Rodents are warm-blooded creatures. As temperatures drop, they will be looking for warmth and sources of food – AKA your home! Once inside the house, they will nest in piles of clothes, beneath appliances, inside your pantry, kitchen cabinets or drawers. They will tear apart toilet paper, cardboard, drywall for bedding; they’ll rip apart electrical cords for the heck of it; they will eat your food and they will go to the bathroom all over everything. What are the ways rodents get in your home? This blog will tell you.
How Do They Get In?
There are multiple ways mice can get into your house, and they will find creative ways to enter.
Here are five main ways mice enter:
- Garage: An open garage door creates a very easy way for mice to enter the house, especially if the garage is attached to the house. They don’t need much time and they can certainly scurry by you and your car unnoticed.
- Holiday Decorations: During the holidays, many might put decorations outside. Mice may burrow in the decorations, and once the decorations are taken down and put inside, the mice are inside as well.
- Holes and Cracks: Mice have unique bodies that allow them to squeeze through window openings and wall cracks.
- Ventilation: Every house needs ventilation, however, it is a convenient place for mice to enter.
- Sewer Lines: Mice are good swimmers, and sewer lines are a popular way they enter homes.
See also Winter Rodent Infestation
How Can I Keep Them Out
- Make sure your garage door is closed at all times, even if you are working outside.
- Check decorations and other outside items before taking them down and into the house. (You may also want to store decorations in a shed.)
- Fill any openings, holes, or cracks in the home with caulk or spray insulation to keep mice out. Look around water pipes and wiring for any space where they can squeeze in. It doesn’t take much!
- Use metal screening to cover ventilation stacks.
- Make sure to cap any open drain pipes, especially under a sink or uninstalled toilet.
- Store your foods (crackers, cereal, pet food, even un-cooked pasta) in sealed containers and monitor for crumbs under counters, fridge, and other appliances.
- If possible, store firewood off the ground. Firewood is a favorite hideout for mice and rats.
- Remove your clutter to reduce the hiding spaces mice might find.
How Do I Know I Have Rodents
Although mice are tiny creatures, they can leave a complete mess in their wake. Look for chew or scratch marks, torn tissue paper, food crumbs on shelves, mouse droppings, nests, and listen for scratching or squeaking noises. If you find pasta from the pantry inside your snow boots in the coat closet – a rodent is most likely the culprit.
While it may be tempting to try to treat a rodent infestation on your own, using store-bought products can be ineffective and expose your family and pets to potentially harmful chemicals and/or traps. Holistic Pest Solutions will treat the root of the infestation with long term solutions designed to keep them from coming back. There are literally hundreds of ways rodents can get into your home and even MORE reasons they’ll want to come into it in the first place.
We hope you’ve enjoyed these Holistic Holiday Decoration Ideas! Happy Holistic Holidays from your friends at Holistic Pest Solutions. Please CONTACT US if you need treatment for any type of household pest… call us at 434 842 1700. Whether you’re in Charlottesville, Palmyra, Keswick, Ivy, Crozet, Earlysville, Greene, Madison, Waynesboro, or Staunton, Holistic Pest Solutions has the perfect plan for you that is mindful of your family and our Earth!
*Our Environmental Commitment: Holistic Pest Solutions is committed to the preservation of our environment. Our goal is to nurture the soils and plant life of lawns and landscapes. Utilizing holistic pest control practices that cause the least amount of impact on the environment.
