While some might keep rats and mice as pets, these differ significantly from the ones that take over homes and businesses. Wild rodents are known for spreading pathogens, causing safety hazards as they chew on electrical wires, and much more.
If you spotted signs of a rodent infestation, it is time to find out why they live in the region and get educated on the factors that attract them to our homes. You also need to understand why they are always a potential problem for Bay Area homeowners and find out what you can do to protect your home from these scavengers with help from Bay Pest's top-rated strategies for pest control in the Bay Area.
What Do Rodents Live In Our Region?
You can find abundant rodent populations in the Bay Area for many reasons. First, it provides these unhygienic invaders with plenty of food sources because the region's mild climate and fertile land make growing fruits, nuts, and grains, which serve as a food base for rodents, more manageable than in other places. Plus, there is plenty of discarded food and waste wherever there are people.
Also, the Bay Area provides rodents with suitable urban, suburban, and natural habitats. These critters have many choices, from fields and forests to urban structures, where they can find shelter and nesting sites.
And finally, our extensive transportation network makes it easy for California rodents to move around. We have ports and highways that promote migration and spread rats and mice throughout the region. Because rodents are so plentiful, learning the factors that attract them to our homes is vital to keep them out.
How Rodents Get Inside Bay Area Homes
Rodents can enter Bay Area homes in many ways. The most straightforward is through small cracks or openings in the foundation, walls, and more. Rats and mice can squeeze through entry points as small as a quarter inch, allowing them easy access to our living spaces and everything they offer.
Also, rodents are skilled climbers. They can exploit overhanging tree branches, utility lines, or anything that comes into contact with your house and use them to access attics and crawl spaces.
Furthermore, gaps around vents and utility openings allow rodents to enter homes, often in kitchens and bathrooms with pipes and ventilation systems. Food prep areas are also rich in food aromas, so leaving doors or windows open, or having available trash cans, can entice them to venture inside.
Unfortunately, even your best efforts to keep them out might not be enough, as rodents are often always a potential problem for Bay Area homeowners.
Why Rodents Are Always A Potential Problem For Bay Area Homeowners
Rodents are a persistent potential problem around here for many reasons. Our beautiful climate provides many pests, including rats and mice, with favorable year-round breeding and survival conditions. As a result, rodent populations can thrive without the seasonal decline of colder regions.
Also, our abundance of human settlements, green spaces, and agricultural fields create the ideal habitat for these scavengers, giving them access to food waste, shelter, and food sources.
Moreover, controlling or containing rodent populations is challenging, especially with our dense population, which increases the likelihood of interactions between rodents and homeowners. It allows them to infiltrate homes, damage structures, chew electrical wires, contaminate food, and transmit diseases.
The best way to mitigate these problems is to take proactive measures. Read on to find out how to protect your home from rodents year-round.
What You Can Do To Protect Your Home From Rodents
There are several proactive measures you can take to protect your home from rodent infestations, like the following:
- Seal entry points: Inspect your home for spots rodents can use to enter and close them up promptly. Rodents are resourceful enough without convenient access points.
- Secure doors and windows: Door sweeps, weatherstripping, and window screens are very effective at keeping pests out if they are not damaged.
- Keep a clean environment: Remove food sources by storing them in sealed containers and securing garbage in tightly sealed bins. Regularly clean areas prone to residues, like kitchens and pet feeding areas.
- Trim vegetation: Trim any vegetation that could serve as rodent highways.
- Store firewood properly: Keep firewood elevated and away from your home to discourage nesting.
- Seek professional help: Do you have a persistent rodent problem? If so, it is unlikely to go away on its own, as you might have already found out. Bay Pest can provide effective treatment options and ongoing prevention strategies for year-round rodent control.
These preventive measures, combined with help from the pros, can significantly reduce the risk of rodents invading your home, minimize potential damage, and mitigate health risks. Call us today to schedule an inspection and get started.
Call the Bay Pest experts today to learn how to get rid of rodents and keep these unhygienic scavengers away for good.