A Few Simple Steps for Rodent Prevention

As cooler weather approaches, homes throughout the Houston-Galveston area will be greeted by unwanted guests. We’re not talking about the in-laws, we’re talking about rodents. Once these pests infiltrate your home, they’ll reproduce at an alarming rate. Before you know it, you’ll have a full scale infestation on your hands. Take a few moments to check out some handy tips from the rodent prevention experts at Holder’s Pest Solutions.

Keep Clean to Keep Rats Out of Your Scene

Starting with the areas outside and around your house, work to eliminate or at least distance potential nesting areas for these unwanted pests. Leaf piles, deep mulch, garbage, and clutter provide great spots for rats and mice to congregate. Keeping these things near your home is an open invitation for rodents to loiter. If you are composting, remember to turn your pile over to cover new food scraps. Inside the home, cleanliness is the best policy. Take your garbage out regularly and keep it in containers with tight fitting lids, eliminating the potential for critters to dumpster dive.

Seal the Holes: Keep Out Rats, Mice, and Voles

Check your home for common rodent entry points. Any areas where pipes or cables go into your home offer easy entry points for mice and rats to squeeze through. Other areas like your chimney, soffit vents, any loose siding, and AC chases are also popular points of entry. A simple way to prevent mice and other rodents from coming into your home is to cover these access areas with steel screens or wire mesh. Caulk also works as a temporary fix for cracks or holes around your home.

Trim Trees so You Don’t Give Rodents the Keys

Take some additional measures to eliminate some things that make it easy and attractive for rodents to enter your home. Low hanging branches that are near your roof make an easy springboard for roof rats, squirrels and other pests to gain access to your roof and enter your home. Trimming these back will make it much more difficult for these unwanted guests to get in.

If Rodents Show, Call a Pro

Rodents are a very persistent bunch, so they may find ways around all of your safeguards. If you find yourself in the midst of a rodent infestation, call the pest control experts at Holder’s right away.