What Sort Of Damage Do Rodents Cause
Coming home from a long day at work and you just sit down on the couch to read a book. You begin reading your book and start to hear some scratching and pitter-patter that sounds like it is coming from above you. As a homeowner, you are deeply afraid of what it could be. Rodents include, rats, mice, bats, and squirrels are all possibilities. You decide to take a look outside the home to inspect it for any obvious signs of entry. Surprisingly, you notice an opening under your soffit. It’s time to call your local pest control company. You must act fast before the damage is too extensive. What sort of damage do rodents cause? They will chew through anything. Wires, cardboard, plastic, and insulation. They love it all.
Let’s take a look below at some details regarding what kinds of damages rodents can cause.
What Type Of Damage
Believe it or not, rodents like to chew on a lot of items There really isn’t anything that a rodent won’t chew through. They gnaw on things like wires, cardboard, drywall, plastic, and anything that can provide them with food. In doing so, structural damage is highly possible through their gnawing, nesting, and defecating. Let’s take a look at some of the damages caused by rodents.
- Flooding – a rodent can chew on your pipes. Eventually, this will cause a leak in your home, and flooding could occur.
- Electrical failure – rodents like to chew on electrical wires. Once they break through the rubber coating of your wiring system, they can crush through the wiring and cause a shortage in your electrical system. This could end up starting a fire when you go to turn the circuit breaker back on.
- Insulation – they love to eat through your attic and wall insulation. The fibers in the material provide a great source of food for a rodent’s digestive system. They will also use the insulation for their nesting purposes.
- Electrical appliances – they will either nest in your appliances or chew the wires up, which could result in a fire.
- Automobile – if a rodent gets access to your garage, it can end up nesting under your hood. They will find a way to get up into the engine area and begin chewing on the wires that are associated with your car’s electrical system. This will cause some major damage.
- Furniture – rodents like to gnaw on your upholstered furniture so that they can create a nest for themselves.
- Anything – rodents really do not care what they eat. Rodents damage anything in your food storage area. They will chew on books, paper, heirlooms, photographs, frames, and anything wood, or easily chewed.
Mice and rats like to build nests in your home and leave their feces and urine everywhere they go. Rodents like these are capable of spreading diseases and using their sharp teeth to eat through wires. Any rodent infestation that occurs will need proper rodent control.
How Can I Prevent This
The easiest way to prevent rodents from causing damage in your home is to hire a local pest control company. However, there are some things that you can do to not make it so attractive to rodents. Let’s take a look below at what we can do.
- Place bait – rodent bait, poison, or something environmentally friendly are all options. If you place these items in high-traffic locations, it could lure the rodents in. They are very curious creatures and will likely eat the bait regardless.
- Pet food – always keep your pet food inside the home. The easier the rodents can access the food source, the more attractive your home becomes. They will end up inviting their friends to join at the moment they have a strong food presence.
- Dispose of your garbage – keep your waste in a tightly sealed trash bag and keep the trash bag in a tightly lidded trash can. Make sure that everything fits tightly together so that they cannot gain access to your trash bags.
- Yard cleanup – always keep your yard landscaped properly. Keep trees trimmed and away from your home. You don’t want to give them a direct bridge to your attic space. Also, keep leaves and other items from piling up. They use these piles as nests before they gain access to your home.
- Seal the home – check for all cracks and crevices or entry points and make sure that they are sealed up. Use items like caulk, mesh wiring, and wood to cover up or seal up openings that would allow a rodent to gain access to your home.
- Environmentally friendly – items such as peppermint oil, ammonia, onion, garlic, black pepper, instant potatoes, and mothballs. Scents like these will drive the rodent away. They do not like these scents and will die when ingested.
Other Recommended Maintenance
Now that you understand what type of damage rodents can cause, let’s look into what a rat’s nest looks like. If you understand what the nests look like, you can better understand what to keep away from your home so that rats don’t use it as a nest.
Next, if you notice that you have rodents in your walls, you might want to read up on how to get them out. The local pest control company might not be available to get to you in a timely manner. If this is the case, you will want to act fast and work to get them out on your own.
Lastly, make sure to inspect your roof vent pipes. There are a few varieties of vent pipes and rodents like to nest in them. Also, birds will often create a nest in the roof vent pipes and this could be bad for getting gases out of your home as needed. Look into what products you could use to cover certain roof vent pipes. Mesh screening is one item that often works.
When Do I Call A Professional
As soon as you notice a sign of a rodent, you will need to call your local pest control company. As a homeowner, it is not warm and fuzzy thinking about what the squeaks and scratching in the walls might be. Be sure to call a pest control company that takes your health seriously. Having an environmentally friendly approach is important. If you aren’t sure who to call reach out to your local home inspection team. They can inspect your home for any potential rodent access and also refer a reputable pest control company.
Conclusion
If you notice a rodent’s nest in your home you will likely have to temporarily move out. Exterminating rodents is not the easiest, especially when there are a lot of them. For your health and safety, moving out while the pest control team takes over and exterminates the rodents is key. Rodents can carry diseases and also turn your home into a very foul-smelling odor. Reach out to Warren Inspections in Eastern and Central Massachusetts for a pest inspection along with a full home inspection.