They can be, but vacancy itself is not what attracts rodents. The concern is shelter, access, and the long period before anyone notices activity.
Rodents start to look for warmer shelter when temperatures drop. They’re not necessarily thinking about whether or not your closed-up lake cabin in North Central Minnesota is occupied, but they are thinking about whether it’s warm. If the answer is yes, they’ll likely want to be inside.
Even with the heat at a low setting, cabins give rodents a place to hide from snow, wind, and severe cold. Garages, crawl spaces, basements, attics, and wall voids are all great places to go when it’s time to get out of the cold.
That said, if your cabin is empty, that does mean any rodent problems that happen will take longer to spot. No one will be around to hear scratching, see droppings, or notice damaged food packaging. That means the rodents can stay indoors for a long time unnoticed and breed unhindered.
You don’t want this to happen to your cabin. So before leaving the property for the season, inspect foundations, doors, vents, siding, utility penetrations, and roofline transitions. Secure or remove food, bird seed, pet food, and trash. Store fabrics and other potential nesting materials in durable containers made of metal or heavy plastic so rodents can’t easily get inside.
When reopening the cabin, look for signs of rodent activity before moving belongings around. Look out for droppings, gnawing, shredded materials, damaged packages, or unusual odors. Any of these can be signs of an infestation, which is a good reason to call a professional.
If rodents are active around or getting into your North Central Minnesota property, Mosquito Squad of North Central Minnesota can help identify rodent activity and determine an appropriate control approach. Call (218) 304-7704 or request a free quote online.
