What temperature do you prefer in your home? 70-78 degrees is comfortable for most Americans, although some prefer it cooler or warmer. Whatever temperature you prefer, we can assure you of one thing: Your home is the perfect temperature for rodents as long as it is warmer than the weather outside! Every year, during fall and winter when temperatures drop, rodents look for ways to get into homes. If you are not prepared, your home could become their residence this winter.
How To Identify A Rodent Infestation
It is usually easy to know when your home has rodents, especially if there are more than just a couple. You might hear them in your walls and ceiling voids late at night scampering about. You may find holes chewed through baseboards giving rodents a quick way in and out of the cover of your walls. You will also start to find pellets of fecal matter inside cupboards, cabinets, and in other places, rodents have roamed inside your home. If rodents get into your home, chances are, you will know it.
In addition to the above signs, you may also notice an ammonia smell in the air (a result of rodent urine around your home) holes chewed through cardboard food boxes, and even lights going out or outlets not working, caused by rodents chewing through electrical wiring inside your walls.
How Rodents Can Get You and Your Pets Sick
Rodents are more than just annoying pests, they are dangerous as well. Known for being able to spread over 35 diseases through their fecal matter and urine, rodents are one of the most dangerous pests you could have living in your home. Some of the most common diseases rodents have been known to transmit include hantavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, plague, and tularemia.
Rodents are known hosts for fleas, ticks, and mites. If infested with these parasitic pests before getting into your home, a whole slew of additional problems may arise. Fleas, ticks, and mites have their own laundry list of illnesses they can transmit to you or your pets.
Some Prevention Measures To Keep Rodents Out Of Your Home
If you are worried about rodents getting into your South Carolina home this fall and winter, here are some preventative measures you can take to keep rodents at bay.
- Use wire mesh and a caulking gun to seal up holes, gaps, and cracks around your home’s exterior. Have larger exterior damage to your home repaired by a professional.
- Store leftover foods and foods packaged in cardboard boxes inside of plastic containers.
- Clean regularly and thoroughly.
- Keep your yard free of debris.
Who To Call When Rodents Invade
For a small infestation of only a couple of rodents, store-bought traps baited with peanut butter might do the trick. Larger infestations, however, require the services of a commercial pest control company. If you are up against a rodent infestation in your South Carolina home, the Experts here at The Original Bugman Pest Elimination, Inc., of Columbia are here to help. Give us a call today to talk about your options for rodent removal and prevention. We are here to help!
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