Carrollton Pest Control Company talks about “Rats and Mice”

Carrollton Pest Control Service owner Blake Williams of Service 1st Pest and Lawn offers advice on “Controlling Rats and Mice”.

Get ready for the fall invasion of Rats and Mice.  This time of year Rats and Mice begin looking for places to overwinter.  Your garage or attic make a perfect spot.  Inside there is food, water and shelter.  The best way to fight this battle is limiting rodent access to food, water and shelter around your home.

Remove Food Sources:

• Remove food sources around your house.  Some of the things that attract rodents to your property are Bird feeders, pet food dishes and trash cans. 
• Rats and Mice love bird food.  As a matter of fact most rodent bait is made with bird seed.  If you or your neighbors have bird feeders you should take care to keep spillage cleaned up and only put out small amounts of bird seed at a time.  In addition, you should store your bird seed in metal sealed containers.  Rats and mice will chew through plastic storage containers to feed. 
• Leaving pet food out provides another food source for rodents.  If you store pet food in the garage make sure it is in a metal container.  Only put out enough pet food for each feeding and pick up food bowls at night.
• Do not store household trash in the garage and make sure outdoor garbage cans are properly covered.

Restrict access to shelter:

• Most rodents enter houses through attached garages and then find their way to attic spaces following plumbing pipes in the walls up to the attic.  On each side of the garage overhead door there are gaps large enough for rats or mice to gain access.  A rat needs a half inch opening to gain access and a mouse only needs a quarter inch opening.
• Restrict access to the roof by keeping foliage trimmed and maintained at least 3 feet from the roof line. 
• If fence lines are high enough to supply roof access they should be altered or access restricted by other means in those areas.
• Look for openings at roof intersections and seal any openings a quarater inch or larger.

If rodents do gain access to your garage or attic you should eradicate them prior to restricting access so you don’t trap the rodent in your house.  For eradication you can try snap traps, glue traps or other traps.  Traps can be effective but many times the rodents will shy away from them.  The most efficient means of control or eradication is rodent bait.  The draw back of rodent bait is if the animal dies in the attic the carcass is difficult to locate and the smell of the rotting carcass will last 2 weeks or more.

If bait is used make sure it is placed in areas that are not accessible by kids or pets.  Pets will aggressively feed on rodent bait if it is accessible.  You can use tamper proof bait stations if bait needs to be placed in accessible areas. 

Once eradication is achieved entry points should be sealed to prevent future infestations.

 Carrollton Pest Control Service owner Blake Williams says “The best rodent control is prevention” Call Service 1st Pest and Lawn for help with your Fire Ant control, Termite control, lawn care or pest control needs, 940-594-8154.

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