How Do Rodents Find Their Way Into My Lake Worth Home?

When you find a rodent in your home, you may wonder, "How on earth did that get in here?" If you continue seeing rodents inside your home after you've taken meticulous steps to keep them out, it is likely to leave you flabbergasted. Yet flabbergasted you'll be. You can count on it. Rats and mice can surprise you in many ways. But there is a way to reduce how much they'll surprise you. How? By reading this article! Today, we're going to describe the kinds of rodents that get into Lake Worth homes, some clever ways they accomplish the task, how to figure out if they've gotten in (or are still in after you've worked to get them out), and some general tips to let rodents know they're not welcome. When you're done reading, you won't be a rodent control expert, but you'll definitely have some great ideas to get you started with rodent management. If you want help, we're happy to assist. You can always navigate to our contact page and connect with us for professional rodent pest control in Lake Worth. We offer a range of control solutions to address common rodents in our region. With that said, let's dig into our topics for today. 

What Types Of Rodents Are Active Around Lake Worth?

Three types of rodents commonly invade homes. They are rats, mice, and squirrels. Why do we say "types" of rodents? Because there are several species in each group and different rodents behave differently. Here's how it works.

• There are several mouse species, but the most common mouse that lives in houses is aptly named the house mouse. It is dark gray with a white underbelly. If you see a deer-colored mouse with a tawny top and a white underbelly, that is a deer mouse. You will have fewer issues with deer mice as they prefer to live outdoors.
• There are primarily two rat species of concern in Lake Worth. They are Norway rats and roof rats. They are easy to distinguish from each other. Norway rats are larger and brown. Roof rats are smaller and black. If you see a brown rat scurrying through your yard, you can expect that it is going to attempt to enter your home through ground-level entry points. If you see a black rat, you can expect it to scale trees, run across powerlines, and climb up the sides of your home.
• The most common squirrel pests in Lake Worth are grey squirrels and flying squirrels. They are similar in many ways. Both may decide to get into your attic, have a few babies, and go back outside when they're done. The reason they do this is that squirrels can't tell the difference between your house and a tree. Since they live in trees, it only makes sense to live in your attic.

Now that you have some groundwork in place, let's build on that foundation. We'll pull the curtain aside and reveal the mystery of how these pests can enter your home as if by magic.         

How Do Rodents Get Inside Lake Worth Homes?

Each of the rodent pests above will enter your home somewhat differently. Once inside, they'll do different things. In both cases, it is helpful to understand these subtle differences if you want to get them out and keep them out.

House Mice: A house mouse can fit through a gap the size of a dime, jump more than a foot into the air, and scale your home in surprising ways. They'll use these abilities to jump, climb, and claw their way up to a gable vent. They'll squeeze through the louvers and chew through wood to enter your attic. It is amazing to watch in a video but frustrating to deal with in real life.

Roof Rats: A roof rat can fit through a gap the size of a quarter, jump about 36 inches straight up, and leap more than four feet. If a roof rat finds a branch near your home, it can leap many feet to get onto your roof. Once up there, these rats can make short work of roof penetration seals, soffits, eaves, and shingles.

Norway Rats: A Norway rat can create a burrow in the ground underneath something in your yard. It can go from that hiding place straight into your home. It may gnaw on the concrete around a pipe and squeeze through a gap slightly larger than a quarter. It may chew a hole through the weatherstripping on your garage door and find its way into your home through vulnerabilities inside your garage.

Squirrels: A gray squirrel can leap as far as nine feet. Flying squirrels can glide. Both are highly efficient at going from nearby trees to roofs if they are sufficiently motivated. They can also climb most exteriors as they would a tree. In fact, all of the rodents listed here can scale exteriors to some extent.      

Do you see how rodents may surprise you? They have natural abilities that allow them to gain access to Fort Worth homes in a variety of ways. 

How Do I Identify A Rodent Problem In My Home?

Knowing how to detect rodents in your home is critical, particularly if you intend to take steps to get rid of rodents. Let's walk down through some helpful signs that rodents have taken up residence in your residence.

• Noises. When you hear thumping in your attic, you can tell that something is up there. If you hear the noises during the day, it is likely you have a squirrel. If you hear the noises at night, rats or mice are your problem. When you hear noises in your walls, it is an indication that rats or mice are working their way down from your attic to invade your kitchen or pantry.
• Droppings. Rodent excrement is black. Mouse droppings are slightly smaller than grains of rice. Rats are slightly larger. Squirrel droppings are marginally larger than rat droppings, but hard to differentiate if you don't know the subtle characteristics. One characteristic to look for is that rat droppings are tapered on the ends, and squirrel droppings are rounded.
• Nests. Rodents create nests from natural materials, such as twigs and leaves. They'll also gather materials in your home to create nests. You won't have to wonder if you've found a nest. The materials will likely look out of place in whatever environment you find them in. For example, finding the stuffing from a couch cushion stored in your attic inside a drawer of a dresser is not something you'll miss. It is also a clear sign of a mouse infestation.
• Holes. Rodents create holes. You may find holes in low areas, such as underneath the overhang of your kitchen cabinets. You may find a hole in a wall behind your oven. You may find holes in your stored food packages, or other stored items. Access holes that allow rats or mice to go from wall voids to interior spaces don't need to be large. Keep this in mind.
• Urine. Rats and mice leave their urine to mark the areas they live. They use the scent of urine to help them navigate in the dark. The more rodents you have, the greater the scent will be.    
• Trouble in your attic. If you're brave, you could take a flashlight and go up into your attic and perform an inspection. When rats, mice, or squirrels get into an attic, you'll see several of the warning signs listed here.

When you find rodents in your home, the next step is to decide what to do about them. We have some suggestions. Let's look at how to get rid of rodents in Lake Worth. 

How Do I Get Rid Of Rodents In My House?

It isn't easy to get domestic rodents to leave your home, even furry-tailed rodents that typically stay in your yard. It is hard to trap a squirrel with a live trap or use a trap to capture rats and mice throughout your home. Plus, traps are only one piece to the rodent control puzzle. If you intend to get rid of rats and mice on your own, we strongly recommend protecting food options and applying sanitation. These two rodents are motivated by food. A little mouse will eat 15 to 20 times a day. If you remove their ability to find food in your home, they may go elsewhere. Squirrels aren't impacted by food control or sanitation. They get food outside your home. When a squirrel leaves your home during the day, you could patch the hole it's using, but keep in mind that you will have trouble if you separate a momma squirrel from her babies.

If you need help addressing rats and mice in Lake Worth, contact Above And Beyond Pest Control. We use industry-leading solutions to address house mice, field mice, Norway rats, and roof rats. We can also provide suggestions to address squirrels. Give us a call or drop us a line. We have the answers to your pest control questions.