Complete Guide To Rodent Control In Jasper

Habits And Behaviors Of Common Rodents

Each of the rodents mentioned above differs in certain ways. We've already touched on some of the differences, such as how Norway rats prefer to live in the ground and how roof rats prefer to live in trees. Let's discuss the habits and behaviors that turn them from backyard rodents to indoor pests.

Navigation: Do you know that rats and mice have poor eyesight so they must use their other senses to navigate? They are so adept at using their senses of touch, smell, and hearing, their navigation in utter darkness is easy. When a rodent comes to the edge of your property, it doesn't know that your home exists. The reason it enters your yard is that it is drawn to explore areas that attract them. A rat or mouse may pick up the subtle scent of garbage from your trash receptacles, hear noises that intrigue them, or detect objects on the ground in your yard. Slowly, they scurry across your yard, going from object to object until they find their way to your landscaping or the void under a deck or exterior stairs.

Food Sources: Once a rat or mouse finds its way to your exterior, it is prompted to stay if food is found. What do they eat? Bird seed, grass seed, berries, tree fruit, unprotected garbage, nuts, and sometimes bugs. Squirrels eat these things too but they do it openly. You won't have to wonder if you have squirrels around your home. They are active during the day and they use their keen eyesight and sense of smell to find food on your property. While squirrels differ from rats and mice, all of these pests are drawn to food, and available food can lead to unwanted entry.

Tight Spaces: Rats and mice are always touching stuff. They run along walls and objects on the ground. They squeeze into the gaps of ground objects and hide in the tight spaces of wood and stone piles. The attraction to touch stimuli is called thigmotaxis, and this behavior brings rats and mice into your home. They can't help but squeeze through a gap around a pipe or underneath an exterior door. You need to block these routes to keep rodents out.

Routes: All rodents are excellent climbers, though some are slightly more adept. A rodent that is a skilled climber can not only scale a tree and jump on your roof, it can scale a pipe on your exterior, work its way up a downspout, or simply climb up the exterior surface of your home. They do this with their claws. Unlike Spider-Man, who can apparently wear boots and gloves while climbing, rodents need their claws exposed to scale exteriors. But we digress.

Smells: When a rodent passes by an exterior door and catches the scent of food leaking out of a gap in your weatherstripping, it may investigate. You can prevent this simply by making sure the seals around your exterior doors are complete. Even a tiny mouse can make short work of chewing its way past weatherstripping. The material is not robust enough to stop them. The real benefit weatherstripping provides is that it seals smells inside.

Do you see how it works? There are factors that can attract rodents to your yard and lure them into your home. You can work to keep rodents out by applying methods and materials to deter them. It is essential to deter them.