Keeping Rodents Out: Expert Control Strategies For Honolulu Properties

Rodent Behavior Insights: Navigating The Habits Of Mice And Rats

Rodents are sneaky animals that scurry into your yard at night, explore your exterior, and find their way inside. Once indoors, they cause a lot of trouble. Even tiny rodents can be a big problem. Fortunately, you don't have to put up with this behavior. There are ways to keep rodents out.

Today, we're going to share with you the basics—how to remove the things that attract rodents, why it is a good idea to keep them out, and practical tips for rodent exclusion. We'll also provide strategies you can use to control rodents and tell you what the experts do to keep rodents out of local homes. If you'd like to see first hand, we're always here to help. Contact Able Pest Management for effective rodent control in Honolulu.

Rodent Behavior Insights: Navigating The Habits Of Mice And Rats

Why is it important to understand how rodents behave? Because you can use the knowledge to remove the reasons rodents want to live on your property. There are four factors that impact rodents the most. Let's quickly break them down.

Food is at the top of the list when it comes to rodent attractants, particularly female rodents. They want to raise a family where food is plentiful. Wouldn't you? That's why food is a strong attractant. So, what do rodents eat in your yard? Here are a few of their favorites:

A common food source in urban environments is leftover human food in dumpsters and trash receptacles. It is critical to keep trash covered.
Common natural food sources rodents find on Honolulu properties are nuts and seeds. If you have these on the ground, it is important to stay on top of cleaning them up.
Most rodents are great climbers. If you have fruit trees, be vigilant in cleaning fruit up off the ground. It helps to install guards at the base of your trees to stop rodents from climbing up.

Rodents need protein, and they can get a lot of protein in nature by eating insects. The more insects you have around your home, the more rodent activity you'll likely have. One way to reduce insects is to replace exterior white lights with lights that cast yellow light instead. Insects can't detect yellow lights and are not attracted to them.
Dog and cat food is high on their list of favorites. If you feed your pets outdoors, protect the food, feed them during the day, or simply feed them indoors.

Water is the next important item on a rodent's wish list. Animals need water to survive. If you have containers that capture rainwater or puddles that form after rainstorms, your property will provide rodents with a drink. Try these tips:

• Remove any objects that collect the rain.
• Clean your gutters so they flow freely and repair damaged ones.
• Remove weeds and grass in your landscaping.

Yard clutter provides essential reference points. Rats and mice have poor eyesight and must rely on their other senses to navigate. When these animals look at your yard, they see it very differently than animals with good vision, like squirrels. Rats and mice don't like open and clear spaces. They also prefer ground clutter so they can run from object to object, staying hidden along the way. A simple way to make your yard resistant to rodents is to remove as much clutter as possible.

Hiding places are a must for rodents. Rats and mice go from hiding place to hiding place. They also use these secluded areas to build nests. You need to block access or remove the hiding places altogether. Here's how:

• Protect your crawl space if you have one. A void under a house is perfect for animal harborage.
• Protect the opening underneath your deck.
• Protect that void underneath your storage shed.  
• Maintain your plants. A trim and neat landscape will make rodents feel exposed.
• Remove piled wood or brush.
• Put junk piles in a trash bin.

These are practical steps you can take to make your yard less interesting to rats and mice. It is important to be alert as rodents aren't harmless woodland critters. There are many ways these pests can accidentally cause harm.

The Rodent Menace: Understanding The Threat Of Uninvited Guests

We won't spend a lot of time on this, but it is critical to understand the risks involved in having rodents get into your home. It is a motivator to take the difficult steps needed to prevent infestations. Here are a few facts you may not know about these pests:

• Did you know that rodents can get into an open trash receptacle? Mice can jump 13 inches straight up, and a rat can jump 36 inches. And they are both surprisingly adept at scaling walls. When they get into the trash, they pick up germs and parasitic worms, which can make you sick.
• Did you know that rodents leave their droppings and urine where they explore and also where they sleep? Both are a health concern.
• Did you know that rodents can seriously damage your car? They chew on wires. They rip up the insulation over your engine. They pick apart rugs and take the stuffing out of seats as they collect materials for their nests. It is essential to keep rodents out of your car.
• Did you know that rats and mice are a fire hazard? They can cut live wires with their sharp teeth and nest in powerboxes.
• Did you know that one little mouse can have as many as a hundred seed ticks on its body? Ticks can spread many serious disease pathogens.

Now that you are properly motivated to keep rodents out, let's turn our attention to specific ways you can prevent rats and mice from getting into your home.  

Rodent-Proof Your Property: Key Steps To Keep Unwanted Guests Away

There are two aspects to rodent-proofing your home—exclusion work and route management. Exclusion work blocks entry by sealing openings rodents may use. Route management blocks access by preventing rodents from using common routes.

Exclusion Work:

• Use expanding foam to fill in gaps, holes, cracks, and voids around the exterior of your home.
• Use a caulking gun to create a seal around your exterior doors and windows.
• Replace any worn-out weatherstripping and door sweeps on exterior doors or your garage door.
• Pull your screens off and have them rescreened, or look online for simple videos to guide you in making inexpensive patches.
• Make sure all vents have working covers.
• Consider installing hardware cloth to protect any gable vents. Yes, rats and mice can climb all the way up and get into the gable vents in most homes. It is an often overlooked entry point.

Route Management:

• Install guards on pipes to keep rodents from scaling them.
• Install guards on power lines that connect to your home.
• Insert a wire mesh into your downspouts to prevent access to your roof.
• Cut tree branches near your roof, or install a guard around the trunk of trees close to your exterior.

When you combine the removal of attractants with these simple rodent-proofing steps, you'll have a complete plan for rodent prevention. In most cases, you won't need more control than this. If you do, it is necessary to apply a control product. We recommend having a pest management professional (PMP) handle this for you. Rodent control is not only tricky but potentially hazardous. 

It is easy to contact us. If you don't want to speak with someone directly via text or by phone, you can navigate to our Contact Us page. The simple form allows you to ask questions about service options in Honolulu, the price of pest control, and details about what you can expect.

You can also get detailed answers to your pest control questions as they relate to your property. Tell us a bit about yourself, your pest issue, and the dynamics of your property, and we'll do the rest. It's the no-stress way to get started on the path to a pest-free life. Contact us today.; we look forward to helping.