Not only is a rodent infestation a health hazard, but it can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your home as well. If you’ve noticed even one mouse or rat in your home, it’s important to investigate further to ensure you don’t have an infestation on your hands. Keep reading to learn more about why rodents infest homes, the damaging impacts they have, and how to get rid of them.
Why Are There Mice in My House?
Mice and other rodents most often make their way indoors due to easily accessible entry points around your home. They’re always looking for food and shelter, so they will quickly move in if they find it. Your home can be especially prone to infestation if you live near an area that mice frequent (such as a field). If they discover a home with easy access to food and water, an infestation can get out of hand fast.
Impacts on Your Home & Health
Most people are aware of the health-related dangers to a rodent infestation because they can transfer diseases, but some don’t know the severity of the damage that rodents can cause to your home. Their ability to chew threw nearly anything can cause thousands of dollars worth of rodent damage.
Structural Damage
Rodent infestations often result in structural damage – they chew through your home to make convenient passageways. Since this typically occurs in hard-to-find areas, pricey repairs are needed once the infestation is cleared.
Electrical & Pipe Damage
Electrical damage can be another damaging effect of a rodent infestation. If any electrical wires get in their way, they won’t hesitate to chew through. Not only is this type of damage expensive to fix, but it can also be a safety hazard to your family if undetected. Some species can even chew through pipes!
Ruined Food Sources
Rodents can also contaminate food sources (they can chew through cardboard and plastic products). If this happens, you have to throw out the entire package because of their ability to transfer deadly diseases. Just a few rodents can easily ruin your entire pantry of food.
Smells
Finally, a severe infestation can leave pungent odors in the home that take time (and plenty of spendy treatments) to remove.
How Do I Prevent Mice in My House?
Luckily, there are a few ways to prevent mice and other rodents from moving into your home if you don’t already have an infestation.
Seal Entry Points
Since the only way rodents can get inside is through entry points to your home, it’s important to eliminate this. Make sure to check all potential entry points such as cracks, holes, torn window screens, spaces under doors, and anything else (rodents can squeeze into surprisingly small areas). If you hire professional extermination like Aptive, we ensure to identify entry points and help you eliminate them.
Remove Food Access
If you’re suspicious of an infestation, you should ensure they have no access to your food. Storing your dry foods in glass can help deter an infestation (they can’t chew through glass). Make sure to keep the kitchen as clean as possible by immediately washing dishes, cleaning up spills, and ensuring there are no crumbs for them to nibble on. It’s also important to eliminate any sources of water they could be drinking.
Exterminating Infestations
Mice and other rodents can be difficult to get rid of on your own since they spend most of their time hiding, plus they reproduce quickly. You might catch a few in traps, but there will be plenty of others where those came from. On top of this, it can be hard to utilize proper elimination methods if you don’t know the exact species of mice or rats. For example, roof rat extermination requires different methods than norway rat extermination because roof rats nest above ground.
Luckily, Aptive Environmental offers rodent extermination services from fully trained pest professionals. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the rodents returning – our service ensures that we will come back at no additional cost if the pests we exterminate come back. We take extensive measures to keep the infestation away for good!
