Attics are a perfect environment for rodents – dark and quiet with little foot traffic or disturbance. While cute, these little pests can wreak havoc on a home with their tendency to chew through just about everything from wires to insulation. They’re also a health concern, leaving droppings that will sit for long periods of time in an attic that become little cesspools of bacteria and mold and carrying diseases and other unwanted visitors like ticks and fleas into your home.
Thankfully, removing these unwanted pests doesn’t have to be a huge headache, you just need to know how to go about it.
Identify the Problem
The first steps are to figure out what kind of rodent you’re dealing with, where they’ve entered your attic from and where they’ve taken up residence once inside.
Most of the time, your first clue that you have a new occupant in your home will be the little trails of scat they leave behind. These droppings can be helpful in identifying what kind of pest has moved in, as mice, rats, squirrels and racoons leave markedly different sizes and shapes of scat.
Now that you’ve determined what animal you’re dealing with, finding their point of entry and blocking it should be your next goal to keep them from returning once you’ve removed them. Sealing off cracks and holes and checking ducts and vents should you your priority.
Finally, try to find where they’re nesting. Listen for scratching and rustling, especially in the night when they’re active, to determine how many you might have and where they might be lurking.
Remove the Problem
Once you know what you’re dealing with and have taken steps to prevent a repeat occurrence, you can begin taking steps to actually remove your current pests.
The quickest way to remove mice and rats is with a larger snap trap. Smaller traps can work as well, but if your houseguests are bigger, might simply serve to scare the rodent and make it wary of future attempts. Leaving unbaited traps lying around for a few days prior to baiting and setting to get the little creatures used to them can help with your success.
Traps won’t work as well for larger rodents like squirrels and raccoons and will likely require professional removal.
