Each year, mice, rats, and other rodents inflict over $20 billion in damage on American homeowners and food producers. Rodents are the most populous group of species of mammals, numbering more than 4,600 types, and are found in some of the world's most remote corners. They vary wildly in size, from dwarf jerboas barely reaching 2 inches in length to capybaras, growing over 4 feet long.
The single trait that unites all rodents and is also responsible for the majority of damage they incur - is a set of ever-growing incisors. Cursed with teeth that do not stop growing throughout their lifetime, all rodents do their best to keep them in check by gnawing on walls, furniture, and just about anything else they find around them. Incessant gnawing aside, rodents carry a number of contagious diseases, contaminate every surface they come in contact with, and are known to trigger allergic episodes when people are exposed to them.
Let's take a look at what can be causing your home to become infested with rodents, what you can do to prevent different types of rodents from entering your home, and, just in case prevention fails, what treatment Hattiesburg pest control professionals recommend for effective rodent control.
Why Does My Home Have Rodents
Like most other pests, rodents are interested in two simple things as they consider your home for their new nest location; easy access to plentiful food (which, with their extremely well-developed sense of smell they sense in our pantries) and comfortable, climate control environment that lets them escape the extremes of the weather outside. The fact that the walls of your home effectively separate them from just about all their natural predators does not hurt either.
A mouse can squeeze through a crack less than a quarter inch wide, chew through a drywall and plywood wall, or, if that fails, run up a vertical wall to make it inside your home. A roof rat will balance its way across hundreds of feet of phone wire or tree branches to sneak into your attic, and a Norway rat will burrow deep enough to bypass your home's foundation to sneak into your basement. Unfortunately, there is no way to make your home unattractive to rodents without making it unlivable to homeowners, making stopping their infiltration ever more critical.
Five Tips For Effective Rodent Prevention
Once rodents in Hattiesburg enter the inside of your walls, their single goal seems to be causing as much damage as possible. They will contaminate every surface they step on, destroy the food in your food stores, and spread a number of contagious diseases like hantavirus, leptospirosis, and tularemia.
For a homeowner, the best way to avoid being exposed to the unpleasant realities that travel hand in hand with invading rodents is to do everything possible to keep them outside your walls, such as:
- Seal all cracks and crevices in the outside walls.
- Store human and pet food in sealed containers.
- Dispose of garbage regularly and keep it in rat-proof containers.
- Reduce clutter to remove places rodents like to hide in.
- Cut down the shrubs and tree branches around the perimeter of your home.
A female mouse can have up to 10 litters each year, each consisting of a dozen mice, filling your home with over a hundred rodents in less than a year. As a last but likely most effective preventative measure, consider adding yearly pest inspection to your arsenal.
Total Rodent Prevention For Homes In Hattiesburg
Skilled home pest control professionals can use their training and experience to identify the signs of a rodent infestation. At Havard Pest Control, we specialize in using environmentally friendly rodent control treatments to help Hattiesburg homeowners keep their homes and property rodent-free. We have over 70 years of experience and will be happy to help you keep your home rodent-free.
The Last Step Is To Prevent Rodents From Coming Back
Our service team member will start a rodent inspection by examining your property to identify the paths rodents could utilize to make it into your home. Once the rodent roadways are closed, there is no need to worry about new rats and mice entering your home. We'll clear the invaders out and review a strategy to keep them from returning.
Call Havard Pest Control today for a free home inspection if your Hattiesburg property is infested with rodents.