How To Keep Rodents At Bay: Tips For Effective Rodent Prevention And Control In Dallas

No matter how much we want to stop time, we cannot. Every morning, the sun rises, the alarm clock sounds, and we go through the daily grind until we return to bed. It is impossible to prevent birds from flying over our heads or Dallas traffic. Although we are powerless against many elements in our world, one area over which we can exercise control is rodent prevention. We do not have to share our homes with rats and mice.

If you have jumped in fear because a rat darted across the room when you moved a table away from the wall, or if you have been surprised by a mouse in the middle of the night, you need rodent control in Dallas from All-Safe Pest & Termite. 

Our family-owned and operated company has numerous five-star reviews, has been listed as a "Top-Pick" by over 10,000 metroplex owners, and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Our guaranteed services use low-toxicity products to solve your rodent problems. If rodents are inside your Dallas home, keep reading this article to learn how to end the current infestation and prevent a future one.

Signs Of Rodent Activity: How To Detect A Problem Early

Rodents are four-legged, warm-blooded mammals with an upper and lower pair of constantly growing incisor teeth. From a pest control perspective, some rodents are wildlife, while others are commensal rodents. Wildlife rodents avoid humans and will not live nearby, but commensal rodents do not mind sharing the same living quarters. Although wildlife may be an issue for some Dallas homeowners, commensal rodents (i.e., rats and mice) are problematic. 

House mice, Norway, and roof rats are problematic commensal rodents that infest many Dallas homes. Although each has unique features, they all leave the same signs of a rodent infestation:

• Rodents
• Droppings
• Pathways
• Gnaw marks
• Burrows
• Odor
• Grease stains
• Discarded foods
• Four and five-toed tracks

To help you determine if these early indicators are present in your Dallas home, let's unpack each one. 

You probably found this article because you saw a rat or mouse run from behind or beneath a cabinet, box, or furniture piece when you moved it. Norway and roof rats have a brown furry topside with black hairs interspersed throughout. Both can have grey or white bellies, but some roof rats have a black underside. Excluding the tails of both species, Norway rats have a round 7 to 9 1/2-inch body, while the bodies of roof rats are 6 to 8 inches and slender. Norway rats have blunt muzzles, small ears, and eyes, but roof rats have large eyes and ears. Since both rat species are similar in appearance, the best indicator of the type of rat infesting your Dallas home is where they live. As their name suggests, roof rats dwell in attics and the upper levels, while Norway rats live in basements and the lower levels of a house. There are many mice species, but the most common invader of Dallas homes is house mice. These furry rodents have a 2 1/2 to 3 3/4 round dusty grey body (not including the tail) with a cream-colored underside. 

Rats and mice produce droppings as they move through a house. Rat feces are olive-pite-sized and may have blunt ends (Norway rats) or pointed ends (roof rats). Because they are smaller than rats, mice deposit 1/8 to 1/4-inch rod-shaped and pointy fecal matter. You will find these deposits in cabinets, along baseboards, behind appliances, and wherever rodents form a trail in your home. 

Rodents are creatures of habit that use the same routes to and from food and water sources. Known as pathways or runways, you will find droppings and other items on our list along these trails inside your house.

As mentioned, rodents must constantly gnaw to keep their incisor teeth trim and sharp; failure to do so will ultimately inhibit the rodent's ability to eat and cause it to starve. Rodents chew on wood, thin metals, glass, plastic, and concrete. Rats create two to three-inch holes in floors and walls to facilitate travel to and from food sources and their nests. Noticing gnaw marks and droppings will help determine rodent pathways in the house.

Inside a house, rodents create nests in wall voids, under insulation, behind cabinets, and in other secluded basements in the attic, crawl space, basement, or rooms. Outside, they burrow under foundations, concrete slabs, firewood piles, and vegetation. Nests in the house consist of fabric, paper, and insulation; outside the house, they use twigs, leaves, and other debris.

