The Essential Steps to Winter Rodent Control

With everything you have to worry about as winter approaches, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is pest control. Temecula homeowners are particularly susceptible to rodent infestations during the cold winter months, though, so if you want to avoid huge headaches down the road it’s important to be prepared. People settle into their homes for the winter, and there’s a good chance rats and mice will want to settle into your warm home, too. With rodents come increased risks to health and property – there’s even an increased chance of fire from gnawed-through electrical wires. Here are the essential steps you need to take to protect your home from rats, mice, and other rodents this winter: 1. Make Sure All Entrances Are Sealed

As winter approaches it’s a good idea to go around the perimeter of the house to seal any cracks where rodents could potentially enter the home. Also make sure to install weather-strips at the bottom of all doors leading into the home.

2. Focus on Food in the Kitchen

With food, water and warmth, the kitchen has everything rodents need to hunker down for a cold winter. Every time you leave food sitting out you may be inviting rats and mice to come and stay a while. So keep all food out of sight and properly sealed when you go to bed at night, including debris and dirty dishes in the sink, pet food, snacks kept out in containers, and even garbage.

3. Manage Your Yard and Garden

Rats, mice and other rodents are more likely to be attracted to your property if they see a lot of vegetation around, and they’ll find it easier to enter your home if that vegetation is close to its exterior. This doesn’t mean you should get rid of your garden or switch to a sparsely vegetated landscape. Do, however, trim the trees and bushes so they don’t hang over the house, and plant vegetation at least a foot away from the home’s perimeter.

4. Keep Your Home as Clean as Possible

Aside from the kitchen, it’s important to keep bedrooms, bathrooms, and other living spaces inside your home clean to avoid rodent infestations during the winter. Make sure food waste isn’t kept in open trash cans, throw beverage cans and bottles into the recycling bin rather than leaving them sitting around, and pick up after your pets. If there are kids in the house, also make sure they follow these rules in their bedrooms.

5. Call for Help if You Need It

If you believe you’ve found signs of rats or mice in your home, don’t hesitate to invest in professional rodent control. Temecula homeowners can call Black Knight for honest, local, reliable and safe pest control services year-round. If you leave the problem to deal with later, though, you might be putting your family and your property in danger.