Indicators That You Have a Rodent Issue in Your Home

by | Jul 27, 2022 | Extermination

If you think that your home is infested with rodents but you’re still unsure about it, here are some of the signs to look for and pay attention that can help verify your claim: 

Seeing a rodent 

Seeing a rodent is the most apparent indicator of a rodent situation. And if there’s one, there’s a possibility that there are several more of them. Rodents tend to rapidly breed. A female house mouse can have 6 babies every 3 weeks up to 35 every year. Because of this, you shouldn’t wait to attend this rodent issue since it can get worse easily especially if you neglect this.  

Droppings 

Oftentimes, rodents leave their fecal matter in places where they found food, like along baseboards, inside cardboard boxes, under sinks, pantries, food containers, kitchens, and in cabinets. Once you can see droppings in your home, guarantee to refrain from touching them or clean them up right away. But make sure to use protective gear like masks and gloves since rodent droppings can carry illnesses.  

Gnawing marks 

When you’ve found weird holes in containers or bags or even in your plumbing, chances are you have a rodent issue. Rodents will chew through just about anything to search for water and food, such as pipes. Moreover, they will sometimes cause a fire hazard since they chew through wires in your walls.  

Strange noises 

No one loves to hear weird noises in their house, particularly at night, and particularly not in their walls. However, when you have a rodent situation, you’ll surely begin to hear such noises while they travel between their feeding and nesting areas.  

Rubbing or tracks mark 

When the rodents in your house have developed a nest, there’s a possibility that they also have found food. When you begin to find dirty or greasy marks along the bottoms of walls or floors, they may be the outcome of contact with the oily fur of the rodents while it looks for food.  

Rodent nests 

Rodent nests are mended together with whatever rodents can find such as bits of insulation, cotton, cloth, paper shredding, and more. Rodents usually create their nests in secluded and dark places like between or under the floors, in attics and walls where they will not be bothered. When you can observe one at your house, then it’s more likely that rodents are living with you.  

Things you should do about a rodent issue 

There are a lot of ways to keep rodents out of your house. These include the following: 

  • During wintertime, Inspect under your car hood for rodents since they are known to take shelter near the vehicle engine’s warmth. 
  • Minimize home clutter, especially in terms of the things stored on your floor. 
  • Add metal screening to your windows close to the ground and guarantee that you tightly seal the floor drains in the floor.  
  • Maintain your plumbing so that rodents cannot get access to water.  
  • Utilize concrete flooring in your basement instead of wood flooring to prevent them from chewing it through.  
  • Keep shrubbery and tree limbs near your house trimmed 
  • Caulk and seal any holes you can observe outside that can lead rodents inside your home 
  • Keep trash in plastic or a heavy-duty metal containers 
  • Keep food in rodent-proof containers 
  • Flush your storage containers always to prevent rodents to build nest around or reach them. 
  • Keep storage containers at least 18 inches off of your floor 

To remove rodents, you need to set traps with rat poison and food bait. But, make sure to consult a certified exterminator Memphis first to do it safely.