Five Handy Rodent Control Tips For West Palm Beach Property Owners

When mice or rats get into your West Palm Beach property, they damage your property and make you sick. Fortunately, you're not likely to have both of these pests at the same time. Mice and rats rarely infest a man-made structure together.

You'll have one or the other, but that doesn't mean you'll have fewer rodents. Mice and rats can grow large populations, and the more rodents you have in your property, the more of a threat those rodents will be.

Today, we're going to offer five handy rodent control tips, some of which might just surprise you. We'll be focusing on rodent management for homeowners for the sake of simplicity, but these tips work to keep rodents out of businesses as well.

Plug The Holes

It only takes a hole the size of a dime to allow a full-grown mouse into your home. Mice have the ability to rearrange their internal organs to slip through holes that seem too small for them to get through. Rats have a similar ability.

A big, fat rat can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter! Inspect your home and locate any potential entry points these animals can use to get in. Some tools for this job are a caulking gun, wire mesh, and a foundation repair kit.

Reduce Pathways

Your roof and roofline are vulnerable to rodents. To keep rodents out of your home, you need to make it more difficult for them to get up there. We have three suggestions for this:

• Trim branches away from your roofline.
• Put wire in your downspouts.
• Apply spikes at the point where power lines connect with the side of your property.

Remove Food Sources

Food is a strong motivator for mice and rats. Some food sources, such as pet food or livestock food left outside, are obvious. But some food sources aren't obvious. Do you know that, in a pinch, rodents will eat feces? If you have a dog that leaves droppings in your yard, you may invite rodents to infest your home. Here are a few more potential food options for rodents:

• Birdseed that falls on the ground. Resourceful rodents will attempt to get at seeds "before" they fall to the ground. Consider moving feeders away from your exterior walls to reduce rodent activity.
• Open trash. You may not realize it, but mice and rats can jump high in the air and scale walls. Don't let their size fool you. If you leave your trash receptacles open, they're likely to find a way inside. The food you throw away can be a culinary treat for a mouse or a rat. Keep your trash covered to keep rodents out.
• Put fencing around gardens, berry bushes, and fruit trees. Install the fence at least a foot below the surface to keep rodents from burrowing under.

Remove Harborage

Rodents don't prefer to run around out in the open. As they explore your yard and landscaping, they will look for places to hide. Here are a few examples:

• A rodent will hide under or inside lawn clutter. Consider removing objects that don't need to be in your yard.
• A rodent will feel more comfortable in tall grass. Keep your grass and other vegetation trimmed neatly.
• Some rodents will dig burrows under objects that are in piles. Store piles indoors if possible.
• Rodents love stacked wood, brush piles, and other organic debris. Keep this debris away from your exterior walls.
• Rodents love rock piles and squeezing into the gaps of stone walls. There isn't a whole lot you can do about this other than to be aware that stacked stones may be attracting rodents to your property.
• Rodents will get under external structures. Apply fencing to keep them out.

Trapping

The best way to perform successful rodent control in West Palm Beach, and to prevent rodent infestations in your home is through the use of traps. Traps should be deployed and maintained by a licensed professional for the greatest level of protection.

At Native Pest Management, we use a mix of inspections, exclusions, and the management of tamper-proof traps to keep pests out of West Palm Beach homes and businesses. 

Connect with us today for immediate assistance with West Palm Beach home pest control and commercial pest control services.