We have a few common rodents in our area. If you live in Bennington, it is likely you can name them. They are mice, rats, and squirrels. These critters have amazing abilities that help them to survive in nature. Join us as we look at the common characteristics that cause rodents to become pests, some of the problems they cause, four simple tips to keep rodents out of your home, and what to do if rodents get into your home. If you're already battling rats, mice, or squirrels, and you want to get rid of rodents in your home, call us. Quality Pest Control provides smart solutions for rodent pest control in Bennington. We can get those pests out of your home and help you keep your home rodent-free.
Characteristics Of Common Rodents
Rodents have unique abilities that help them survive in nature. These same abilities can cause them to become pests in your home. Let's start by looking at common traits all rodents share that bring them into homes accidentally or on purpose.
Rodents Climb: While you don't typically see rats and mice climbing trees, they can climb as well as squirrels. The reason you don't see them doing this is that rats and mice are active at night. All rodents will scale trees, run down branches, and get onto your roof. They can also use their climbing ability to work their way up downspouts on your gutter system, scale pipes on your exterior walls, or simply go up the side of a rough exterior surface. A little mouse can scale some exteriors so easily that they can make their way up to gable vents and enter structures from there.
Rodents Balance: A rodent uses its tail to achieve incredible balance, which is how squirrels run along powerlines as though they are scampering on the ground. Rats and mice can run on powerlines too. If you have wires touching your roofline, rats, mice, and squirrels can get onto your roof.
Rodents Jump: If a rodent can't climb a surface, it may find a way to jump up to ledges. Squirrels, rats, and mice can leap amazingly high. If you don't account for this, rodents will surprise you.
Rodents Gnaw: All rodents have incisors that continually grow. They must file these teeth down. When a squirrel, rat, or mouse explores the exterior of your home, it may use its teeth to chew through wood, thin metal, screens, and other materials. Rats and mice are known to gnaw on concrete and make tiny gaps around pipes large enough to use as entry points.
Rats And Mice Squeeze: Rats, mice, and squirrels (to a certain extent), all have the ability to get through small openings. Rats and mice are particularly interested in tight spaces. If a rat or mouse can fit its head through a gap, it can get the rest of its body through by wiggling its squishy body through. Their ability to do this is so impressive we're sometimes asked, "Do rodents have skeletons?" Yes, they do. Their skeletons compress and bend.
Even though we have several types of rodents in Bennington, and each type is somewhat different, they all possess characteristics that can bring them into your home. Once they get inside, these traits, and others we haven't mentioned yet, can make them a threat to your health and property.
The Problems Rodents On Your Property Can Create
It isn't good to have rodents inside your Bennington home. Not only are they undomesticated, but their traits also make them uniquely troublesome. Here are a few facts you should know.
- A climbing rodent can use its claws for other things. As they search your home to acquire materials for their nests, they may rip up insulation, damage wallpaper, tear stored clothing apart, rip stuffing out of cushions, etc.
- A gnawing, jumping, and squeezing rodent can make its way into hard-to-reach places in your home by going down through wall voids and making a hole that provides entry to your kitchen or pantry.
- Rats and mice leave droplets of urine as they explore. They use the scent of urine to help them orient themselves. As rodents reproduce, the smell intensifies. Mice are the worst because they reproduce quickly. One female can have 5 to 12 pups in a litter and produce a litter every 19 to 21 days.
- All rodents leave droppings on stored furniture, insulation, and surfaces. Use caution when cleaning up rodent waste. Always wear gloves and a protective mask.
- Rodents can carry ticks and fleas into your yard and also bring them into your home. Infected ticks and fleas can present a health concern.
It is best to keep rodents out of your home if you can help it. Let's shift gears and talk about how you can apply four simple exclusion methods to stop rodents in their tracks. We'll apply what we've discussed so far.
Four Simple Yet Effective Rodent Exclusion Tip
Once you understand how rodents in Bennington behave, all-natural exclusion tips are simple. When you're looking to get total control of rodents on your property and keep them from getting inside, these four steps will get you started.
Tip 1: You'll want to begin by removing the factors that attract rodents to your property and make them want to explore your exterior. Each rodent pest is a bit different.
- Rodents eat nuts. First and foremost, it is not wise to feed squirrels. Not only can squirrels get the wrong idea and decide to live with you, but rats and mice love nuts too. If you have nut-producing trees in your yard, you'll need to stay on top of cleaning those up to avoid attracting these types of pests.
- Rodents eat seeds. It is not commonly understood, but a bird feeder is also a rodent feeder. Rodents will climb up to get at the seeds and also eat the seeds that fall to the ground. Consider getting rid of bird feeders or attaching them to slippery poles that are high enough to keep squirrels from leaping up to the feeders.
- Rats and mice prefer a yard that has objects on the ground. They go from object to object and use them for navigation. Norway rats are fond of junk piles and will create their burrows underneath.
- Rats and mice follow their noses. If they catch a whiff of decaying organic material, they'll head toward it. Managing trash can help prevent trouble with rodents.
- Rats and mice like to hide under structures. They'll use your back deck, patio, shed, etc. Use hardware cloth or chicken wire to keep them out of these zones.
Once you've altered your yard to make it less interesting to rodents, you'll want to consider how to stop the occasional rodent from entering.
Tip 2: You'll need to address the common routes rats, mice, and squirrels use to enter Bennington homes. These routes bring rodents onto your roof.
- Trim branches that hang near your roof or touch your eaves.
- If you can't trim branches, consider wrapping metal flashing around tree trunks. Rodents can't get a foothold on this material.
- If you have a pipe on the side of your home, install a rodent guard to prevent rodents from using that pipe to get up onto your roof.
- If you have powerlines that connect near your roof, apply a guard to stop rodents from running across and leaping onto your roof.
- Install a wire mesh material into the exit points of your gutter system to keep rodents out.
When you block or cut off access to your roof, rodents won't have access to vulnerabilities up there.
Tip 3: You'll have to block access to your home by applying physical materials. At the heart of exclusion work is the application of expanding foam, caulk, metal flashing, hardware cloth, and other protective materials. There isn't much to say on this topic. Seal gaps and cracks and fill in holes that could allow rodents to squeeze into your home.
Tip 4: You may need extra rodent control if you have unusually high rodent pressures. If you remove attractants and keep finding evidence of rodent activity near your home, such as droppings and gnaw marks, you may need help. Contact a professional for rodent pest control. Your professional will apply tamper-resistant bait stations strategically around your home to cull rodent populations.
Now you have what you need to keep rodents out of your home. Let's end by looking at what to do if rodents are living inside your attic and wall voids.
The Best Rodent Control Solution For Your Property
There are three kinds of rodent control.
- Solutions that address lawn pests like voles and gophers, which don't enter homes.
- Solutions that address occasional wildlife pests, like squirrels, using live traps and special exclusion devices.
- Solutions that address rats and mice. Rats and mice require the strictest form of rodent control. In light of the harm they cause humans and their ability to grow large populations, live traps are not used. They require disposal.
Contact Quality Pest Control for a strategic and appropriate rodent control solution in Bennington. We'll help you find the right solution to meet your needs.