September 06, 2024
As fall approaches, you might start noticing unwanted visitors in your home—rodents. As temperatures drop in Lewiston, Portland, and across Maine, many critters seek shelter indoors, increasing rodent sightings inside homes. Understanding which rodents are common in the area, why they head indoors during the fall, and how they get into your home can help you take preventive action.
Common types of rodents in Maine
Here in the Pine Tree State, the most common rodents that find their way into homes, camps, and other structures are:
- House mice
- Deer mice
- White-footed mice
- Norway rats
Why mice and rats move indoors in the fall
To be clear, rodent infestations can and do occur all year round. However, as the weather cools, mice and rats start looking for warm, sheltered places to spend the winter, and our homes offer the perfect conditions. It’s not just shelter they’re seeking either; rodents also need food to survive, and a stocked pantry or even accessible trash can filled with food scraps can make your home even more attractive. Once inside, rodents can cause significant problems for homeowners, including contaminating food, damaging insulation, and wiring, introducing ticks and fleas, and other risks to your health and home. So, let’s not let them in!
How rodents access homes and structures
When it comes to finding ways into your home, rodents are clever; they’re also opportunistic. Here are some of the most common ways mice and rats get inside and what you should do to keep them out:
- Foundation
Mice will run along your foundation looking for sources of heat loss. This could be a crack in your foundation or a gap between stones. Able to fit through a hole the size of a dime, cracks don’t deter rodents. Fill any holes or gaps up with cement or caulking to ensure those entries are sealed. - Attached garages
Make sure your garage doors are flush with the ground. Even a small crack caused by uneven doors can be an entryway for rodents. Leaving your garage doors open for long periods and having clutter in your garage also attracts rodents. Keep your garage tidy, fill gaps with caulk, and weather-strip your garage doors to keep rodents out. - Under siding and around casings
|Trim around windows and doors; where it meets, the siding often contains gaps. These are perfect doors for rodents to find their way into your walls. Use mesh to fill in the holes or steel wool pads to keep those gaps impenetrable. - Basements
Specifically, the door to the basement. It could be a bulkhead or simply a regular door that opens to the outside. If there is any gap or crack, you better believe a rodent uses it to get in. Be sure to use sturdy weather stripping to seal up the doorway. - Roofline
How’s your roof looking? If there are any missing shingles or openings where your roof meets the house, that’s a problem. Rodents are most likely climbing up downspouts and along gutters to find them and move in. Using chicken wire or mesh to create a barrier at the bottom of your downspout can stop them from climbing up, and caulking along your eaves and soffit can prevent them.
Keep an eye on these popular ways rodents find their way into homes and take the steps necessary to correct them. If mice or rats are already established in your home, contact a pest control company to help eliminate unwanted houseguests.
Effective rodent control for Maine homes
If you’re already dealing with a rodent problem in your home (or business), contact Pine State Pest Solutions for assistance. Our rodent control services target mice and rats and start with a thorough rodent inspection. Based on our findings, we’ll develop and implement a customized solution that may include:
- Eliminating rodents already active inside the structure.
- Performing minor exclusion work to prevent new infestations.
- Installing bait boxes around the structure's perimeter and in strategic areas, such as the garage, attic, and basement.
- Follow-up service visits if the rodent problem is severe.
Additionally, our licensed pest control pros will let you know if they discover conditions on your property that attract rodents and offer suggestions on correcting them.
Sign up for a home pest control plan and we’ll keep insects and rodents away!
In addition to our stand-alone rodent control services, Pine State Pest Solutions offers year-round home pest control services that target common house-infesting pests, including rodents and insects. You don’t have to put up with rodents in and around your home; check out our plans and pricing below, or call us to learn more!
*initial start-up fees may apply.