9 Ways to Rodent-Proof your Home
One of the best ways to reduce the need for rodenticides (pesticides to control rats or mice) is to stop rodents from getting inside your home in the first place. Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Inspect the outside of your home for cracks or holes. Mice can squeeze through cracks as small as a dime; rats the size of a quarter.
2. Use metal weatherstripping under doors and weatherstrip your windows.
3. Cover dryer vents, attic vents or soffits with fine mesh, metal screening.
4. Cut tall grass and weeds back from the house.
5. Secure garbage in containers with tight-fitting lids.
6. Raise woodpiles about 30 cm (1 foot) off the ground and place them away from the house.
7. Understand the difference between rats and mice; each requires different control methods. For example, deer mice often invade buildings near fields and woodlands in the fall, while Norway rats prefer damp areas like crawl spaces or building perimeters.
8. Roof rats are agile climbers and prefer to live in trees, vines and other dense vegetation – they can infest attics, rafters or roofs, and upper stories of buildings.
9. If all else fails and you see signs of an infestation inside your home, you can bait or trap mice and rats with food or rodenticides. Be sure to read all product labels carefully and follow instructions to the letter in order to reduce the risk of accidental poisoning.
The Health Canada website (www.healthcanada.gc.ca) has a Pest Note called “Rats and Mice—What are they?” that details ways to prevent disease-carrying critters from infesting your home, as well as an Information Update on recent changes to the packaging requirements for rodenticides. www.newscanada.com
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