Every year I seem to post a rodent exclusion video or at least something equivalent to it. I do this because during the winter months rodents seem to be a major concern for lots of folks in and around the Houston area. As it starts to get cooler outside rodents like to come in for warmth and shelter. Half the time the home owner doesn’t realize they have a rodent problem until one more or one night they hear something scurrying across their ceiling. Now according to the customer it sounds like there are 235 elephants running on their ceiling. I try and assure them that there are probably a few less than that up there and I’m almost certain they are not elephants.
When we get a call about hearing something in an attic we first need to go investigate to see if its squirrels or rodents. A good rule of thumb is squirrels are active in the day time and rats are more active in night. Once we get in an attic we look for evidence such as droppings, trails all along the insulation, and burrow holes deep inside the insulation. These are all signs of rodent activity in the attic. Setting off snap traps is the next procedure. We have to place them in certain areas that we are trained to know to insure the proper kill rate for these rodents. One thing you never want to do is throw rodent bait in an attic. The rodents are attracted to it and they will eat it. They will also die from it and if you can’t find the dead rodent soon it will stink, stink, stink.
After we have set up traps in the attic we need to figure out how they got in your home and seal up those areas. Sometimes its pretty obvious on where the rodent is going in and out by the dark oily stains on the wall or siding of a house. Sometimes it’s not so obvious. Now don’t forget a rodent only needs the size of a quarter hole to get in so there may be lots and lots of openings that are potential entry points.
Below is a quick video I made describing some of the same stuff I just wrote. If you or anyone you know have any issues or questions regarding rodents, please contact us at 281-469-8240 or info@mcgrathpestcontrol.com and we will be happy to help answer any and all questions.
