What are the methods of controlling rodents?
THREE STEPS TO IMPLEMENTING RODENT CONTROL IN YOUR HOME
Rodent control is a major issue for many homeowners. Rats and mice have the ability to transfer diseases, contaminate food and cause structural damage. They are also accomplished chewers, known for gnawing their way through barriers with their powerful front teeth. In fact, the word rodent originates from the French word, rodere, which means “to gnaw.”
Follow these top three methods for rodent control:
BLOCK ENTRANCEWAYS
For effective control of rodents, it is important to ensure that rats and mice have no way of entering your home. Do a thorough inspection of your house, checking for cracks, crevices and other openings. The Mallis Handbook of Pest Control by Arnold Mallis, advises sealing all gaps with an exterior-grade sealant, or cement whenever possible.
Large areas around pipes should be covered in mesh first, and then sealed with cement. Metal panels at the bottom of wooden doors or windows can help prevent rodents from chewing through. You should also cover ventilated areas with mesh.
PREVENT EXTERIOR ACCESS
Trees, weeds and overgrown vegetation can provide access to your home and serve as a food source for rats and mice. For effective rodent control, keep trees trimmed, ensuring that no branches are touching the outside of your home. Eliminate weeds and cut back grass and vegetation, keeping it at low levels.
Store outdoor items and firewood at least a few inches off of the ground. If you have outdoor pets, try to schedule feedings during daylight and do not leave food out overnight. To prevent rodents from accessing garbage, keep trash bags tightly sealed and stored in garbage cans with lids. If you have excessive trouble with rats or mice, consider using rock or concrete landscaping along the edges of your home to keep vegetation at a more suitable distance.
REMOVE INSIDE ATTRACTORS
Sanitation is critical to rodent control. Rats require about 1 to 2 ounces of food per night and at least double the amount of water. Mice require less food and do not require water daily. Do not leave food out on the counter or in open storage. Put all food in airtight containers and keep it stored in cabinets and pantries, or in the refrigerator. Throw garbage out nightly, clean crumbs off of countertops and vacuum floors if necessary.
The Basic On Rodent kontrol
Removing rodents with traps or poisons will not keep rodents out of your home in the future. To permanently keep rats and mice out of your home or business, you will need to prevent access by sealing all possible entry points. It is equally important to eliminate rodent attractions such as food and water by keeping food in tightly sealed containers and repairing leaky pipes.
Common Sources of Food and Water
- Food in unsealed containers such as bags of chips, rice, cereal, crackers, flour, and other non-perishables.
- Pet food and water left out overnight or in a bag rather than in a secure container.
- Fruits or vegetables in open bowls left outside of refrigerator.
- Leaky pipes or faucets throughout the house.
- Open trash and compost containers.
Common Rodent Access Points
- Holes near cabinets, closets or doors leading to outside or crawl spaces.
- Holes around sink or appliance pipes.
- Cracked foundations in the basement or unscreened ventilation holes in the attic, especially in older structures.
- Holes around windows or doors.
- Missing screens in vents or crawl spaces under buildings.
Mechanical control
Two types of mechanical control of rodents can be used
Entry proofing
By blocking rodent pathways and entry ways rodents can be controlled effectively. Consider this method for drains, ducts, doors, windows and any other entrances that can be used by the rodents. Use of wire nets and ensuring that all windows and doors have no gaps is a good measure. Start by preventing them from entering the compound first if possible and follow up with blocking entrances to stores. For grain stores, poultry houses and other elevated areas, rodent deflectors made of simple sheet metal placed on the supporting posts will effectively prevent rodents from entering.
Trapping
Many types of traps exist. The most common are trigger traps, cages and glue traps
- Trigger traps
The trigger traps trip when a rodent walks on them and the quick tripping action hits and traps the rodent. Large rodents have been known to drag these traps to their hideouts.
- Cages
The cages work by luring the rodents into the enclosure that has a trap door. This means that once the rodent is inside, it cannot be able to leave the cage. The rodent is then allowed to die or starvation or killed by any other means.
- Glue traps
Glue traps are place on rodent pathways. They are most effective against mice due to their small size. A rodent bait can be placed on the glue to encourage the rats or mice to walk on the glue. Once trapped, the glue plate has to be discarded. Glue traps can be bought or can be made by smearing rodent glue on cardboard pieces
For all mechanical traps, it is important to inspect the traps regularly to remove the trapped rodents, to replenish the bait, to clean the trap and to reset the trap.
Monitoring
An important element of any rodent programme is monitoring. Usually it means surveillance for the presence of rodents. However it should also mean looking for features in the environment which would encourage rodents to migrate into it. Monitoring should be organised formally and regularly; that is, specie c staff should be made responsible for it and report regularly, maybe once a week to a superior on the situation. The report should include the following aspects:
- dates monitored;
- number, types and positions of signs of rats;
- condition of the building (broken pipes, walls etc., state of produce, tidiness or cleanliness);
- conditions immediately outside the building with respect to potential infestation points;
- qualitative reports by others;
- dates of baiting;
- number of bait stations used and positions;
- amount of bait and labour used;
- recommendations for improvement, such as repairs to structures, or further action required.
Control of a rodent infestation is rarely completely successful; but if it is, it is usually only for a very short period. Therefore there is a need for continuous monitoring even after a successful control campaign regardless of the techniques and bait used.
Sanitation
Just like all other pests, rodents enter your home in search of food and shelter. Since they tend to settle near their food source, your first task is to make sure you stop being a food provider. Otherwise, you will constantly share your home with uninvited roommates that will make a real mess. Think about all the places in the house where rodents might easily find a meal. You should always store food in plastic or glass containers with tight, fitting lids. This also applies to your pet’s food. Never leave food in paper or plastic bags because rodents can tear them with a single bite.
Rodent-proofing
Although sanitation is the most important aspect of rodent control, sometimes even the cleanest of houses experience trouble with rodents. This can happen due to a large rodent infestation close to your home. As soon as they breed to the point where there’s not enough food for everyone, rodents will try to enter your home. That’s why you can’t have proper rodent control without rodent-proofing your house.
Rodent “hunting”
If sanitation and rodent-proofing fail you, or you are already facing a big rodent infestation as you read this, you’ll have to find a way to get rid of these pests. You can do this in several ways.
Natural predators
You can successfully deal with rodents by keeping natural rodent predators such as cats or barn owls. Just have in mind that some cats are not natural rodent hunters. On the other hand, a family of barn owls can eat more than three thousand rodents during their nesting season. You can attract barn owls by placing a shelter box outside your house.