People tend to think of rodents in Louisville as a winter problem. After all, mice, rats, and other rodents like to stay warm and need food during the cold winters, so they try to get inside your home for shelter and a snack! The thing is, rodents don’t just disappear once summer comes; if they’ve made your home their own, why would they leave? In fact, if they’ve found a good nesting spot that’s sheltered and near a food source, they are likely to remain in your home well into the summer.
Unique Problems of Rodents in Summer
In the summertime, rodents bring an additional problem to your Louisville home: the introduction of other pests. Fleas and ticks don’t just hitch rides on family pets like dogs and cats; they will hop on board any warm-blooded critter, including rats and mice. Even if you don’t have pets, you may still deal with these pests because of the rodents entering your home.
Rodents also gnaw incessantly and can do lots of damage to your home. One type of damage rodents can cause are the holes they can chew around doors or through your walls and siding. These holes can provide entry points that other pests like cockroaches, spiders, bees, and other pests can use to enter into your home.
Norway rats are a prevalent pest along the Ohio River. They are excellent swimmers, allowing them to migrate easily when the river is flowing in the summer. These rodents can also swim in sewers and pipes, and have even been known to swim up into toilets.
Preventing Rodents in your Louisville Home
There are several methods you can employ to try to prevent and get rid of rodents from your home, including:
- Sealing up cracks and holes along your doors, windows, and foundation, closing openings where pipes and wires enter your home, and using weather stripping under doors, especially in the garage.
- Remove outdoor food sources such as pet food and bird seed, as well as sealing up trash, and protecting garden areas.
- Keep your home tidy by cleaning up crumbs, sealing food in airtight containers before storing it in the pantry, mopping and vacuuming often, and removing trash on a regular basis.
- Setting rodent traps in basement and attic areas.
While the above prevention methods are helpful when dealing with rodents, they are not always effective at eliminating a current infestation. If you are dealing with a rodent infestation, you will need to enlist the help of the professionals at Action Pest Control. To eliminate these pests in your home, we will:
- Inspect your home to evaluate your rodent issue.
- Choose a treatment plan that is best suited for your family situation, choosing non-chemical treatments for homes with pets and children.
- Perform treatments on a schedule appropriate for your rodent problem.
- Help with exclusion work to keep pests out, if so desired.
Preventing and eliminating rodents from your home should be a top priority. They carry diseases, contaminate your home with their droppings, and the damage your home by gnawing and nest-building. Don’t ignore rodent problems in the summer because you are under the impression rodents will disappear when it gets warm. At Action Pest Control, our priority is keeping your Louisville home free from rodents. Contact us today to learn more about our residential pest control options!