It is important for a homeowner to follow the correct management strategies for rodent droppings. Being able to monitor the situation and locate the parties responsible is all about adhering to the proper steps and enlisting a pest control professional when necessary. Those who are struggling with this common issue should read on to learn more.

The first step?

Step 1: Knowing the Enemy 

How do you know whether the droppings you’ve found belong to a rodent who is residing in your home? A rodent who has set up camp in your domicile will have droppings that are pointed at the ends. They will also be roughly an eighth of an inch long, although they can range up to a quarter inch in length.

Urine stains are also typically noticeable and are associated with a musky scent. The home’s woodwork should be thoroughly inspected if droppings are found, since urine stains are typically not too far behind. Rodents will relieve themselves in areas that are not always noticeable to the naked eye, as a survival tactic.

Step 2: The Search Is On

Once you’ve become convinced that rodents are present in your home, the time has come to conduct the most thorough of searches. Rodents are never going to announce their presence in your home and they are very clandestine creatures. 

Your cabinets and drawers are the first place to look, as rodents will often leave droppings in the tiniest cracks and crevices. From there, your counters and sinks are the next place to check. Rodents often reside underneath kitchen and bathroom sinks and while discovering rodent colonies in these areas can be quite unpleasant, it certainly beats the alternative. 

A concerned homeowner should also take the time to search all areas of the house where food items are located. Rodents enjoy nesting in these areas of the home, as there is a steady supply of meals and enough darkness to remain hidden. Your kitchen cabinets, your pantry and underneath the refrigerator are all common spots where these hidden menaces are known to set up shop.

Once you have searched all of these areas and feel relatively confident that you have taken the correct steps to eradicate the issue, be sure to check back on a regular basis, to ensure that the rodents remain gone. Fresh droppings can reappear without warning at any time.

Step 3: Check for Additional Warning Signs

There are other telltale signs that will let you know when you are experiencing an infestation of rodents in your home. Rodents have teeth that are constantly growing and they need to gnaw as a result. Go through your home and check all of the doors and baseboards for tiny teeth marks.

The window and door casings are also favored by rodents who need to relieve the pain of their rapidly growing teeth. Packaged goods and kitchen cabinets may also show teeth marks, as well as any area that is adjacent to the home’s plumbing. If you see tiny piles of wood shavings or burrow holes, this is a bad sign.

A rodent’s burrow hole is roughly one inch in diameter. But other rodents can squeeze themselves through spaces that are roughly the size of a dime. The foundation of the home could have burrow holes, in addition to the baseboards, entrances, walls and corners.

Rodents do not possess the best eyesight and they will often leave markings on the walls, since they rub up against them during their travels. Once they have found a pathway within your home that they are comfortable with, they rarely stray from it. 

Are there trails and smudges on your walls and woodwork? This is a sign that rodents are leaving their body oil behind as they scuttle about. Head to dusty areas of the home and shine a light at a low angle, as this allows you to detect footprints.

Strange noises inside of the walls, especially during nighttime hours, is a sure sign of rodent infestation. Once a homeowner finds rodent droppings, they should be paying close attention to any squeaks and gnawing that they may hear. Household pets are also able to detect these noises when their owners cannot and if they are acting erratically late at night, this could mean that rodents are living among them.

Let’s say that the searches have turned up visible signs of rodent infestation. What should a homeowner do next?

The best course of action at this point is to contact a professional pest control company, since they will be able to help you eliminate the problem easily and efficiently. Many homeowners will try to save money by fighting off the problem on their own, but this is not recommended.

Attempting to use poisons and traps to make the rodents vacate the premises is a classic case of attacking the symptom and not the actual problem. For a homeowner to restore their peace of mind, as well as the sanctity of their domicile, they must enlist a professional to provide help. 

Otherwise, the rodents have carte blanche to return over and over again. Contacting a pest control professional also keeps you and your fellow residents safe from the spread of disease, as well as any issues that could arise with your plumbing and electrical work.

Alliance Pest Services offers a variety of pest control and rodent control programs in New Jersey to ensure that your home or business remains pest and rodent free. Call today for free rodent dropping inspection.