Mice invade approximately 21 million American homes each winter, causing damage and presenting serious health risks. If you notice scurrying or scratching sounds in walls and ceilings, musty rodent odors, and messes in storage areas, it’s time to call a mouse control company.
After mouse extermination, keep them out by sealing entry points. Critter Control also provides preventative rodent control maintenance services to ensure long-lasting protection. Contact Rodent Retreat now!
Rodents like mice, rats, and squirrels can chew on wires and rafters, tear down insulation, leave droppings and urine around the house, and create hard-to-remove nests in attics. These animals can also carry disease-causing parasites.
Unless you seal entry points, rodents will continue entering and destroying your house. In professional circles, this is known as “exclusion,” and it’s the best way to keep mice out of homes for good. It breaks the repeating cycle of pest control and gives you a home that’s free of mice for years to come.
The habitat around your house is a major factor in determining whether or not animals will enter. A lot of brush on the ground level makes for a good nest, and tree limbs that offer highway access to your roof or attic are another common problem. In addition, a well-fed rodent can do considerable damage in just a short period.
Rodents enter structures through many different areas, but some of the most common are gaps around doors and windows, cracks in foundations, loose shingles, gaps under doorways, holes in attic or crawlspace vents, and poorly fitting garage doors. If a rodent can’t find an open entry point, it will use its sharp teeth to gnaw its way through wood and other materials until it can fit.
A typical mouse or rat can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime, so it’s important to check all entry points for these types of gaps. The company you hire should be able to inspect your entire structure and recommend the best solutions for each area.
In general, rodent-proofing consists of sealing up any openings bigger than a mouse or rat. This includes repairing leaky pipes and faucets, installing tight-fitting door sweeps and weather stripping, and closing up any gaps around garage or exterior doors. It’s also a good idea to cover the inside of any vents in your attic or crawl space with mesh to prevent rodents from entering those areas.
A large mouse infestation usually requires more extensive rodent proofing and additional treatment to keep the mice from returning. Infestations of smaller mouse numbers may be able to be solved by cleaning, disinfecting, rodent proofing, air sealing and reinsulating the attic or crawl space.
Sealing Entry Points
If you’ve attempted to tackle a mouse problem yourself, setting traps and cleaning up the resulting droppings, and have been unsuccessful in eliminating your rodent infestation, it may be time to call a professional mice exterminator. Mice can breed quickly and infest homes of all sizes, destroying insulation with their feces and urine, creating a fire hazard by chewing through wires, and spreading disease. While rodenticide is a great way to rid your home of an established mouse population, it will only allow the same problem to resurface within a few weeks because other mice will enter through any un-sealed entry points.
Often, the first signs of mice are the gnawing or chewing of wooden objects around your house. This is because mouse front teeth, known as incisors, never stop growing and must be continually gnawed and chewed to keep their shape. Mice can chew through wood, drywall, brick and concrete, but can also squeeze their bodies through openings as small as the size of a nickel.
To prevent these critters from entering your home, we inspect and seal all possible entry points. This includes both inside and outside your upstate NY home. Cracks and gaps should be caulked, holes in walls filled with steel wool or a combination of both, and worn weather stripping replaced. We can also install door sweeps under exterior doors, grates over drains, and screens over vents. We can even replace window well covers that have been ripped off or are missing entirely to prevent mice from gaining access.
Decks and landscaping can hinder a complete inspection of your property, but our experienced carpentry crews can easily handle the necessary repairs to eliminate any entry points. We can also recommend ways to help you keep mice and other pests out of your home, such as by storing food in airtight containers and keeping trashcans tightly sealed, sweeping fallen leaves and debris away from your foundation, and cleaning out gutters regularly.
Mice can crawl through the attic and tunnel into an entire building to find shelter, warm water, and food. During the winter, this becomes especially problematic, as mice can cause extensive damage to the structure, contaminate insulation with their urine and feces, and create a fire hazard by chewing on electrical wiring. We can also seal attic vents to keep mice and other pests out, and provide chimney caps and flashing to prevent ice damming and roof leaks.
Trapping
The most effective way to prevent mice infestations is rodent exclusion. This includes sealing the areas where they enter your home. It also includes sanitation measures to minimize food sources and shelter for rodents on your property.
Your local pest control professionals know the most effective techniques to eliminate and prevent mouse infestations. They can also recommend sanitation practices that will help prevent mice from entering your house in the first place. This includes installing door sweeps, grates over drains ven,ts, and screens on chimneys and exterior openings. It is also important to trim vegetation close to your home so that it cannot provide a bridge for mice.
Mice are incredibly resourceful and can find entry points into homes through cracks, crevices, and holes smaller than a pencil. They can also chew through brick and other hard materials to get into a space. Their incisors never stop growing, and as they chew, they may cause damage to your home’s wiring, insulation, duct work, and electrical components.
Getting mice out of your house is essential to avoid expensive repair and cleanup costs. In addition, mice and their droppings can spread disease to people and pets, contaminating food and water and causing respiratory problems. Your local pest control specialist will conduct a thorough interior and exterior inspection to look for signs of mice, nests, and entry points. They will then use a variety of trapping methods to capture the mice and keep them out for good.
Most mice traps are baited with poison, but because mice are instinctively cautious and experience “bait shyness,” they will often ingest just a small bite of the poison and then run away from the trap. As a result, traps must be checked regularly, usually every hour, to ensure the rodent is dead and has not been able to escape.
Some companies offer ongoing trapping services for rats and mice, and you should compare offered plans and estimated pricing before committing to one provider. Make sure you choose a company with certified technicians who are trained in humane trapping and will treat your home or business safely.
Extermination
A mouse infestation is dangerous and should be dealt with immediately by a qualified mice exterminator. These small rodents can cause extensive damage to your property, chewing through walls and ductwork while searching for food and shelter. Their droppings are hazardous to human health and their constant gnawing can lead to costly damages to your home’s structure and possessions. They are also capable of transmitting diseases. If left untreated, a mouse problem can lead to soiled attic insulation, ruined food in cabinets and pantries and damaged electrical wires.
Mice enter homes and business through numerous entrance points, including the chimney, vents, windows, and doors. Often, these entry points can be sealed by the homeowner, but many are not, especially when a home is under renovation. The best way to keep mice out of a home or office is through exclusion and habitat modification. Exclusion is the process of making a space less attractive to nuisance wildlife by sealing openings and covering access points such as vents, chimneys, and windows. This is a time-consuming and often costly process, but it can be one of the most effective methods to prevent future mouse problems.
A quality mouse exterminator will not only seal entry points but make the necessary permanent improvements to keep mice out of a home. Using this method is more expensive than simply tossing out poison bait, but it is far more effective and prevents the return of mice once the current infestation is eradicated.
When hiring a company for rodent control, read reviews from past customers and compare offered plans to find the right fit for your needs and budget. Once you have narrowed down your options, call a few companies to receive pricing and estimate information.
Make sure to ask if the company offers a free inspection prior to signing a contract. Most reputable pest control companies, such as Terminix, Orkin, and Hawx, do this and offer a satisfaction guarantee. If the company you choose cannot provide an exact quote without an inspection, consider switching providers. While this may seem risky, it is better to switch than to sign a contract with a company that will not follow through on their promises.