There is something about sharing space with rodents that will make just about anybody cringe. And really, it probably should. Rodents are not healthy to have around, especially if you have young children. In fact, many historians believe the Black Plague in Europe, which killed at least a third of the population, was started by rodents passing dangerous bacteria. Despite our disgust for them, they don’t feel the same about us. There are even some species, like the house mouse, that have evolved specifically to mooch off of us.

First, before we get into how to keep them away from your Raleigh-area home this fall, let’s make clear exactly what we’re talking about. The North Carolina rodents we want to save you from are mainly types of rats and mice. Squirrels are rodents too, but they are the more outdoorsy cousins that won’t likely try to come inside. But despite myths to the contrary, bats are not rodents, rabbits are not rodents, opossums are not rodents and raccoons are not rodents. With that out of the way, here are a few ways to keep things that ARE rodents, out of your home.

1. Cleanliness: Now, we don’t want to give you flashbacks to when you were a kid, but you should really clean up your room. And your yard. And your kitchen. Actually, it’s especially important to keep your kitchen clean. You are making the rodents’ job a little too easy if you just keep food out to be smelled and sampled. Keep the lid on your trash cans, both inside and outside, securely shut so they don’t attract these furry dumpster divers. Your yard should also be mowed frequently, not have junk laying around and if you have a woodpile, elevate it and keep it a distance from your home.
2. Sealing the entrances: Mice are basically Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. They can scale walls from the outside until they see a small opening way up your home, then they slip inside and make a home in your walls or in your attic. They can jump from spot to spot and they can even squeeze down to a fraction of their size in order to slip through a hole the thickness of your pinky finger. With that in mind, it may seem like mission impossible to seal everything up so they don’t find their way in, but it can be done. Making things as inhospitable as possible goes a long way to not being the house on the block chosen to be the mouse motel.
3. Lastly, use your senses: Sometimes, they are just too sneaky to notice unless you know what to look for. Or smell for. Scratching or screeching sounds from the attic can be an obvious tip, but so can droppings or the scent of a dead rodent rotting somewhere inside the wall. That’s gross but it needs to be dealt with before many other generations live and die in there, as well.

Raleigh and Durham are generally pretty upscale places with a lot of new construction. We don’t want to think of ourselves as living in the kind of place that can have rats or mice. But the truth is, even New York City has rodents. What’s important is taking action before the problem gets worse.

For help with mice or rodents Call Critter Control of the Triangle in Raleigh, NC and Durham at 919.382.0651 or our contact page for more information or help with animal removal, cleanup and more.