How Rodents Enter Through Tiny Spaces You Can't See

Most people picture mice squeezing under doors. The truth is that rodents do sometimes do that, but they’re a lot more likely to access your home through much smaller and harder to spot entry points. If you’re looking for Westhampton rodent control because mice or rats are getting inside, the way in is probably a gap that you have walked past a hundred times, unknowing.

Here, we’ll talk about common ways that rodents get in and what you can do with that information to lessen your rodent problem.

Westhampton Rodent Control Experts Confirm: Rats and Mice Are Smaller Than You Think

Take the typical house mouse. They can fit through openings just a quarter inch wide. That’s about the size of a dime. It can flatten its body and it has no collarbone to stop it. Rats are bigger, but bigger here only means half an inch. That’s about the size of a quarter. If you can slip a pencil into a gap, there is a good chance a mouse can get in too. That’s why sealing a home against rodents is less about the big obvious holes and more about the small ones you have to really seek out.

The most common entry points are spots where something passes through the wall. A lot of the time, when pipes have to pass through for plumbing or gas or wires for electricity, those spaces are not properly sealed. Rodents take full advantage of this.

Rodents also slip in under garage doors where the garage meets the driveway. It’s truly exceptional to find a garage door that properly seals. Cracks in the foundation are another common way that rodents can slip in, as is worn weatherstripping under exterior doors. Dryer and utility vents are another way in.

Rodents are also good at climbing. That means if you have gaps along the roofline, that’s another way they can get in. You probably don’t give a great deal of thought to siding or loose soffits up there or unscreened attic and gable vents. But any of those can allow rodents into your home.

Closing Entry Points is a Big Part of Westhampton Rodent Control

Rodent-proofing means walking the outside of your home slowly and looking low and high. Stuff smaller gaps with copper mesh or steel wool and seal them with caulk, since rodents chew through foam and plastic.

Cover vents and larger openings with hardware cloth, replace worn door sweeps, and keep tree limbs trimmed back from the roof. This is detailed work, and missing one dime-sized gap is often enough to allow rodents to keep entering into your home.

After doing this, perimeter treatment can often further improve upon your Westhampton rodent control plan. Doing this means that the ways rodents get in will be sealed and, if they try to find new ways in, they’ll be likely to run into treatment that will discourage them.

Need Rodent Control for Your Westhampton Home?

If mice or rats have already found their way in, Mosquito Squad of the Hamptons can help you find the entry points and shut them down. Call (631) 832-4856 or contact us online for a free pest control assessment and quote, backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Ask about our Westhampton rodent control options.