During the summer months rodents, consisting of rats and mice, find abundant food, shelter, and water outside with plenty of warmth. During cooler months and those weeks leading up to them, food becomes scarce and rodents begin to find new places to live and eat. Often these ideal places of refuge are your home or business. Rodents must be removed when they infest because they spread filth and disease by contaminating all the areas they touch. Rodents cause vast amounts of destruction to homes, businesses, crops, and property worldwide every year! Rats have even been known to chew through wires and cause fires! Yikes! Once infestations reach large levels, control can become difficult, expensive and bothersome to the stakeholders.
You might be asking yourself, what can I do to prevent rodents from entering my home or business this fall and winter. The answer is simpler than you might think! Rodents will enter a facility through some of the smallest nooks and crannies. Believe it or not, rats need just about the size of a quarter opening to enter a structure and mice often need just the width of pencil. Being that both rats and mice are excellent climbers, all holes from the roof down to the ground MUST be sealed. Torn screens in attics, windows, and other areas often provide access for rodents to enter a facility. Gaps in doors, gaps in pipe chases and gaps in walls and foundations also provide excellent entry points for rodents. Being that rats are extremely good at climbing, especially the roof rat found heavy throughout the panhandle of Florida, it is important to trim all trees and vegetation from your facility by at least 18 inches, but 24 inches is even better! Remove all dead vegetation, garbage, and debris from around your property to avoid attracting and hosting the rodents on your exterior. As rats often need a water source close to the areas they inhabit, it is essential to remove all potential standing water sources from around your property. Because mice can live without a significant water source so long as there is food and that food in and of itself is an attractant, it is necessary to make sure all food storage areas are inspected and sealed up in tubs if necessary. For further peace of mind, have a pest control professional out for a rodent inspection service on your home or business before it gets cold. For longer-term protection and extra peace of mind consider purchasing a rodent service plan for your business or as part of the residential pest plan on your home.