Mice control in the Portland and Vancouver area
The cold weather is coming to the Portland Metro area next week and the rodent population is looking for a warm place to hunker down. Rodents seek warmth and safety in the same place that you do, your home. So, how can you keep rodents out of your home this winter? We have some advice for you.
Rats and mice are always on the search for a place that is a safe and warm. Once they find this, they start having babies, lots and lots of babies. A female mouse can have up to 56 pups a year, which means that once they get into your home, they can spread extremely fast. On top of this the scent of rodents, draws more rodents since they are attracted to the smell of other mice. So, you can see that the problem can get exponentially worse once they get into your home.
How do mice get into my home?
A mouse can fit into an extremely small space. Basically, if your pinky finger can fit, so can a mouse. On a home, there are many opportunities for a rat and mice to gain access, but there favorite place to get to is your crawlspace. A crawlspace usually has insulation that keeps them warm and provides ideal nesting material. It also will keep them safe and hidden from predators, so once they move in, they are there to stay. Gaining access to a crawlspace is fairly easy for a rodent, but the most common points of entry are through your foundation screens. If you were to walk around your home right now and check all of your screens, there is a good chance you would find an entry point. Most commonly, you will find gaps around wires or condensation pipes that come out of your screens. Even if a screen is in place, you will often have a gap around the pipe or wire.
The other common source of entry is through burrow holes outside. A rodent can easily burrow under the footing of your foundation to get into your crawlspace. Look for quarter size holes for mice and tennis ball sized holes for rats.
Aside from these entry points, rodents can also get in underneath the garage door fairly easily or find any number of other access points.
How do I keep rodents out of my home?
The first thing you should do is address the obvious. Fix foundation screens using 1/4 inch screen mesh or stuff the entry points with steel wool. For the holes in the soil around the foundation, fill them up with pea gravel, but keep in mind that they can just keep digging new ones, so be persistent.
Despite all of your best attempts, the rodent population might be more than you can handle on your own. Consider calling New Leaf Pest Control in Vancouver, Washington for a free inspection and estimate. We can prepare an estimate to not only eliminate your rodent problem, but come up with a plan moving forward to keep them out.