Winter is coming…or well, with the weather we’ve had lately, it actually feels like winter has arrived. And while we may not have to worry about ice zombies in real life, there are still plenty of things to worry about for homeowners at the approach, or arrival, of cold weather. One of the main things is that cold weather can drive some unwanted visitors into your home.

These unwanted visitors can range from boxelder bugs to raccoons, but the main invader that we get calls about in the colder months is mice. Like how we humans prefer to stay inside out of the cold, animals prefer to do that as well, and in the fall and early winter, mice are looking for a warm place to wait out the frigid temperatures. Your basement, attic, garage, or crawlspaces often look like promising places for that.

While mice are often associated with unhygienic spaces, getting rodents in your home isn’t necessarily a sign that your home is unclean. However, maintaining a clean environment can definitely lower the risk of rodents wanting to be in your home. Keeping piles of mulch or leaves away from the foundation of your home can also help with lowering risk, as these piles are often places rodents will try to shelter. If butted up against your home, the rodents may use this as an opportunity to find or create a hole to sneak inside.

Another thing that can help reduce the likelihood of rodent entry is how and where you store things like birdseed. Birdseed is like a buffet to mice, and they will be far less likely to leave if they can return for second, third, or fourth helpings for free. Keeping bird feeders further from your home can help, as well as keeping the birdseed stored in a sealed tote or hard plastic container. It is important that the container is a hard, thick plastic and has a locking top, so that the rodents are less likely to chew their way in or sneak in through a partially-open lid.

The main way to prevent rodents from getting in your home, though, is to seal up any holes that the mice could use to get in. After all, mice only need about a dime-sized hole to gain entry into your home. This, of course, is where we come in! Our technicians are trained to identify entry points around your home and we seal these areas up with a variety of tough, rodent deterring products. If you’re having issues with rodents, or simply want to take some preventative measures and make sure your home is protected, give us a call today!