Most homeowners are familiar with the uneasy feeling that comes with discovering mice or other rodents within your home. Even the calmest homeowner may become alarmed by a rodent sighting, whether it occurs in the dining room, attic, basement, kitchen, or garden. A building or home can be invaded by these ubiquitous pests through the smallest crack or entrance, and they only need a small amount of space to move about. Mice can easily squeeze through a nickel-sized opening.
Particularly in the colder fall and winter months, rats seek protection inside, and once they’re there, they may cause more damage than just an unwelcome infestation. By chewing through cables, rats put homes in danger of electrical fires. However, rodents are more typically used as carriers of bacteria like salmonella, polluting food sources, kitchen surfaces, and equipment. Hantavirus, which can be lethal, is also known to be spread by the common white-footed deer mouse.
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Remove Outdoor Food Sources
Rodents love gardens with fruit trees. If you have fruit trees on your property, you need to regularly remove any fallen fruit on the ground. Prune your trees to minimize the number of hiding places. Wrap a 2-foot high steel sheet around the trunk of your tree to protect it from rodents.
Ward off pests by adding plants from the mint family and planting in the perimeter of your garden. You can also prevent pests by spritzing predator urine along the edge of your garden. This is typically available at your neighbourhood garden centre in both liquid and powder forms.
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Seal Cracks and all other Entry Points
Rats can squeeze through quarter-sized holes. Search your house for any openings that are that big or bigger. Use the necessary materials to seal them. You can use cement, plaster, hardware cloth, caulk, and steel wool. For larger cracks, you may need to weatherstrip your windows and doors.
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Try Using Rat and Mice Traps
These are distinct from lures in that they really confine rodents. This is the best option if you want documentation that the rat was captured or if the infestation is in your attic, where it is more difficult to find dead rats after they have consumed deadly bait. In addition to traditional wood traps, there are contemporary mechanical traps that are incredibly easy to place and remove rats from.
Glue traps are an excellent way to capture rats in difficult-to-reach places like under stoves and refrigerators. Once the rat is caught in the glue trap, you must discard it in your outdoor trash because glue traps are not harmful.
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Deny Rats and Mice Shelter
Rats also require a safe haven where they can rear their young and be safe from predators. Roof rats are notorious for climbing onto roofs using overhanging branches before entering attics through weep holes and vents. Other rats make their homes in dark, quiet backyard areas like lumber piles, abandoned storage sheds, and idle old cars. Rats can find plenty of cover in overgrown bushes and shrubs. Given a place to hide during the day, nocturnal rats will be content to emerge at night in search of food.
Therefore, deprive these rodents of shelter and safety if you wish to avoid an infestation. There won’t be somewhere to hide if your backyard and storage sheds are cleaned up. Trim bushes to prevent rodents from finding shade. Make sure that the weep holes and vents in your roof are sealed with sturdy wiring that prevents rats from entering while allowing air and moisture to flow through.
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Seek the Help of the Pros
If you’ve discovered rats on your walls, use a local, reputable service for rat control in Toronto so you can get rid of them. Rat control professionals can identify the points of entry the rats are using to access your home. They can determine their nesting place and food storage area and remove them from your walls without causing additional damage to your house. Expert pest control in Orillia can assist you in finding the source of the problem and preventing future rat infestations.
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