Greenville County, Greenville Rat Control Situation:
Hi, David: We are recent home owners with an infant at home, and found ourselves with a squirrel and mice in our attic. I came across your web site which was extremely helpful; thank you so much for putting that together. We followed your advice and hired a company from the web site you listed. I wanted to get your advice about what that company did. We still have mice and wanted to get a sense of what we can ask for, in the way of continuing the work. The attic is large and has the rolled insulation as well as the blown kind. The company did use poison. Should the poison cease or at this point continue? They've been trapping and poisoning for 2 weeks now --even though they've only caught one mouse. We're the middle townhouse in a row of three. Both town homes in either side of us have mice as well. The neighbor on the right has a bigger infestation that the neighbor on the left. According to the company guy, there's not a lot of feces in our attic, which indicates that we don't have too big a problem. However, even if only one mouse, that's a big problem --to me. When the company came to do repairs, they did some work in the front and back of the house (they put critter guards, and fixed a small hole in the A-frame on the roof). We still have mice, though. They've got to be going from house to house via the attic --it's the only thing that makes sense. It seems rather crazy that the mice are going out of our roof and then going to the neighbors via the roof, and back. We've had a bitterly cold winter; I can't imagine they're going to go out of one house and into the other. Logic would tell me that they've carved themselves a path from attic to attic. The company person claims that he can't seem to find a hole in between the houses, though his time in the attic has not been long at all. And, we still have mice. Also, they sterifabbed the attic, but shouldn't they have waited until the mice were caught? If there's more there, they're going to have to sterilize again, no? What are your thoughts? Thank you!
Greenville Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Able to Enter a Property Through the Plumbing?
Rats are able to swim:
Rats are surprisingly flexible and they have some excellent swimming abilities. Even if they have to make their way in through your pipes, it won't take long for them to make their way into your home if they are located under it in the groundwater. A rat is a perfect size to get through most water pipes or sewage pipes and this can mean easy access into your home.
There are dry spots throughout your plumbing:
Depending on the way your plumbing bends, it is likely that there could be some dry spots within your plumbing or within the inner workings of your home. Rats may enter into your plumbing and may even build nests throughout these dryer areas.
Rats can damage your plumbing:
As well as being able to scurry through your plumbing, rats could potentially damage your plumbing or even clog up your pipes. If there is a major rat problem or a nest nearby, you could be risking the chance that you could damage your neighbor's pipes or have an ongoing rat problem in your own home.
Rats easily enter in through broken lines:
If there are areas of your plumbing that have fallen into disrepair, make sure that they can be properly fixed up. Broken sewer lines or tree roots in your plumbing can often be the perfect place for many rats to make their way into your property.
Check grates and drain covers:
Installing mesh or making sure that you have a proper cover for your drain covers can be important to keeping rats from invading your space. Regularly looking at all of your drains and making sure that a rat can't make their way inside can be very important.
Close your toilet lid:
Closing a toilet lid could be a simple practice you could use that can stop rats from entering your home.