As the weather turns colder, your home starts looking pretty good to rodents around it with its sheltering warmth and abundant food supply. Every year, thousands of homes in Western Washington are invaded by mice and rats, which cause millions of dollars of damage, spread multiple serious diseases, and contaminate everything around them.
If you're starting to hear scurrying noises in your attic or from within your walls, there is a very good chance you're dealing with a rodent infestation.
Most rodents in Washington state are nocturnal and experts at staying out of sight. By the time you'll have a chance to see a rat or a mouse scurry across your floor, the infestation is most likely in full swing, and the rodents are venturing out further from the nest to look for food.
The key to minimizing the damage caused by invading rodents is recognizing the early signs of the infestation and reacting quickly and appropriately to them. Let's look at how to spot signs of rodent presence in your house, what types of rodents you're likely to run into, and how to find reliable pest control in Monroe if your home is infested.
How To Identify Common Types Of Rodents In Monroe
Identifying the rodents invading your house is the first step to effective rodent control in Monroe.
In the area around Monroe, your home is likely to be invaded by the following rodents:
- House mice: House mice are 2 1/2 to 3 3/4 inches long, not counting the tail, with round bodies and big ears. They're usually grey with cream-colored undersides. These mice are the most common rodent to invade your Pacific Northwest home.
- Deer mice: Deer mice grow up to 8 inches long, with brown fur and white undersides, reminiscent of a deer. You're most likely to run into one in your yard, but they might decide to spend the winter in the garage or outbuildings.
- Norway rats: Norway rats are the largest common rat species in the United States and grow up to 9 1/2 inches long, not including the tail. Their bodies are long with small eyes and ears and usually brown with grey or white undersides. Norway rats are excellent burrowers, and you're likely to encounter them in the basement of your house or the outbuildings.
- Roof rats: Roof rats are a bit on the smaller side with a body 6 to 8 inches long. They're usually brown with black or grey underside and sport big eyes and ears. Roof rats are famous for their climbing abilities, and you should watch for them in the attics and around the roof line.
Regardless of what type of rodents in Monroe decide to make your house their home, acting quickly before the infestation gets out of control is essential.
Rodents Can Spread Disease And Damage Property
Like most other rodents, mice and rats have teeth that grow continuously and can gain over 14 inches of length each year. They gnaw on just about anything in the vicinity to keep their teeth manageable, but their favorites seem to be wooden furniture legs and plywood in the house walls.
Once in the house, rodents will do their best to contaminate your food as they're looking to feed and spread multiple serious diseases, such as :
- leptospirosis
- rat-bite fever
- tularemia
- salmonellosis
- jaundice
- cowpox virus
- trichinosis
Ticks and fleas that hitchhike inside the house on these furry hosts bring a new set of problems and diseases with them.
How And Why Rodents Find Their Way Into Our Homes
Like any other pest, rodents are driven by two simple desires; access to food and shelter. Over the millennia, they've developed into quite the infiltration artists-mice can squeeze through a dime-sized hole, run up a vertical wall, or, if that fails, chew their way through the plywood and drywall of our home walls.
To prevent rodents from getting into your house, follow these simple tips:
- Seal any holes in the outside walls and foundation larger than 1/4 inch.
- Store food in sealed containers.
- Make sure trash is kept in tightly sealed trash cans
- Don't store wood next to the walls of your house.
Rodents are clever and capable and, more often than not, able to overcome DIY prevention and rodent control methods.
The Most Effective Rodent Control For Your Home
If you see signs of rodent infestation, it's time to call in a professional. At Guard Pest Control, our licensed and experienced pest control technicians will remove invading rodents from your Monroe home, locate the pathways they used to get in and ensure you won't have to deal with a re-infestation in the future.
If you can't find peace in your home thanks to a rodent infestation, give us a call today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Monroe.