How to Get Rid of Rats and Mice

RATS AND MICE

As the temperatures begin to cool, the food supply for rodents begins to shrink and they seek out new places for food.  It could just be a period of heavy rain that causes rodents to look for higher ground and a new food source.  Many people have these furry uninvited critters visit their homes and offices and need to get them out.

RODENT PREVENTION

Sanitation
The best prevention with any pest, including rodents, is sanitation.  Be sure to keep anywhere you have food clean and food sealed.  Keep your trash cans and surrounding area clean

Perimeter Defense

• Keep your grass cut to the proper height and have your yard free of debris piles.
  
• Keep branches off your house since some rats enter homes this way.
  
• If you can see light at the bottom of a door, including the garage door, a mouse will be able to get through.  Install a weather strip to keep rodents out.
  

Buy a Cat
The average domestic house cat kills an average of 10 mice per year.  Cats are natural hunters and will stalk mice, among other things, and prevent you from having them in you home.

Professional Rodent Bait Stations
If you have a recurring problem with rodents, it is time to call the professionals.  They can install bait stations along the perimeter of your home which will get rid of an outdoor problem before it becomes an indoor problem.

RODENT DETECTION

Aside from outright seeing them, there a few signs that will clearly tell of a rat or mouse problem.

Everybody Poops

• Check your attic and all of the base boards of the walls around an area you suspect rodent activity.
  
• Mice drop small pellet size feces and they do it a lot.
  
• Roof rats drop spindle shaped feces up to a quarter inch long.
  
• Norway rates have crescent shaped feces, shiny and black up to a half inch long
  
• If you notice some that are two to three inches long and look like dog feces, you may have a raccoon problem.
  

Tracking
You can track a rodent's movement by using dust. (cornstarch, baby powder, etc)  Sprinkle some on the floor at the base of a wall where you suspect rodents to be moving and let it sit overnight.  If they are there, you will see footprints in the morning.

RODENT REMOVAL

Poison Bait Blocks
Using poison bait blocks is a common go to method for ridding your residence of rodents.  It is fairly effective, but does have a few drawbacks.  Naturally, the rodent will die and you have no control over where that is.  That will lead to a horrendous smell radiating from somewhere in your home or office for about two weeks.  There is also the issue of safety since it is poison. You must be extra cautious with your placement if of the bait blocks if you have children or pets.  I would not recommend using poison pellets since they can be moved easily and can lead to accidental poisoning.

Traps
Everyone has seen a mouse trap.  They are simple devices that lure in a rodent with bait and clamp down on them when they touch it.  Be sure to get the correct size trap.  If you are dealing with a large rat, a mouse trap will not work.  Secondly, be sure to use the correct bait.  Use whatever the rodent is eating in the house as bait, otherwise use peanut butter.

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Glue Boards
There are two types of glue boards.  The first is a baited glue board.  These work very similar to the traps listed above.  You will probably bait them with peanut butter and when the rodent goes for the bait, they will get stuck on the glue board and unable to escape.  The second type of glue board does not use bait.  You simply place the board along an area where the rodent is likely to run through.  The idea is they will go along their normal path and cross over the board and get stuck.  This is technically the only non-lethal method of fixing your rodent problem.  A lot of people think of this as a humane way of dealing with pest.  The issue is once the rodent is caught you are not going to set them free so they will simply starve to death.  You will also have to be careful when disposing of the rodent since they may still be alive and can bite or scratch at you.

RODENT SAFETY

Rodents are disgusting.  They spread disease, have ticks and fleas and can live in sewers or waterways.  Be sure to wear rubber gloves when dealing with anything related to them.  Thoroughly clean any areas where you know have had rodent activity.  Wash your hands thoroughly when finished cleaning.




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