Rodents are such a common pest that most people don’t even think about them all that often. They are used to living alongside humans, and they’ve even become dependent on us for their own survival. This is why rodents tend to live in many different buildings, including homes and businesses, in Hawaii and across the world.
How To Identify Rodents
The most frequent rodents that get inside homes are mice and rats, but occasionally squirrels can make their way inside or live around your property. Here’s how you can identify them:
- Mice are the smallest of the three at only around five inches long, including their tails. They have brown-grey fur and large eyes. Their tails are long and thin.
- Rats are larger than mice and can get up to 15 inches long. They are usually brown-grey but can be dark brown or black. Their tails are shorter and scaly.
- Squirrels are usually gray. They have bushy tails and beady-looking eyes.
To help you protect your home from the risks of rodents, this guide is here with all the information you need about effective rodent control.
Rodents Are Difficult To Prevent: Here’s Why
Because rodents are adept at living in human dwellings, they can be difficult to deter. They will search for places to nest and for things to eat, and they can fit through tiny holes to get inside. Mice can even squeeze through holes the size of a dime, while rats can fit through holes the size of a quarter.
On top of this ability, they can also chew through so many materials that they can often create new ways to get indoors. They can even gnaw through drywall, wood, electrical wires, and pipes. This makes it particularly challenging to seal up all the places where rodents could make their way inside.
Why DIY Rodent Control Doesn’t Work
While rodents are difficult to keep out, they are even harder to eradicate. Their ability to reproduce quickly and scurry behind walls and other hard-to-reach places makes DIY control nearly impossible. While traps and baits might get some individuals, they won’t get the infestation at its source.
The easiest way to remove these dangerous pests is with assistance from Able Pest Management. Instead of trying to remove these rodents over and over, let our technicians come in and address the problem immediately. We also provide ongoing professional pest control to make sure rodents never become a problem for you again.
What You Can Do To Prevent Future Rodent Infestations
Along with our assistance, there are things you can do on your own to make your home or business less attractive to rodents. Here are five of the best prevention measures:
- Repair holes and cracks in the exterior of the building with steel wool, wire mesh, or other products that rodents can’t chew through.
- Even small crumbs can attract rodents, so always wipe up spills. Focus on keeping kitchens clean.
- Remove trash from around the property, including organic debris. Place tightly-fitted lids on all garbage cans so rodents can’t find a way inside.
- Place wire mesh covers on vent openings and chimneys.
- Address moisture issues by repairing leaky plumbing, using dehumidifiers, and cleaning out gutters.
For more advice or assistance preventing or eliminating rodent populations on your Hawaii property, call the experts at Able Pest Management today.