Saint Joseph County, South Bend Rat Control Situation:
Hey Dave I stumbled on your web site during a search for mice in the ceiling. I have a 12" tile ceiling in my entire house and a finished attic in my South Bend IN home. Unfortunately my neighbors are pigs and about to foreclose on their home and since they were living here we have a mouse problem which with previous neighbors we did not. We have a semidetached property so of course our homes are connected in the middle. I hear mice running on top of my tile ceiling mainly on our first floor where our kitchen and living rooms are and its loud. We have an awesome mouser cat but he can't get these although he stares at the ceiling often, he is obsessed with moussing! And does a wonderful job on the ones that venture out. I was told by a professional to cut some tiles out and place glue traps in the approximately 1 ½" between the tile back and the old ceiling. These neighbors will be leaving soon and I fear if no one cleans up their property inside and out my problem will get worse. I have even considered cutting random tiles out in their path and hooking a copper line to one of my gas engine tools and gassing these basterds out, the mice not the neighbors. LOL But I am sure that is not such a good idea, right? I have a feeling that all my solutions will involve removing ceiling tile and I guess I am looking for an easy way out but fear there is none. What are your thoughts?
South Bend Rat Control Tip of The Week
Do Rats Enjoy Cold Locations?
For human beings, winter means dealing with a drop in temperature, but for animals like rodents, it might mean a whole change in their metabolisms and lifestyle. Rodents prefer warm places with easy access to food. Weather change for them might be deadly, so the best way for them to survive cold locations is to find an ideal refuge.
Burrows In Your House
During summer we can find burrows anywhere in the woods or other outdoor land, but with the arrival of rain, many of these shelters are torn apart. Rodents must leave in the pursuit of a new home with food, a warm environment, and away from the wetness of the outdoors.
Rats are innate explorers and are able to enter any living area because they have a very flexible bone structure able to pass through a crack. They also have claws to climb any surface. Their appearance in homes is more common with the start of cold, snow, rain, or even cloudy days.
Just One Rat Can Cause Immense Damage
Rodents love to gnaw. It is known that their teeth never stop growing and if they stop chewing, they can die. On the other hand, it is also known that due to their capacity of chewing hard things it can open up an opportunity to get their treasure: food. Food is enough motivation to keep biting anything.
When there are rats and mice appearing all over homes, there is plenty of damage that might be hard to fix. Economic losses can be alarming and because of this, it is necessary to take preventive measures such as eliminating areas that facilitate a shelter for rodents in your home during cold and humid seasons.
If you do not only want to prevent but also exterminate, you have a great advantage during winter since rodents' reproductive capacities slow down by not having adequate conditions for pups to survive. So, if you exterminate a population, chances of regeneration are minimum.