If you were to be in a building that was hundreds of times larger than you and you wanted to go undetected so that you could forage for food and water at will, you would probably get very creative at hiding and keeping your actions from being noticed. That is exactly what rodents do when they find themselves a nice, warm place to call home. That means you might not recognize that you have a rodent problem until you have more than one or two. At some point, however, you might begin to notice signs that you need rodent control. Here are a few telltale red flags:
- Droppings- Even though they may stay out of sight during the day, they will travel around during the night to find food. Since they don’t have a set place to defecate, they’ll leave their droppings wherever they travel. Rodent droppings are usually about 1/4-inch long or smaller and will be moist when they are fresh.
- Odors- If there is a place that several rodents spend a great deal of time, it will eventually fill up with droppings and urine, which will create an unpleasant odor.
- Dog or cat acts strangely- Your pets can usually detect rodents before you do, so if they are doing a lot of sniffing during the day or are restless at night, you could need rodent control.
- Noises- The more rodents you have, the more likely you’ll hear them as they move about inside your walls or scamper around the attic.
- Damage- Rodents don’t just go after your food. They will also look for materials to use for nesting. You could notice cotton balls disappearing, holes in stored clothing, gnaw marks on food packaging, and other damage.
- Wall markings- Rodents will usually run along baseboards as they travel throughout your home, and that can result in dirty markings as they rub along them.
It only takes one female rodent to cause a full-on infestation, so at the first sign of a problem, give us a call at NC Pest Control. Our rodent control services will end your rodent problem, and we’ll be glad to give you tips on how to prevent a future problem. Call today to learn more.