subject: Take Steps To Keep Rodents From Making Your Home Their Home [print this page] Anyone can end up with rodents inviting themselves into their home, regardless of where in the world you live. Every country has rodent populations, and every country has homes that become infested. You need to continually take steps to deal with these rodents before they take over your home.
Keeping rodents away from your home is an ongoing effort. You need to make your home as unpleasant of a place as possible for rodents, and keep it that way. One of the first steps to take is to remove any potential homes for the rodents. Anywhere near your home, you should remove any tall weeds or piles of junk, including old cars. Old boards and wood piles make good hiding places, and trash provides a reliable source of food. Remove all of these from your yard, and store anything that you can't remove at least a foot above the ground.
Once you have removed all comfortable sources of living space for rodents, it's time to go through your home and remove their food sources. Keep the trash tightly covered, and remove any leftover pet food from bowls before you go to bed for the night. In your pantry, keep any sources of food sealed away in something that the rat can't chew through. Boxed meals, bags of flour or sugar, and even bars of soap can be potential meals for rodents. Keep these put away in plastic containers with tight sealing lids.
You likewise need to cover up any potential entry point to your home. Rodents can squeeze through any space that their heads can fit through. Rodents can easily convert a dime-sized opening into an entry point, most of the time without even needing to widen the space. Search your home, including the roof and the gutter system, thoroughly for any of these areas and plug them up. Caulk is a good sealing measure, while wider spots can be covered with 1/4 inch screen or cemented shut.
By taking these preventative measures, you should be able to keep rodents out of your home. If you suspect that you already have rodents, leave a few access points opened so that they can escape, rather than die in the walls. Set traps every night. Rats are much more intelligent that mice, and will be more difficult to catch. Remain patient and continue setting out traps with fresh bait. Eventually, you will rid your home of these invaders.
