They might be adorable, or they might be big and awful, however their relentless need to chew is not helping your home. Rodents can do major damage to your paneling, wallboard, insulation and siding. The mess they leave in your kitchen area cupboard is frustrating, sure, and with the costs of food increasing you can’t afford to fork out for your furry pals’ dinners as well as your own.

Take on the rodent problem as quickly as you spot indications of their existence – don’t wait until you find yourself leaping onto a chair to stay clear of that rodent racing across the kitchen. By this point, you’ll be waging a war rather than simply safeguarding your borders.

If you’ve discovered the presence of critters early enough, you may be able to use non-lethal force. It may be a matter of blocking their entrances and motivating them to go elsewhere.

If you have children or family pets you might need to attempt natural rodent repellents. Some people suggest putting cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil close to openings and in areas rodents frequent. Others swear by keeping small bowls of black pepper near food areas. Bunches of mint and/or lavender may be another way to deter the little (or larger) critters. Another option is an odor based repellent – these use the odor of predatory animals to scare rodents off.

Keeping in the humane vein, live traps can be successful, however only if you take your unwanted tenants far enough from home that they can’t find their way back. Be conscious that rodents spread disease, which you may want to think about before you go shuttling them around town. The regular, lethal traps are probably a much safer, more reliable option. Think about the placement of your traps. A lot of rodents have bad eyesight and keep close to the walls, only venturing into open space when needed so set your traps along the walls and behind furnishings.

For others who wish to keep their hands clean, or who have a persisting rodent problem, getting a feline can be an excellent service. Keep in mind, not all cats are born mousers and you might inevitably need to step up your game. Depending upon where you live, you might want to fortify the perimeter of the home by constructing nest boxes to bring in natural predators like barn owls.

When all else fails (or if you haven’t the patience to wait that long), it’s time to rely on poison. The nature of rodents means that they will consume a little, wait and if they don’t get ill, return for another meal. Prior to using a poison, you may want to leave out non-poisonous food for a couple of days, so that the rodents learn to trust the food source prior to adding poison.

There are lots of reasons you might not prefer to use traditional anticoagulant poisons, the main ones being that the poison can trigger toxicity in children and other animals. Unintentional death is a possible outcome depending on the type of poison and how soon the patient is treated – be sure to keep the poison out of reach of kids and family pets. Some animals can get secondary poisoning by consuming the poisoned rodent, which can happen when the poisonous rodent goes outside to die. If you have other family pets and kids you need to take care that they are not in contact with the bait or the dead animal.

When you have ultimately won the fight, make an effort to prevent round 2: make an effort to keep food stored in sealed containers and be aware of pet food, garden composts and other possible lures. Make use of bird feeders that recapture any excess seed, rather than permitting it to become snacks for unwanted rodents. By eliminating the food incentive you can forgo inviting those rascally rodents for a return visit.

Do not forget our rodent removal service is always available to help address your questions or set up a service call.