Mice and rats can enter the home 365 days a year, but they become especially relentless in the winter when they are looking for shelter from the cool, rainy weather.

Mice and rats most commonly enter homes through cracks in the walls, floors and foundation. They are resourceful, which means if you don’t carefully inspect your home from the ground up, you could miss the very spot where they are getting in.

If you’ve continued to hear or see rodents in the home, you need to increase your prevention method. Knowing why they keep getting into the home is key.

Where are the Most Common Places that Rodents Get in Through?

• Gaps in windows and ceilings

• Sewer lines

• Sink or bathtub drains

• Cracks in walls and floors

• Cracks in the foundation

• Entry holes around plumbing

• Entry holes around oven gas lines

When are Rodents Most Likely to Come into My Home?

Remember, rats and mice will enter homes any time of the year, but during the fall and winter is when the most infestations are seen. The temperatures start to drop, and even though the weather is still mild in Louisiana, it’s natural for warm-blooded animals to start seeking shelter as a means of survival. When a colony finds a safe, warm place to call home, they rarely leave the area. Instead, they get comfortable, running through your walls or attic, leaving droppings all over and causing ruckus by scratching and squeaking.

Additionally, rats increase in numbers quickly, and one colony can turn to over 200 members in a few short months. You can’t deny their presence by this point.

I’ve Tried to Get Rid of the Rodents, but They Keep Coming Back. Why?

We’ve heard this story from multiple clients. They use some type of extermination method, but slowly, the rats come back.

Why?

Almost always, the answer to this question is because there is some entry point that is NOT sealed up.  That’s what pest companies mean when they use the phrase wildlife exclusion.

Rodents are small and have a flexible build, so they are able to slip through even the tiniest gaps and cracks. That’s why it pays to have a professional exterminator like Dugas Pest Control come to your home.

We have professionals who are trained to look for and identify entry points where wildlife is getting in. Once all of these areas have been identified, the holes need to be sealed up.

We don’t use a generalized approach, either. Instead, we implement the best solutions for sealing up the entry points based on the structure of the home or business. Generally, we use a cement or metal material to seal up the gaps since mice can’t chew threw these materials. If you haven’t been using a material that is strong and chew-resistant, it’s possible that the rodents have chewed right through it.

Also, our exterminators come back for a follow-up to ensure that all entry points are successfully keeping rodents out.

Sealing up holes and gaps is so critical to long-term protection, you shouldn’t even attempt trying to trap the rodents until you have sealed up the cracks. Otherwise, new rats and mice will just keep getting into your home, which is probably what has been going on for you. Also, when the holes are sealed up, it’s much easier to trap the rodents. There is nowhere for them to go, so your efforts are much more effective.

Prevention goes a long way in keeping all wildlife out of your home. Remember, you want to make your home look unappealing, so that includes keeping food in sealed containers and disposing of food scraps and waste as soon as possible. These scents are known for attracting animals like rodents, and it won’t be long before they are scoping out your home to see if it will be a great place to spend the fall and winter months.