Common Ways Rodents Can Cause Damage to Your House
Mice, rats, and squirrels can cause serious damage to your property in different ways. If granted access, they can multiply quickly and destroy a whole home. Unfortunately, most people become aware of a rodent problem in their home when it’s too late.
Here are the most common ways rodents can damage your home:
Damage to the Interior and Structure of the Building
Mice and rats can cause a great deal of structural damage to just about any type of building – offices, apartments, homes, etc. – through defecation, gnawing, and nest-building. This kind of destruction may include:
Tearing Apart the Home As They Enter
Just like humans, rodents are looking for a dry and warm shelter that provides water, food, and comfort for their family. Your home is an appealing place for them and they are going to do everything to get inside.
To gain access, squirrels will chew through the roof if there’s no hole or it isn’t large enough to squeeze through. This structural damage will result in huge expenses later on when leakage occurs. Some rodents burrow into the houses through the ground, shifting and destroying the building foundation.
In addition to damaging the structure, rodents will be sharpening their teeth on your walls. They make tunnels in wall insulation to collect materials required for their nests or build a safe shelter. But they will not stop there. That’s just the beginning!
Chewing Through Nearly Everything to Build Nests
When getting in, a rodent will seek a quiet and dry place to build a nest. Your basement or attic may look like a perfect spot for nesting. Rodents need materials to build their nests.
For this purpose, they will be chewing apart virtually anything they find in your house. That may include wood, furniture, cloth, books, cardboard, paper, and so on. Mice may gnaw wooden items and plastic containers even if there is no food inside. Likewise, they can tear napkins and paper towels into small sheds to build their nests.
Mice also love to burrow and gnaw in upholstered furniture in order to create cozy, hidden nests. What’s more, they don’t hesitate to destroy valuable possessions, such as important documents, worthy paintings, and precious family heirlooms.
One of their favorite nest-building components is insulation, though. That can be a real nightmare for homeowners. By chewing through housing insulation around water heaters or in attics, rodents can make heating and cooling expenses that may cost you thousands of dollars.
Damage to Electrical Wiring
Mice and rats love to chew, and they are not choosy when it comes to food. Even the insulation around electrical wires or panels is included in their menu. By chewing on your electrical appliances and wires, they will cause frustration with power outages.
This could cause malfunction or short circuit on the appliances, which results in costly repairs. In the worst-case scenario, this leads to a risk of fire that is capable of flattening a home in a matter of hours.
Pests Can Endanger Your Health and Safety
When traveling around the home in pursuit of food, water, and nesting materials, rodents leave fecal droppings and urine trails behind them. These unwanted furry visitors also defecate and urinate while chewing their way through interiors.
By contaminating the foods and surfaces, they spread diseases that can be directly spread to humans. The most common diseases carried by rats are salmonella and tapeworms.
Mouse droppings and fur can also threaten your respiratory health. In addition to humans, pets are also at risk for infections. Your dogs or cats can get diseases from rodents via food bowls.
Rats, for example, typically consume about 20% of their body weight through food each day. With the use of razor-sharp teeth, they can easily gain access to nearly any food items you store in your house. As they eat food, rodents urinate and defecate to leave scent trails that invite other rodents to a meal.
How to Rodent Proof Your Home
Rodent-proofing is an efficient way to prevent different types of rodents from getting into your home and causing damage. By repairing or sealing gaps and cracks in your home, you will keep these pesky invaders outdoors and improve your rodent control in Las Vegas.
Remember that rats can squeeze through an opening as small as 1/2-inch in diameter, while mice can easily fit through a dime-sized hole (a 1/4-inch gap). That said, you should check for any possible entryways. Try these DIY rodent-proofing methods:
- Make sure exterior door weather stripping and window screens fit snugly.
- Seal all the openings and cracks around vents, pipes, electrical wires, and home foundation.
- Install hardware screens in roof vents and/or chimney openings.
- Consider replacing any missing soffits.
- Store your food in the hard-to-reach containers, preferably with tight-fitting lids that are made of metal.
- Keep your patio and backyard areas clean.
- Make sure that your yard and garden are free of weeds and clutter.
- Trim trees and other vegetation about 7 feet from your home.
- Make surveys of your outdoor premises from time to time.
Contact Us Today for Professional Pest Removal
Having rodents in the home doesn’t only increase the risk of damages that often lead to expensive repairs, but it can also be a health threat because they transmit various diseases. That’s why you should seek professional help if you notice any signs of a rodent infestation in your home.
It is critical to protect your property and the health of your family in a timely manner. The best way to do this is to seek a professional rodent removal service. Call our office and request our pest control services to safely remove any squirrel, mouse, or rat from your house and make it a pest-free place.