Here in Central Florida, the main rodent pests we see are house mice and Norway rats.

1. House mice: Adult house mice range in total size from 5-8” in length, including their tail. Their ears are moderately large and distinct and their bodies can be light brown to nearly black in color, with a belly that is slightly lighter.
2. Norway rats: The Norway rat is relatively large and the average adult measures 16” in total length from its nose to the end of its tail, and weighs about 12 ounces. The length of the tail is shorter than its body and it is typically grayish brown to black or reddish-brown in color.

House mice build nests outdoors in ground burrows and sheds. Inside of homes or properties, house mice will can be found nesting in attics, wall voids, storage boxes, and underneath appliances. Norway rats will burrow alongside your foundation. When they get indoors, they prefer dark and damp areas such as the basement or crawl space.

A rodent infestation can be dangerous for more than one reason:

1. Certain rodents can carry a wide array of potentially dangerous diseases.
2. Rodents can contaminate surfaces with their feces and urine.
3. A rat or mouse infestation can cause structural damage to your home with their nesting habits.
4. With their nonstop chewing habits, rodents can gnaw through electric wires and create a fire hazard.

Rodents are nocturnal creatures, which means they are most active at night. Both rats and mice are common year-round, but rodent season for pest control often begins in the fall when the weather begins to cool down. This is because dips in temperature will drive rats and mice indoors for warmth and shelter throughout the winter. With fall marking the beginning of the rodent season, it’s also the perfect time to prevent rats and mice from making themselves at home in your Central Florida home.

Rodent exclusion is the best way to prevent rodent problems in your home.  Eliminating access to your home and removing any food or water resources will help to deter a rodent infestation. Seal gaps and holes around utility cables, outdoor vents or pipework with steel wool or silicone-based caulk. Remove clutter, keep a clean home, and use tight-fitting lids on trash bins. Outdoors, pick up fallen fruit, clean up around bird feeders or use a “no-waste bird food”, remove leaf litter, and pick up pet waste promptly.

When rodents get inside your home, they will gravitate toward dark, secluded areas. This often means in attics, basements, and crawl spaces, but they can be in your walls as well. Hearing scratching noises or odd sounds at night often help indicate where the rodent infestation is located. They can build nests out of a number of materials found right inside your home.

Rodents will gnaw on wires, pipes, and gas lines, which creates the potential for serious damage relative to fires and explosions. Accounts of the rodents’ ability to start fires by carrying matches to their hiding places, as well as by causing short circuits through the gnawing of electrical wires have been widely reported. Chewed, exposed wires inside walls may spark, causing interior walls to catch fire. In addition, their nesting habits can cause damage to items inside your property.

Rodent infestations are notoriously difficult to control on your own. A mouse or glue trap may work for one or two rodents, but will not hold up against a bigger infestation. A professional rodent exterminator can ensure all rodents are gone, help with clean-up, and implement exclusion efforts to protect you from future infestations.

No two structures in Florida are built exactly alike, which is why rat and mouse exclusion requires a tailored approach. Key structural modifications we perform include:

• Mounting heavy-duty commercial door sweeps across exterior entry doors and garage access points
• Replacing deteriorated bottom rubber gaskets and side weather seals along main garage doors
• Sealing interior utility penetrations under sinks, behind appliances, and inside garage utility rooms
• Securing foundation vents, soffit junctions, masonry cracks, and exterior pipe penetrations
• Installing protective steel covers on dryer/kitchen vents and securing heavy chimney caps
• Closing off gaps behind exterior J-channel trim where pests like to climb
• Fitting high-gauge wire mesh screens behind open gable vents and attic louvers
• Sealing unbacked roof returns and closing off open eaves leading straight into your attic space
• Inspecting wood fascia, frieze boards, and roof edges for moisture decay or gnaw holes
• Fixing protective plumbing caps over open or unused pipe runs
• Ensuring exterior vinyl or aluminum siding corners are completely capped and sealed