Preventing Rats and Mice from Entering Your House
Mice and rats are looking for food and shelter. If you cut off access to those two things, it will help solve your rodent problem.
1. Clean areas under stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers.
2. Store dry food (rice, pasta and grains), dry pet food and birdseed in metal, glass or plastic containers.
3. Clean pet bowls at night. Place bird feeders with seed away from the house.
4. Store lumber, firewood and compost away from the house. Elevate lumber and firewood on pallets. Use thick plastic or metal trash cans with tightly fitting lids.
5. Rake, collect and remove fruit, nuts and other foods that have fallen out of plants or trees. Repair all small holes in foundation, walls, basements, etc. Use caulking, a concrete patch, course steel wool or copper mesh. You can also fasten a sheet metal plate or cement over masonry.
6. Properly dispose of garbage.
Restricting Access
To prevent mice and rats from coming indoors, make sure doors and windows have fine-mesh, well-maintained screens.
Cover vents, ducts, holes around electrical conduits, floor drains and other openings with copper or aluminum screens, or with metal coverings. Inspect your foundation, walls, and basement for any rodent holes or cracks.
Plug these holes with concrete, caulking, copper or aluminum mesh or steel wool.
Sanitation
Put food away each day, and do not leave glasses of water out overnight.
Keep food preparation and serving surfaces clean, and clean behind refrigerators and stoves.
Dispose of garbage regularly, and use tight fitting lids of garbage receptacles. Don't leave food overnight in pet food bowls.
Yard Management
Clip grass and weeds short, and thin shrubbery until the ground underneath is visible.
Trim shrubs away from walls.
Avoid over-irrigation of lawn and garden, and ensure proper soil drainage.
Move lumber piles, firewood, compost and other potential rodent habitats away from the walls of your home.
Other Preventatives:
I checked several websites and all say that fabric softener sheets work. Many people lay them in pantries, around interior foundations, etc. to repel mice.
Sonic prevention devices have an incredibly high success rate in keeping the little critters out at well. Sending an ultra high frequency pulse that annoys rodents keeps them clear. This is what I use in my home as we had problems with squirrels when we first moved in. Now the squirrels keep to their domain and we keep to ours.
Edited by kklinejr, 27 January 2008 - 02:53 PM.
