You’re on your couch, enjoying a spooky movie to get you in the Halloween spirit when you start to hear some suspicious noises. It only takes a moment to realize they’re not coming from your TV. Skittering and scratching echo throughout your home, and it can only come from one place: your attic.
Nervously, you climb the ladder through the attic door, the noises only growing louder as you do. Quickly as you can, you pull the string to the singular lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. You look out into the cramped space in horror, only to be met with not just one but many pairs of eyes staring back at you. No zombies, no vampires, not even masked face of Michael Myers could be as scary as this – an attic full of rodents.
Crucifixes and silver bullets won’t do anything to stop these little invaders from destroying your decorations, keepsakes and electrical wiring. However, The Bug Man has a few tips and a rodent story to share to keep the horror movie soundtracks and potential disease from rodent-dwelling parasites on-screen only.
If You Give a Mouse an Opening…
One of the more destructive pests is the common house mouse. While the name alone makes them sound quaint and harmless, these little rodents – along with their larger relatives, like rats – can breed quickly. For example, female mice can have between 5 and 11 litters each year, with each litter containing about five or six pups (or pinkies); in about a year, that can add up to hundreds of new mice to the little habitat brewing in your attic.
Like house mice, rats will wriggle through spaces you may not even notice and make themselves at home among your old photo albums, even using the paper and plastic to craft their nests. The damage won’t just be contained to your attic, however. These critters will nest in the gaps of your insulation and walls, likely near your plumbing lines in order to have access to water. They create little trails between their nests and the nearest food source – which is now your kitchen – in order to stay hidden while still eating their fill (and chewing up your linen, furniture and other decor in the process).
Ir-RAT-icate Their Chances
If your home is currently rodent-free, let us help you keep it that way! The Bug Man offers comprehensive exclusion work around your home to plug up the holes that act as doorways for mice and rats.
Keeping your home clean of food scraps and plumbing leaks is also key. Though both will eat just about anything, mice mainly prefer oats, cereals and vegetables. On the other hand, rats thrive on eating meat – including their mousy neighbors – as well.
If you know your problem is small and plan on setting a few traps, keep in mind that while mice are more curious, rats are cautious of any unnatural environmental changes. If a rat inspects a set trap and realizes that it’s dangerous, your chances of catching it will quickly diminish.
An Attic Nightmare Story
The Bug Man had a homeowner digging in boxes in their attic and heard some little squeaks in a corner. She quickly called The Bug Man to help come save the day. When our technician did an attic inspection, he found four baby raccoons in the insulation of the home. The mother had her babies in the attic but then went missing. The babies soon began to make a lot of noise because they were hungry. This was when the homeowner heard them squeaking.
We were able to remove all four raccoons before they got big enough to do any damage and reproduce in the attic. Raccoons, squirrels and rodents are very common in attics due to easy access from gaps in a roof and rafters. They will use tree limbs touching the roof to enter the structure as well as wiring on the side of the home to crawl up. This situation was a bit more difficult since the babies were buried under insulation so we had to follow their squeaks to get to them.
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Though they aren’t quite as creepy as Freddy Kruger, the potential damage caused by intrusive rodents is a real threat to your home and health. Don’t let these pesky rodents get the upper hand; call The Bug Man! Along with our exclusion work, we also offer a rodent program to deal with problems of any size. Like your own personal rodent Ghostbusters, our pest control professionals have the specialty tools and expertise to give you back your peace of mind.
Do you have any nuisance animals such as rats invading your home or just have questions about these unwanted guests? Request an in-home estimate today and we will help you solve all of your pest problems! Please contact The Bug Man for all your nuisance animal needs at (225)923-2847 or visit our Contact page.
