RODENT EXCLUSION SERVICE PHILADELPHIA PA
Do you suspect that your home or business has a rodent infestation? Or, perhaps you want to do everything within your power to ensure that you never have rodent problems.
No matter which situation describes you, you need to learn more about rodent exclusion. To rodent proof a building is to make it not only less attractive to rats and mice but also to keep these dangerous creatures out for good.
If your home or business provides easy access to food and shelter, then rodents will continue to enter and make themselves at home. Their populations can grow with startling speed, and they won't leave unless they are forced to do so.
You can take steps to protect your building and the people who occupy it. However, to get the best, guaranteed results, it's essential that you hire a licensed pest management company.
Trained and experienced, pest control technicians are your toughest allies in the fight against rodent infestations. Your exterminator will help you discover better ways to store the items that attract rodents as well as assist you with sanitizing indoor and outdoor spaces so that they are once again safe for people to use.
Additionally, pest management professionals are trained to identify and eliminate the access points that are making it easy for rodents to come indoors. As these technicians also are licensed to deploy specialized products that are designed to eliminate unwanted pests, it is possible to return any building to safe and habitable conditions in surprisingly little time.
An exterminator works to understand the infested building and the pests that are involved, which ensures a more successful outcome. Moreover, targeting only the troubling species keeps people, pets and the environment safer.
If you are worried about rodent infestations, now is the time to take action. No active infestation is required in order for you to ask for rodent exclusion services. In fact, this may be the ideal time to ask a professional how you can keep rodents out of your house forever.
HOW DOES RODENT PROOFING WORK?
Why is it so difficult to get the upper hand in the fight against rodent infestations? Frequently, it's because property owners wait too long to take action.
They may think that they have a problem with rodents, so they put out a handful of traps. These may capture a few animals, but they don't seem to tip the scales in favor of the people in the building.
This is because rodents are good at avoiding traps. Even the few that do get trapped are only a small portion of the population. Dozens of other animals are lurking somewhere, just out of sight.
Given their propensity for rapid reproduction, those animals will grow their numbers with alarming speed. While the traps are getting one or two animals per night, the rodents may produce five, ten or more babies each night. No wonder those traps don't seem to be doing enough.
Rodent proofing works differently. Pest management professionals do emphasize eliminating the indoor rodent population, but that is not all that they do. At the same time, they are looking for and covering any openings in the building's exterior that are allowing the animals inside. Further, they are finding and removing rodent nests and helping property owners upgrade their food storage practices.
Exterminators even help to sanitize the indoor and outdoor places where rodents have been living and eating.
Rodent proofing is a battle that is fought on many fronts. Fortunately, pest control professionals are skilled and knowledgeable with regard to the strategies that are needed to win the war.
STEPS FOR RODENT EXCLUSION
Exterminators are serious about getting rodents out of buildings. This means that they do not only rely on traps to address an infestation. A multi-step process is required, and the vigilance of the pest control technician and the property owner is helpful as they work toward rodent exclusion.
• PROPERTY INSPECTION
The rodent exclusion process begins with an inspection of the property. Bear in mind that rodents are good at hiding. This means that the exterminator will need to enter outbuildings and portions of the main building that may not be frequently used by people.
Rodents like places that are dark, cluttered and undisturbed. The exterminator will want to explore the crawl space, basement, attic, shed, garage and any storage facilities. It's vital that the property owner grants access to all of these places and others to ensure that a thorough inspection can be conducted.
Don't be surprised to see the exterminator taking steps to assess what may be lurking in soffits, wall voids, cupboards or beneath major appliances and large pieces of equipment. These are all places in which rodents conceal themselves during the day.
The inspection may take one to two hours, depending upon the size of the property and the severity of the infestation. Once complete, the property owner will receive a detailed written report, and the technician will outline a treatment plan that is likely to require multiple visits.
• RODENT ERADICATION
Upon the customer's approval of the treatment plan, the technician gets right to work. One of the most critical steps of the process is rodent eradication.
