Did you know there are more than 2,000 species of rodents? Their key characteristics include:
- Incisor teeth that gnaw and chew (their front teeth never stop growing)
- A wide variety of food sources, including leaves, fruit, seeds and small invertebrates
The most prevalent types of rodents in Washington are rats, mice squirrels and moles. In addition to native rats, non-native rats are very common in the Pacific Northwest; they're often referred to as Old World rats as they were brought to North America on early voyagers' ships. Because of their adaptability, they're now found in homes throughout the region.
How to Tell if You Have Rodents
Rodents like rats are often most active at night, although when there's a change in weather, they're hungry or their living conditions become crowded, it's not uncommon to see them any time of day.
If there aren't very many rats:
- You'll likely only be able to see a burrow entrance about 2-4 inches in size.
If there are a medium number of rats:
- You'll be able to find droppings and signs of gnawing.
- You'll hear them at night.
- Your pets (especially cats and dogs) will react to areas in which they hear and smell them.
If there are a lot of rats:
- You'll easily find fresh droppings and signs of gnawing.
- You'll be able to see and hear them both day and night.
How to Deter Rodents in Your Home
The Washington State Department of Health offers the following tips for deterring rats within your home:
The best way to prevent a rodent infestation is to remove their sources of food, water and shelter.
- Store pet and people food, bird and lawn/garden seed, and animal feed indoors in containers with tight fitting lids.
- Clean up food waste and use thick plastic or metal garbage cans with tight lids.
- Keep the area around your home and outbuildings clear of junk and debris.
- Trim vegetation and don't allow plants to grow up alongside your house.
- Clean up fallen fruits or nuts from trees and animal waste.
- Routinely mix compost piles to encourage rapid decomposition.
- Store firewood, lumber or hay at least 12 inches off the ground and away from your home.
How We Help With This Type of Pest Control
We always start with by determining the size of the rodent problem. We ask you, “What have you seen, heard or smelled?” By accurately assessing the situation, we’re able to create a custom solution for your home.
We start with exclusion, or sealing your home. This could include repairing crawl space vents and crawl doors to fixing weather stripping on doors and burrowing under foundations.
Once we finish exclusion and they’re either trapped inside or outside, we place snap traps and/or glue boards in crawl spaces to monitor and eliminate activity.
Seven to ten days later, we’ll come back for a follow-up to:
- Check traps
- Remove any rodents we catch
- Check all our exclusion work
If we find any problems with the exclusion we performed, we will repair it at no cost.
If you sign up for our preventative service, this is when we would install exterior bait stations help control the rodent population.