Rodents produce putrid-smelling urine, and in homes with a heavy rodent infestation, there is a musty aroma. Liquid waste from rodents not only stinks but also stains objects along the pathways. Darken the room and use a black light to reveal the stains and further confirm a trail. 

A rodent's fur is oily and attracts not only disease-causing organisms but also dirt and grime. Poor eyesight and nocturnal foraging habits result in rodents bumping into objects and leaving grease marks as they travel through a home. 

Rats tend to consume their food at the source, but mice attempt to carry food to their nests; along the way, they usually drop a few morsels. The presence of food crumbs indicates a rodent runway. 

Unless the floor is dusty or rodents enter with muddy feet from the outside, you may not notice their tracks. However, if you think you have discovered some pathways, sprinkle the areas with talcum powder and check after a couple of days for four and five-toed footprints.

If this list is overwhelming, don't worry because our technicians from All-Safe Pest & Termite know the signs of a rodent infestation. When we arrive for rodent pest control at your home, we will search for these indicators.

The Rodent Menace: Understanding The Threat Of Uninvited Guests

Some people have domesticated rodents as pets, but the ones that invade your Dallas home are not inside animals. Rodents forage in warm, humid locations for decaying plant and animal matter; due to the nature of these areas, they are Petri dishes for disease-causing organisms. 

As rats and mice search through drains, sewers, garbage and compost piles, and animal feces, pathogens stick to their fur and feet. Later, when they enter a Dallas home, the bacteria and viruses stuck on their bodies transfer to cooking and eating surfaces as they bump into them. They also spread these organisms when they defecate in cabinets and drawers or chew on food packaging and containers. 

Rats spread leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, tularemia, salmonellosis, jaundice, cowpox virus, and trichinosis; mice spread some of the same maladies plus lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM). When rodents wander through unsanitary areas, fleas and ticks jump or climb onto their bodies. These insects and arachnids can also transfer pathogens to humans when injecting their saliva into their victims while drawing blood. The diseases they may spread are too numerous to list here.

Rodents can also trigger allergies. When their feces dry, particles flake away and circulate throughout a home. When household members inhale the airborne feces, they can experience a runny nose, coughing, chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and other allergic or asthmatic reactions. 

The effective rodent control provided by All-Safe Pest & Termite protects your family from diseases, allergies, and asthma attacks caused by rodents. 

Rodent-Proof Your Property: Key Steps To Keep Unwanted Guests Away

Rodents occasionally traverse across your property, and while you cannot stop a rat or mouse from running through your yard, you can take these steps to deter them from remaining on the property or invading the house:

• Remove debris and junk from the lawn.
• Store firewood 20 feet from the house and elevate.
• Provide drainage to ditches, gutters, and puddles.
• Pick up rotting fruits and animal feces.
• Remove food around animal feeders daily.
• Install wire mesh on the attic and crawl space vents.
• Seal the gaps and cracks in the foundation, roofline, and incoming pipes and wires with steel wool or a rodent-proof material.
• Put door sweeps on exterior doors.
• Keep outdoor and indoor garbage containers closed.
• Vacuum the house regularly.
• Suction out cracks and corners inside the home. 

When an All-Safe Pest & Termite technician arrives at your Dallas home to inspect for Texas rodents infesting your house, we can provide additional exclusion ideas for your situation. 

Professional Rodent Control: Why Expertise Matters

Stopping a rodent infestation requires identifying the kind of rodent invading your home. For example, setting store-bought traps in the attic will not deter Norway rats. When you contact us, we will dispatch a highly-trained technician to your home to inspect for rodent entry points, attractants, and hot spots. Our technicians know where to search and the indications of a rodent issue; they can also determine the rodent species infesting your home. 

Once we collect data, we develop a strategic plan that targets the problematic pest. We install bait stations in hot spot locations inside and outside the home. We will return over the next few weeks to inspect the locked traps and remove trapped rodents. We will continue to reset and use the traps until we are confident the rodents are no longer an issue. 

When searching for rodent control near you, look no further than All-Safe Pest & Termite. Contact us today to learn more and to get your free estimate.