Pest Spotlight: Rodent Control Made Simple In Del Rio

Del Rio is filled with animal life. Perhaps you've noticed. And we have a variety of rodents. Today, we're going to focus on three Texas rodents that accidentally get into homes and cause a bit of trouble. As we talk about these common rodents, you may notice that squirrels are excluded. While a squirrel may get into your home, they don't work their way down through your wall voids and explore your kitchen, pantry, bathroom, and other sensitive areas of your home. The rodents we're highlighting explore your entire house. As they do, they present a danger to your family as they can make you sick and pose a fire hazard by cutting wires in your walls. What three pests are we referring to? They are mice, roof rats, and Norway rats. We'll look at how to tell that you have an infestation, how each pest is somewhat different, five tips to effectively exclude them from your home, and essential facts about getting rid of an infestation. Need immediate help? Remember that Gold Star Exterminators provide advanced rodent pest control in Del Rio. 

It is critical to know how to inspect your home and uncover evidence of a rodent infestation. Early detection can prevent harm to your property and the risk of illness. Detection will also alert you to continued infestation after a failed attempt at rodent control.

Mice: These are tiny rodents. When you search for evidence, keep this in mind. The droppings they leave are half the size of rat droppings. The holes they leave are more than half the size.

Roof Rats: These are mid-sized rodents. They prefer attic spaces and will move about in your home like mice. The primary difference is that they're larger than mice. You'll also tell that you have roof rats if they've created holes in your roofline or soffits to enter your home. 

Norway Rats: These are big rodents. They're also ground rodents. As we look at the list of evidence to look for, there is one more to add if you have a Norway rat infestation. You'll want to check your yard for holes that are near or under wood, brush, and junk piles. Also, check underneath your porch or in your crawls space for evidence as these rodents prefer to stay near the ground if possible.  

Now that you know what you're up against, it is time to consider the evidence these pests leave for you to find. Look for these down low, behind objects, in secluded spaces, and inside dark voids.

• Droppings. Rats and mice leave black fecal pellets. These are shiny and moist when fresh, and dry and gray when old. Rat droppings are larger than a grain of white rice. Mouse droppings are slightly smaller than rice grains. When looking for evidence of rats, you may find another kind of droppings. Norway rats are known to collect the waste of domesticated canines. It is a food source—though not a preferred one. 
• Urine. Rodents leave little droplets of urine as they explore dark attic spaces. They use urine as a scent marker. Researchers believe that mice create a map of odors to help them get from point A to point B in utter darkness. They also use their other senses, such as touch and hearing. 
• Damaged food packages. Rodents get into human food. If you find holes in your food packages, it can give you an indication that you have a rodent problem. Rats will go after dry dog food and other robust food options. Mice will focus on grain, rice, and other food debris. 
• Building material damage. Rodents chew holes in baseboards, floorboards, sheetrock, door frames, and more. If you see a tiny hole in your home, consider the size. A hole the size of a nickel is large enough for an adult mouse to go in and out of a wall or cabinet void. Rats need a hole slightly larger than a quarter.
• Damaged or soiled insulation. A clear sign of a rodent problem is torn up and soiled insulation. If you go into your attic and find droppings littered about, urine spots, and torn edges on fiberglass sheets, you have a rodent problem. 
• When you inspect your attic, you may also see nests up there. Rodents make their nests out of soft materials collected in your home.  
• Damaged items in storage. Rodents chew holes in boxes, tear holes in clothing, rip up couch cushions, and more. 

When you find rodents in your home, contact Gold Star Exterminators for professional rodent control you can trust. If you don't find rodents, great! Then you have the chance to block access to your home and keep rodents from getting inside.

Five Tips For Effective Rodent Prevention

When it comes to rodent prevention, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that you don't have to know how to identify unique species of mice or rats to implement the following tips. The bad news is that these tips require some know-how and some muscle work. If you have the skills and the muscles, here are five ways to effectively exclude rodents from your home. 

1. Remove objects from your yard. 

Rodents use ground clutter to feel their way around your yard. Removing objects from the ground makes it hard for a rodent to go from the edge of your property to the perimeter around your home.

2. Remove stacks and piles. 

Rodents hide underneath objects in your yard. Norway rats are particularly fond of doing this. Stacked wood, dead branches, leaf piles, and junk are all examples of piles you should move away from your exterior.

3. Remove routes. 

Rats and mice use a few common routes to get into homes. They'll scale trees near your home, run down branches, and leap onto your roof. They can do this without fear because rodents can fall from surprising heights without hurting themselves. Trim branches to keep rodents off your roof. They'll also scale pipes or climb up through downspouts. Install pest guards on your pipes and block access to your downspouts to prevent rodents from getting up on your roof.

4. Block access. 

Rodents can scale some exteriors and get to gable vents and other high entry points. Use hardware cloth to protect these potential vulnerabilities. Most of the time, they don't have to climb to high points of entry. They can squeeze into homes through gaps around plumbing, wire PVC, and exterior doors. Seal gaps and replace protective materials, like weatherstripping and door sweeps, to keep rodents out.

5. Repair wood. 

Rodents are drawn to wood, particularly wood that is decaying. Replace decaying wood or use metal flashing to protect the wood from the strong teeth of curious rodents.

Exclusion work can provide effective and long-lasting protection against rodent infestations. These tips will also provide protection against many other pests as well. They are well worth your time and effort. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of these tasks, some residents turn to rat and mouse control products. We hope you don't take that route. Rodent control is not only a hard task, there are many ways DIY rodent control methods fall short. When they fail, they can cost you time and money. 

Why DIY Rodent Control Is A Waste Of Time And Money

Rodent control is a scientific process. A certified technician uses field-tested methods to achieve results. The primary issue with DIY rodent control is that the control strategy falls short. When this happens, rodents are allowed to continue to damage your property and cost you money to repair the damage. They can damage items in storage and cost you money to replace those items. Some may not be replaceable. They can contaminate your insulation, requiring you to get your insulation replaced. Most of all, they can cause you to waste your time and money on DIY rodent control products that often fail for lack of proper implementation. 

While you can have great success excluding rodents from your home, we strongly recommend hiring a certified professional to handle rodent removal. An incomplete strategy can cost you money you don't have to spend.

The Most Effective Rodent Control For Your Home

If you need rodent control in Del Rio, contact Gold Star Exterminators. We can advise you on the right solution for your particular rodent pest. Our certified technicians perform professional inspections to evaluate rodent activity, identify the rodents present, catalog conducive conditions, and track entry. We share our findings with you so you know what you're dealing with on your property and in your home. Once you decide on the plan that works for you, we'll use industry-leading products and strategies to remove rodents and manage rodent populations around structures if necessary. Depending on what is required, we may return monthly, or every couple of days for two weeks. When the rodents are completely gone, we'll let you know.

There is peace of mind in knowing that you'll get results for the money you spend. Contact Gold Star Exterminators for effective rodent control and only spend what you need to spend.

Gold Star has been spraying our house for a few years now and I can't express how much it has helped.  I was spraying Demon WD myself and barely made an impact on the scorpions and spiders.  after they started doing it, we have very few sightings now.  Great company.

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