5 Tips to protect your home from rodents
November 14, 2021
As the weather turns colder, your home begins to look more and more like home to rodents too. Cases of rodent infestations always spike in the autumn and winter; the colder temperatures mean their outdoor nests are no longer suitable for a home. So instead, they look for shelter, warmth and protection elsewhere.
Unfortunately for you, this ‘elsewhere’ is most probably your home! So, what can you do to prevent them from gaining access and keep your property protected from the threat of rodents?
This article discusses how to identify rodents on your property, the damages they can cause, followed by 5 top tips you can use to keep your home to yourself.
Signs of rodents
Here’s a list of common signs to look out for when identifying rodents in your home:
- Droppings – the most obvious sign of a rodent infestation. Rodents like rats and mice will leave a large number of droppings wherever they go.
- Urine – the smell of urine is unmistakable. Use your nose to track down the presence of rodents in all areas of your home.
- Nests – rodents will utilise any materials they find lying around to make a nest. So look for piles of scrap paper, cardboard and fabric scraps across your property.
- Chew marks – rodents have front teeth that never stop growing. To grind them down, they will chew on anything they can find. So check items like storage boxes, for example, for small bite marks and holes.
- Noises – rodents are primarily active during the early hours of the morning and night. Listen out for the sound of their footprints running across your home.
What damage can rodents cause?
Rodents are surprisingly damaging creatures. Their constant need to grind down their teeth means they will gnaw their way through any material they can find. For example, it is common for them to chew through wooden beams and posts, resulting in structural damage to your property. As well as this, they will often nibble on wires and cables that can result in hefty costs to fix and even fires.
As previously mentioned, they will leave urine and faeces wherever they go. This creates a huge health risk to you and your family as they are known carriers of diseases transmitted through their waste products.
As soon as you identify a rodent problem, you need to take action. Contact a pest control professional, or if you’re looking to take matters into your own hands, visit a pest control supplier, like 1env Solutions, who stock rat control and proofing measures.
Preventing rodent infestations
We’ve put together 5 top tips that you can use to keep rodents away and protect your home from the damages of a rodent infestation:
Tip 1 – Secure your property
Take the time to check your home for holes, even ones as small as a grape! Remove the opportunity for access by blocking up any potential entry points. Check both the interior and exterior of the building for little gaps that rodents can squeeze through, block them up and keep the pests out.
Tip 2 – Cut back shrubbery and trees
Overgrown vegetation is the perfect hiding place for rodents. They can also use overhanging branches from trees to access high points of your property – particularly your loft space. Aim to keep a gap between your shrubbery and your property to reduce the chances of them gaining access.
Tip 3 – Keep your home clean
Excess clutter and rubbish provides rodents with a generous amount of nesting materials, as well as a source of food. By keeping your home and garden clutter-free, you are making your property less appealing to rodents. It can also help to secure your waste storage areas. If you have piles of rubbish building up or your bins are overflowing, you should clean up the area and make sure bins can be closed.
Tip 4 – Remove outdoor food sources
If you have fruit trees or berry bushes in your garden, you are increasing your chances of a pest infestation. You can remove these plants altogether, or if you intend to keep them, you should regularly pick up the fruit that falls from them. Fallen fruit is an ideal sweet treat for rodents, so you should do your best to keep your garden free from them.
Tip 5 – Get a pet
Definitely the cutest rodent prevention method out there; pets act as a natural deterrent for all rodents. Their presence will be easily detected by anything attempting to enter your home, and it will make them think twice. Dogs and cats will leave their scents around the property, which will signal to rodents that your home is not up for grabs.
Follow these tips to keep your home and everyone in it safe from the threat of a rodent infestation.
For further help, why not try this natural deterrent method.