Luxe Pest Control
Rodent Control
Long Island Rodent Control Services
Rodents are always on the lookout for food and shelter. As the calendar moves into Autumn, with its colder nights, rodents are also looking to get out of the cold. Unfortunately for you and your home, rats and mice do not need much of an opening to get into your home. Mice can get through a hole the size of a dime and rats only need a space the size of a quarter. Once they are in your home, they look for any place they can hide causing serious damage everywhere they go.
Rodents Carry Many Different Diseases
Worldwide, rats and mice spread over 35 diseases. These diseases can be spread to humans directly, through the handling of rodents, through contact with rodent feces, urine, or saliva, or through rodent bites. Diseases carried by rodents can also be spread to humans indirectly, through ticks, mites, or fleas that have fed on an infected rodent.
Rodents can carry many diseases including hantavirus, leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), Tularemia, and Salmonella.
The primary strategy for preventing human exposure to rodent diseases is effective rodent control in and around the home. This is called Rodent Exclusion.
​
Rodent exclusion is the process of identifying potential entry points and other conditions that attract rodents and taking preemptive measures to keep the rodents off your property and out of your house.
Rodent Exclusion Services
Proper rodent exclusion can only happen when you know how a rodent thinks. What are they looking for on your property and your home that makes your home a target as opposed to the house next door? There are basically two types of issues that we look for when it comes to keeping rats out of your house.
​
The first thing we look for are conditions that make your property attractive to a rodent. Rodents are looking for food and shelter. Some items that we would look for around your property include:
​
-
Uncovered garbage cans
-
Unharvested or fallen fruit from trees or fruits or vegetables from a garden
-
Wood piles, such as wood you would use for a fireplace
-
Seed-type bird feeders
-
Pet food left out
-
Open Bar-be-que
-
Pet waste
​
The second type of issue we look for is ways a rodent can get into your home. The things we look for there include:
​
-
Trees that are too close to the house with branches that overhang the roof
-
Gaps under doors or garage doors
-
Broken windows or torn screens
-
Opening around vents, pipes, or cables that are going into your house
-
Gaps around a chimney
-
Openings in roof tiles
-
Open vents
-
Cracks in the foundation of the house
​
Once we complete an inspection of your area, we design a plan to remove as many of the issues as possible. The more you do to protect your home, the less likely it is that rodents will get in.
Rodents are Extremely Distructive
Once rodents get into your home, they start to cause significant damage right away. Rodents will chew through practically anything. They will destroy drywall and even chew through wood. Rodents will also destroy insulation. Rodents will look for a warm place to hide. Once they do, the area quickly becomes contaminated with rodent excrement and urine.
​
On the search for food, mice and rats will contaminate food, chew through more walls and even chew through electrical cables causing extensive damage, which is very expensive to repair. After rodents have established a presence, they will start to reproduce. A female rat will typically give birth to six litters a year, with each litter producing between 5 and 12 rats. More often than not, you will have more than one female. If you have rats and the accompanying smells associated with an infestation, other rats will know that a safe harbor has been found, leading to more rats and more breeding females.
Signs of a Rat Infestation
You may never see a mouse or rat unless an infestation is severe. Look for signs of rat or mouse infestation:
​
-
Rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers or cupboards, and under the sink.
-
Nesting material such as shredded paper, fabric, or dried plant matter.
-
Signs of chewing on food packaging.
-
Holes chewed through walls and floors that create entry points into the home.
-
Stale smells coming from hidden areas.
​
Discourage rats and mice from taking up residence on your property by removing food and water sources and items that can provide them shelter:
​
-
Seal holes inside and outside the home to keep rodents out. This may be as simple as plugging small holes with steel wool or patching holes on inside or outside walls.
-
Remove potential rodent nesting sites from your property, including leaf piles and deep mulch.
-
Clean up food and water sources in and near your house.
-
Keep kitchen garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids.
-
Turn compost piles to cover newly added food scraps.
-
Stop feeding outdoor birds while you are controlling an infestation, or feed only huskless items that leave less residue that can be food for rodents.
