About 20 years ago I had a conversation with a professional exterminator who specialized in rodents. Quote: “There is never just one mouse.” So chances are if you’ve seen one in your home, they have some friends around too. You did nothing wrong they are just looking for shelter and food. Here are some tips to keep your home rodent free.
- That food thing? Start there, make sure there are no open containers, bags of pet food or easy access to anything a rodent could eat.
- Walk around the outside of your home and make sure you are not creating any safe havens for them. Piles of wood, garbage cans or anything close to the house can create a safe place for them to try and enter your home. A mouse can fit through a hole the size of a dime. Inspect and seal up those holes, cracks and breaches in your siding, brickwork or foundation with a Gap and Crack product.. Large gaps can be filled with rodent resistant expanding foam. Others use caulking and make sure to fill all the gaps.
- Use baits outdoors. If you choose to use baits the trick is to feed the rodents outside of the home not inside. If you have pets you will need to be mindful of the type of baits, you use and keep your pets protected from them. Read the label and make sure it fits your homes situation so you’re keeping pets safe. If you do not want to use baits, then repellents can be effective. The trick here is you need to replenish them every 3 weeks or so.
- Use repellents and traps indoors to keep the rodents away. These are particularly effective indoors. The odor the repellents give off is actually not bad for humans, but rodents do not like it.
For more helpful tips and advice, visit Ace Hardware’s Tips and Advice
Published: 9/9/2020
