This weather sure has gotten cold, hasn’t it? Nothing like temperatures in the thirties to make you want to stay inside curled under a blanket. Well, guess what? Rodents feel the same way. Okay, maybe they don’t want to snuggle under a blanket, but they are looking to get out of the cold and to find food and your warm, cozy house could be their next target. Here are some tips to help you keep mice and other rodents out of your home this winter from your Marietta Pest Control friends at SWAT Services.
- Seal them out.
Mice are tiny creatures and they can fit their little bodies into a space as small as a dime. It would be worth your while to take some time to walk around the outside of your home and examine it for any openings. Make sure to look carefully around doors, windows, wiring gaps and even around your lighting fixtures. The biggest problem areas are often crawl spaces, basements and garages, so pay even closer attention to any gaps in these areas. If there is an opening that a mouse can fit through, they’ll eventually find it. When you see these openings, make sure to seal them up with caulk or silicone. In crawl spaces, you’ll need to look at vent screens that might be missing or damaged and fix those immediately.
- Hide the food.
In the winter, mice will find it harder to get food outside so they’ll come inside looking for it. The best thing that you can do to hide your food is to put it in sealed containers. Mice can easily chew through paper or plastic bags, so put food in sturdy containers with lids. Also, make sure that pet food and garbage are also stored in sealed containers.
- Eliminate places where they can thrive
If you have woodpiles, junk piles or loose garbage near your home, these can be perfect places for rodents to make their home and breed. To eliminate these breeding grounds, keep woodpiles stacked neatly and as far as possible from your home and remove any clutter or junk piles as soon as possible.
- Peppermint Oil
One easy and cheap way to keep rodents away is by spraying peppermint oil on your walls and floors. This calming fragrance is actually the exact opposite to many rodents. All you have to do is mix two teaspoons of peppermint oil with one cup of water, put it in a spray bottle and spray along the walls of your home.
We hope that these are some helpful tips and that your home can be rodent-free this winter. But, if you find some critters have still gotten inside, call SWAT Services and we’ll help get them out. We always make sure to get pests out as safely and humanely as possible. Call during the month of January and you can receive our special: $150 off a full wildlife exclusion or $75 off a partial exclusion! This offer is good until January 31st.
SWAT Services
1900 Lower Roswell Rd
Marietta, GA 30068
770-565-7928