Because of their training, exterminators receive a license that enables them to utilize specialized products that are designed to eradicate rodents. These products are lethal to pests. However, when they are applied by a knowledgeable and experienced pest management professional, they are not only incredibly effective but also safe for use around people and pets.
This means that the rodents that are infesting the property can be destroyed without putting the people in the building at undue risk.
With the population eliminated, the exterminator is ready to ensure that all rodent bodies and nests are removed and that formerly infested places are sanitized.
• RODENT PREVENTION PROCESS
Part of rodent exclusion is ensuring that animals cannot enter the building in the first place. It is wise to keep in mind that rodents are actually very small. They can wriggle through surprisingly tiny cracks and fissures in the building's exterior. Once indoors, they wreak havoc.
Pest management professionals are trained to find and eliminate all of the openings that could be used by rodents. Using items such as caulk, coarse steel wool, concrete, cooper or aluminum wire mesh, hardware cloth and sheet metal, it is possible to block or cover openings that look like invitations to rodents.
Some of these access points may include the holes around pipes that go into appliances, gaps and cracks in foundations or even a chimney. Doors and window frames that have gaps or cracks also need to be fixed, and any open insulation that mice have nested in needs to be covered.
Eliminating access points is critical. Exterminators will handle much of this work, and it may be helpful for the property owner to periodically inspect the property for signs of new openings.
• CLEAN-UP AND SANITIZATION
Even if the animals and the nests are removed and the access points are blocked, the job isn't done. Mice and rats leave behind food caches and waste products as well as all sorts of contaminated food. All of this evidence of the infestation must be eliminated before the problem truly is at an end.
In tandem with the clean-up process, the exterminator may make recommendations concerning improved food storage practices. For instance, it makes sense to store food in glass or metal containers with lids that seal tight. Birdseed and pet food can be stored in this way as well. It also is smart to refrain from leaving dirty dishes in the sink and to make a habit of immediately cleaning up spills and crumbs when they occur.
IS RODENT PROOFING DIFFICULT?
Rodent exclusion can be extremely complicated for an inexperienced home or business owner. Holes and gaps in the building's exterior may not be obvious, or thought to be too small to be a problem.
This is where the training and experience of the pest control professional come in. The technician can assess gaps or cracks and determine the potential for exploitation by a rodent. Exclusion techniques are aimed at ensuring that even the smallest crack does not become an invitation to a rat or a mouse.
It is important to realize that mice can squeeze through openings that are no larger than one-quarter inch while rats are able to fit through an opening that is only one-half inch wide. Those are both very small openings, but have the potential to put a building's occupants at risk.
Our rodent exclusion service professional will examine the entire home or business to identify and eliminate any entry points that rodents could exploit.
Areas that are dark, quiet and secluded provide ideal nesting habitat. Rodents prefer their nests to be hidden from predators, including people. When living in nature, rodents may use an abandoned animal burrow, the hollow in a tree or a fallen log as a nest. A depression in the soil beneath a large stone or a tree trunk also provides excellent habitat.
Many species of rodents will nest inside human habitations when this is available. Crawl spaces, wall voids, basements and attics provide the most likely nesting habitat. However, rodent nests have been discovered beneath major appliances, in the back of drawers and cupboards and within upholstered furniture. Even a room that is filled with clutter and rarely visited by people may be used.
PROFESSIONAL RODENT EXCLUSION
Rodent exclusion generally is not considered a do it yourself project. This is because specialized knowledge is required to locate, assess, and repair entry points to ensure that a structure is protected from rodents. If a home or office is to be truly protected from rodents, then it is essential that a professional rodent exclusion service is used.
HOW RODENT PROOF IS YOUR HOME?
Sometimes, rodent infestations are obvious. Signs rodents have gained entry to a pantry may be noticed, or rodent droppings are discovered. It is even possible a mouse in the kitchen was encountered in the middle of the night.
Nonetheless, it is important to realize that rodents are extremely adept at hiding. Most of their activity takes place at night, and they can behave in a highly surreptitious manner. This means that rodent problems can often be extremely well hidden.
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