Wintertime is a season filled with holiday parties with family and friends. For humans, that is. Other wild creatures, such as rodents, scamper out in the cold while looking for food and shelter. Rats and raccoons, in particular, are on the hunt for warmth and edible scraps. And your well-decorated home is prime real estate for their freezing little paws.
If four-legged pests have decided to camp inside your house or yard, there's no need to fear. Here are a few tips to keep rodents away from your property during the winter. These steps range from home maintenance adjustments to investing in a feline companion.
Clean Your House Clutter
Spending winter with your family can be a busy time. With all the cooking and decorating for the holidays, it's easy to overlook the mess building up around your home. Rodents love clutter, so the dirtier the house, the higher the chances of having a rat nest under a mountain of junk.
To counter this occurrence, make sure to tidy up daily and keep your house clean. Don't let laundry stack up on the floor or newspapers pile up in the corner. This way, there will be fewer hiding spots for rodents within your property.
Set Up Traps Around Your Lot
Rodents run fast any time they feel any movement. This trait makes the nimble animals hard to catch. Make your life easier by setting traps around your home.
You can go to your local hardware store and buy a snap trap to get rid of rats quickly. For larger rodents such as beavers, you can opt to use metal cages and scented baits. You can also create homemade traps out of boxes, pails, and many objects you can find inside your house. Combine any of these contraptions with pieces of food and watch the rodent numbers dwindle in no time.
Invest in One of Rats’ Greatest Enemies: Cats
It's a tale as old as time: a rat gets out of its burrow to gather some food. A fleet-footed feline sees the little creature. A chase ensues and, more often than not, ends with the predator catching its prey. So, if you want to stack the odds against pesky vermin, it's not such a bad idea to consider getting a house cat.
Sure, some studies disprove the effectiveness of domestic kitties as mouse hunters. But history also supports the furry mammal's prowess in taking down rodents. Most local groceries in New York even use "bodega cats" to guard their wares against mice and rats.
Get Help from Certified Rodent Exterminators
Enjoy your holidays without worrying about difficult vermin invading your property. Keep your house rodent-free during the winter, and all year round, with help from animal control specialists. Contact Wingate Pest and Lawn, LLC, if you have questions about pest and animal management. Our team in Missouri will happily help you keep rodents away from your home.