Tupelo Homeowners’ Complete Guide To Effective Rodent Control

There’s nothing more unsettling than finding rodents in your home, and for Tupelo homeowners, there’s a couple of different types you’ll need to worry about:

• House mice: As one of the most common rodents in the Tupelo area, the house mouse is often identified by its grayish coloring, large ears, and pointed muzzle.
• Norway rats: Norway rats aren’t as common for Tupelo homeowners to encounter, but it’s still possible to find them in your home. While they may look similar to roof rats, Norway rats, or brown rats, have shorter tails and lighter bellies.
• Roof rats: Their name comes from their excellent climbing abilities, and you can usually recognize these dark-colored rats by their longer tails.
• Squirrels: Squirrels are one of the easiest rodents to recognize with their bushy tails, bulging eyes, and chubby cheeks.

Regardless of which rodents you’re dealing with, these pests can cause significant property damage and pose a health risk to you and anyone around you. Here’s what you should know about why rodents may enter homes and businesses, why they’re so difficult to get rid of, and what you can do to prevent future rodent problems.

Why Do Rodents Enter Tupelo Homes And Businesses?

Using tiny cracks and crevices in the foundation of your home or low-hanging tree branches to climb onto your roof, rodents can get into your home in various ways. Usually for the same three reasons: they’re looking for warm shelter, water, and food.

Rodents have depended on humans throughout history, and they’ve even adapted themselves to live alongside us. As a result, rodents aren’t shy about entering our homes. Roof rats especially love to use vegetation near the side of your house or nearby trees to climb up on your roof, while squirrels may even hop through open windows or torn window screens.

• Rodents don’t need large openings to crawl through, and they’re capable of squeezing through tiny gaps.
• Mice can fit through a gap that’s the size of a pen.
• Adult rats only need a hole that’s the size of a quarter.
• Squirrels need a little more space, but they can squeeze through holes that are 1 ½ inches across.
• Even if the original hole is smaller than what the rodent can fit through, the strong jaws of a mouse or rat may be able to chew through the edges until it’s big enough to climb through.

Why Are Rodents So Difficult To Get Rid Of In Tupelo?

Because they spread dangerous diseases, contaminate your food, or even cause property damage by chewing through walls and wiring, rodent infestations should never be left untreated.

However, once they’ve gotten into your home, rodents like mice, rats, or even squirrels aren’t so easy to eliminate. Not only are they clever and excellent hiders, but they also reproduce extremely fast. What may have started as a couple of rodents can quickly turn into a full-blown problem.

The best way to deal with a rodent problem is with professional help, and at McCary Pest Control, we can offer effective and reliable rodent control. If you suspect that you’ve got a rodent problem in your Tupelo home, don’t wait. Call us at McCary Pest Control today for more information about our rodent control program.

How To Prevent Rodents In Tupelo

While rodents aren’t always picky about the homes they invade, there are a couple of ways you can work to prevent rodent infestations, such as:

• Use rodent-proof materials, like steel wool, to block off any tiny holes or gaps near your home’s foundation.
• Trim back low-hanging tree branches and overgrown shrubs to prevent roof rats from climbing them.
• Be sure to regularly clean up fallen fruit from any fruit trees located near your home.
• Don’t leave leftovers or open sources of food sitting out in your home, including pet food.
• Clean up after meals to get rid of lingering food scraps and crumbs, and be sure to wipe up any spills.
• Regularly empty and seal off indoor and outdoor trash cans.
• If you have a chimney in your home, use a chimney cap to block it off and prevent rodents from entering.
• Deal with any obstructions that may be flooding your gutters and any other drainage issues around your property.
• For the best and most effective rodent prevention, turn to professional guidance and advice from a pest management company like McCary Pest Control.
• Use rodent-proof materials, like steel wool, to block off any tiny holes or gaps near your home’s foundation.
• Trim back low-hanging tree branches and overgrown shrubs to prevent roof rats from climbing them.