are usually the first to detect a rodent problem.

There are many more tips we could provide, but these should get you going in the right direction. Use these as a base for your rodent inspection. A thorough inspection is always the first step in an effective rodent pest control plan. Now, let's look at what rodents do in your home and why it is critical to address rodent problems early. 

Rodent Dangers: Health Risks And Property Damage

It isn't easy to perform rodent inspections, but it is well worth the effort. Common rodents are far from harmless. We've already covered a few of the ways rodents can damage your property. Let's build off of what we've discussed so far. 

• Rodents damage your food packages and contaminate the food.
• Rodents damage your home as they make access holes to enter your kitchen and pantry.
• The droppings rodents leave in your drawers are another source of contamination.
• As rodents climb up and down through our wall voids, they may chew on your wires. They're prone to do this and are considered a fire hazard.
• Rodents can damage insulation in your walls and attic and contaminate them with their waste material.
• As rodents move about inside your home, they can drop ticks and fleas. Ticks are considered a serious disease risk. Check resources at the CDC website to learn more.
• Rodents can shed live viruses in saliva, fecal matter, and urine. When these materials dry and become dust, the inhaled dust can cause respiratory illness. 
• When rodents climb on your counters or over dishes, they can leave invisible organisms on your surfaces, plates, cutting boards, and silverware.
• A rodent problem can cause ongoing illness in your home, and they can do this without providing any warning signs. It is best to keep them out if you can. We have some tips to help you do just that.   

Proactive Rodent Control: Preventing Invasions Before They Begin

If you have checked your home for rodents and didn't find any signs, now is a great time to roll your sleeves up and apply rodent exclusions to keep rats and mice out. There are a few steps to this. Let's quickly break them down.

First: Remove Rodent Attractants

• Wash your trash receptacles to remove odors that lure rats and mice to your home.
• Keep your trash receptacles covered. Believe it or not, even a tiny mouse can get into your trash. Mice can scale rough surfaces and jump over a foot in the air.
• Pluck weeds in your exterior landscape. Rodents like to hide in dense vegetation.
• Remove objects near your home, as rats and mice will hide in, under, and around them.

Second: Remove Routes And Access

• Cut tree branches that touch your roofline or overhang your roof.
• Install guards on wires that connect to your roof or exterior walls.
• Install guards on pipes that run up your exterior walls and past your roofline.
• Install a cover over your downspouts to keep rats and mice from working their way up your gutter system and accessing your roof.

Third: Block Entry

• Seal every gap you can find in your exterior. Both mice and rats can fit through surprisingly small gaps. 
• Pest-proof around your pipes and wire conduits.
• Pest-proof around the pipes that come in underneath your kitchen sink.
• Install weatherstripping around exterior doors and windows.

If you are diligent, you can significantly decrease your chances of a rodent infestation by applying these general exclusion methods. But it's hard work, and sometimes rodents in Western Massachusetts enter yards in large numbers. If you have higher than normal rodent pressures, greater measures are required to keep them out of your home.  

Professional Rodent Control: Why Expertise Matters

When rodents get into your home, or you want to know for sure that you have the best exterior rodent prevention possible, it pays to hire an expert. A licensed and experienced technician uses professional-grade control products, installation training, field-tested methodology, and a multi-pronged plan to ensure the best results. Here are a few ways we get control of rats and mice.

• When rodent pressures are high, we can install and maintain tamper-resistant rodent bait boxes around the structures on your property. The bait works to reduce rodent populations and deter rodent activity in your yard.
• We perform inspections and alert you to trouble spots around and inside your home. These include rodent holes, conducive conditions, and potential routes.
• We apply exclusion work to key areas to help keep rodents from accessing indoor spaces. One common spot we seal is around the pipes underneath kitchen sinks.
• We install monitoring devices for indoor rodent activity to track the effectiveness of our rodent treatment plans.
• We install trapping devices to capture and remove the rodents from the interior.
• We perform follow-up inspections to check for signs of continued infestation and perform follow-up treatments if needed to ensure complete control.

Do you think you may have a rodent problem? Contact American Pest Solutions for rodent control in Western Massachusetts. We'll track those rodents down, evaluate the conditions present, and guide you toward a control solution that will get you the best results. You don't have to live with rats or mice sneaking around inside your home. Navigate to our Contact Us page and fill out the short form to tell us about your home pest control issue. We'll take a look and get right back to you. Through our contact page, you can find details and pricing for rodent control in Western Massachusetts and find out much of what you need to know before your technician visits your home. Connect with us today.