Rodent-Proofing Your Western Massachusetts Home: Simple Strategies For Effective Control

Rodents are pests that everyone is familiar with, but no one wants to have firsthand experience with them. Unfortunately, when you live in an area like Western Massachusetts, rodent activity is common. Because of our cold winters, each fall, thousands of rodents start looking for a warm home where they can spend the coldest months of the year. Your house is a prime target because it provides everything rodents need to survive. Local properties provide warm shelter, plenty of food, and a steady water source. 

If your home isn’t protected from rodents, they will likely find their way inside at some point, leaving you needing rodent control in Western Massachusetts. Instead of having to deal with rodents once they’re already in your house, the better choice is to prevent a rodent infestation before it happens. This is possible when you know how to rodent-proof your Western Massachusetts home. These simple strategies for effective rodent control will help you make your home far less attractive to rodents and much more difficult to access.

Rodent Behavior Insights: Navigating The Habits Of Mice And Rats

Mice and rats are the most common rodents found in Western Massachusetts homes. When you learn a little bit about their life cycles, behaviors, and habits, you can be better prepared to prevent a rodent infestation or to identify a rodent infestation as quickly as possible if it happens.

While rodent species differ from each other in a variety of small ways, they are very similar in many other ways. All rodents share the common characteristic of having incisors that never stop growing. Because these teeth will get longer and longer if not continually worn down, rodents have to chew and gnaw on things almost non-stop to make sure their teeth stay short enough to manage. When rodents get into your house, they will damage the items and objects they come in contact with as a result of this chewing. From your belongings to parts of your house itself, almost anything is fair game for rodent damage.

Mice and rats are nocturnal rodents. Although they can, and sometimes are, active during the day, most of their activity takes place during the night. Because of this, you might not have a rodent sighting while you’re up and about in your home. Instead, you’re most likely to hear or see rodents in the evening or overnight hours. Many people first discover a rodent infestation as they’re trying to sleep when they hear the rodents moving around in ceilings or wall voids. 

Rodents breed frequently. Female adult mice and rats can birth over half a dozen litters every year, with anywhere from 3 to 15 babies per litter. They reach maturity at around three months of age. Because they can breed so often and so soon after being born, it is easy for a rodent population to quickly grow out of control.

In addition to mainly being active at night, rodents tend to be cautious about their surroundings, which is another reason why people often don’t see rodents in their homes. Mice and rats aren’t interested in having contact with humans, even if they move into your house, so if you see one, it’s likely going to try to get away and hide as fast as possible. Rodents usually run along the edges of a room instead of straight across because they don’t want to be out in the open space. Their cautious nature can make it difficult to get rid of an infestation.

Health Risks Of Rodent Invasions: Protecting Your Family And Pets

A rodent infestation is bad news for your home, your family, and your pets. If you discover that these pests have gotten into your house, you’ll want to get rid of rodents as quickly and thoroughly as you can to avoid the many health risks associated with them. What are these risks?

Rodents contaminate the areas where they spend time with a variety of pathogens. Because they need food when they get into your house, they’ll likely forage around in your kitchen cupboards, cabinets, and pantry to get something to eat. All of the surfaces they touch can become contaminated and put your family at risk. Some of the diseases that rodents have been known to spread include salmonellosis, tularemia, rat-bite fever, and leptospirosis. 

The rodents that get into your house can also bring parasites into your home. This puts both your family and your pets in danger of being infected or bitten by these parasites and contracting illnesses related to them. Internal parasites that are common among rodents include tapeworms and pinworms. External parasites that many rodents bring into homes include ticks, fleas, and mites.

In addition to the many diseases that rodents spread, they are also a danger to your family’s health because of the damage they cause to your home. If they chew through pipes and cause a water leak, the excess moisture can lead to mold growth. That mold can cause serious health problems for your family. Furthermore, if they chew through electrical wires, it could start a fire that puts your family in serious peril.

Proactive Rodent Control: Preventing Infestations Before They Begin

Rodent prevention is the best way to avoid all of the problems that rodents cause. You don’t want rodents getting into your house to cause damage and spread diseases, and luckily, there are things you can do to keep them out of your Western Massachusetts home. 

When you think about preventing a rodent infestation, you have to think about what motivates rodents to get into your house in the first place. They are primarily driven by three things that ensure their survival: food, water, and shelter. If you make these three things difficult to access on your property, the rodents are far less likely to get into your house. If you enact the following rodent prevention tips, you can help make your house and property less attractive to rodents and less likely to be infested as a result. 

Around the exterior of your home and property:

• Remove lawn debris, such as fallen leaves, branches, and other items.
• Keep your grass trimmed.
• Cut back foliage around your house, especially anything that touches the sides or roof of your house, including tree branches, shrubs, bushes, and other plants.
• Remove clutter around the exterior of your home to minimize the areas where rodents might hide.
• Keep firewood stored well away from your house.
• Keep trash bins stored away from your house, and make sure they have lids that fit tightly.
• Remove bird seed, pet food, and other possible food sources, such as fallen fruit.
• Clean your gutters so water doesn’t collect, and make sure they are working to properly drain rainwater away from your house.
• Look for any other areas where water or moisture collects and see what can be done to dry them out.
• Seal all possible entry points into your house, no matter how small.
• Cover vents and downspouts with heavy-duty screening.

Inside your house:

• Store all food in lidded, hard-sided containers.
• Clean up spills and messes as soon as they occur.
• Keep your kitchen counters and sinks clean and free of dirty dishes.
• Sweep or vacuum your floors routinely.
• Take out the trash regularly.
• Repair any water leaks you find.
• Keep humidity low throughout your house.
• Remove excess clutter, especially in areas you don’t use often, such as attics and basements.

While it takes some work to make your house rodent-proof, the benefits of not having to deal with a rodent infestation are worth the effort!

Professional Rodent Control: The Best Way To Keep Mice And Rats Away

If rodents get into your house, there will be signs that they’re there, even if you don’t see the rodents themselves. In addition to hearing them moving around, you’ll probably see their droppings, find food containers with jagged holes, or see nesting materials in out-of-the-way locations, like behind appliances or in storage areas.

At the first signs of a rodent infestation, you need to enact a rodent pest control plan. As you know, rodents breed very quickly, so once a rodent or two gets into your house, it won’t be long before many more show up. Furthermore, because they are cautious, they aren’t the easiest pests to get rid of. That’s why professional rodent control is the best choice for thorough and effective rodent elimination.

Rodent control near you is available from the experts at American Pest Solutions. We have been serving Western Massachusetts with quality pest control since 1913. As a local, family-owned company, we love our community and are dedicated to providing the services you need to get and keep rodents out of your home. A rodent infestation can cause many problems for your home, but with American Pest Solutions by your side, you can be certain it will be taken care of swiftly, minimizing the damage and ensuring long-term control. Get in touch with us to eliminate your rodent problem today.