When families discover that rats and/or mice are in their home, the response is universal. They want them out, ASAP. When it comes to the “how,” though, there is no one size fits all solution —and we agree that the best rodent control is the type that suits your needs and fits your budget.
We have various rodent control options to share with you. Even better, if you’re already looking for the “best rat exterminator near me” and you’re in our service areas, you can contact us online or call 800-225-5305.
Rodent Control Preventative Measures
Ideally, you can rodent-proof your home so that no rats or mice can get in. At a high level, this involves closing up entry points, eliminating their access to food and water, and reducing where they can nest. Rodents are crafty creatures, able to slip into homes in small openings. To help thwart their entry:
- Inspect door and window screens throughout the home and make repairs, as needed.
- Add weatherstripping, as well.
- Check where utility cables and plumbing pipes enter the home. Do you need to caulk around them?
To eliminate ready access to nesting materials, use plastic containers with tight-fitting lids instead of cardboard boxes to store materials. Don’t keep stacks of newspapers or magazines or piles of fabric where they’re readily available to the rodents. To keep them from gaining access to food and water:
- Store grains, cereals, and other dry foods in sealed containers.
- Clean up crumbs on countertops to prevent rodents from finding even scraps of food.
- Wash dishes after eating and make sure that no food particles remain in the sink.
Finally, to help keep them out of your house, consider the surrounding area and:
- Inspect vegetation and wood piles around the home to make sure you aren’t creating a hospitable nesting area for rats and mice.
- Check your roof for rodent presence, plus your attic vents and the inside of your chimney.
- Don’t forget your car engines! They’re also potential nesting spots.
Benefits of Expert Rodent Control
When rodents are effectively controlled in your home, this protects you, your family, pets, and visitors from the dozens of diseases carried by them, both directly and indirectly. It also protects your home from damage because rodents gnaw on wood, wiring, and more—as well as contaminate your food supply.
Sometimes, of course, best efforts to keep rodents out are not enough. If you suspect that rats and mice have found their way inside, look for the following signs of an infestation.
Contact us for a pest-free home!
How to Know If You Have a Rodent Infestation
In some cases, you won’t have to wonder if you have an infestation because you’ll see mice and rats on your property or in your home. Other times, you’ll see signs of them before you actually see a rodent: perhaps dark droppings in the kitchen or pantry, in cupboards and sinks, or along baseboards—or you’ll spy oily marks on floors, baseboards, and walls; hear nighttime scurrying sounds in the walls or attic; find shredded material (paper, packaging, or fabric) that is likely being used as nests, typically in dark secluded spots; or notice gnaw marks in wood and walls.
If you’ve got a problem with rats or mice, then it’s time to consider the two main approaches—traditional rodent removal and SMART pest control—and then decide what’s the best rodent control strategy for you.
Types of Rodents
Part of effective rodent removal involves identifying the species and knowing the habits of each. Four of Florida’s most common types of rats and mice include the house mouse, deer mouse, roof rat, and Norway rat.
House Mouse
This type of short-haired mouse may be black, gray, or light brown with a lighter belly. From tip to tail, this rodent can grow up to 3.5 inches with less fur on its ears and tail. They can slip into your house via cracks the size of a dime and will then settle into your home.
Deer Mouse
The deer mouse is bigger than a house mouse, typically about five inches but possibly as much as eight. The coloring is the same as a deer (thus the name): brown with a white belly and feet. They’ll probably prefer living in your basement, attic, wall voids, or garage and shed.
Roof Rat
Figure half a pound to a pound, slender, with a tail that’s longer than the rat’s body and head. Fur can be tan, gray, or black with a light belly. Because these critters love to climb, they build nests in attics and on roofs or in trees that can be located by your home.
Norway Rat
This rodent is heftier than the roof rat, a shaggy brown or gray hue with scaly ears and tail—and it comes with multiple names, including the brown rat and the sewer rat. Despite its size, this crafty rodent can enter your home in a hole that’s just half an inch in size.
Our rodent control professionals are trained in finding and identifying rats and mice in homes and creating a highly effective, safe plan that’s ideal to address the particular species.
Traditional Rodent Removal Plans
At Turner, this starts with a free home inspection to identify where rodents may be entering your home; what species they are; and how they travel around the house. We’ll then create customized rodent control services to fit your specific situation. Options are available from rodent trapping in snap traps that are more safe for children and pets to a bait form of rodenticide.
We’ll monitor the success of your treatment plan, emptying and relocating trapping areas and otherwise continuing treatment until you’re fully satisfied.
Anticimex SMART Pest Control
This SMART technology is the only fully intelligent rodent control solution available today, which removes the guesswork. If a rat gets into your house, it triggers a sensor, which sends a report to our service technicians. This eliminates the need for you to do anything, day or night, meaning you don’t need to monitor traps or contact us.
Plus, Anticimex SMART pest control allows us to stay ahead of the game through its predictive feature to let us know where rodents are likely to gather in a home. With this intelligence, we detect and monitor trends, strategically place traps where we anticipate movement, and monitor them 24/7.
The Best Rodent Control Services for Your Needs
Some people are more comfortable with rodent removal solutions that don’t rely as heavily on technology or perhaps they only have a small population to address. In those cases, they may decide that they’re more comfortable with more traditional strategies. And, that’s okay. As we stated at the beginning of this post, the best rodent control is the type that suits your needs and fits your budget.
If you’re intrigued by the idea of SMART rodent control, here are benefits of this cutting-edge solution:
- Strategically placed sensors detect activity with non-toxic traps humanely taking care of rodents in a way that’s environmentally friendly and keeps you, and your family, visitors, and pets safe from harmful chemicals.
- Around the clock SMART monitoring (24/7/365) means that there’s no need for monthly or quarterly annual inspections.
- You no longer need to empty traditional traps and interact with potentially disease-carrying rodents.
- Rodent problems are identified early, before an infestation can build up, and you can have a good sense of how many of them may be in your home.
- Technicians use the feedback from the Anticimex system to strategically adjust sensors and trap placements to proactively prevent a new infestation from taking hold.
No matter which method you choose, it’s important to select the “best rat exterminator near me” for effective service. If you live in these areas of Florida, we invite you to contact us.
Choose Turner Pest Control for Rodent Removal
We started out as a family owned and operated business and, even after experiencing tremendous growth, we still focus on our unwavering commitment to the cherished customers and communities we serve.
No matter which rodent removal approach you favor, our technicians use the most up-to-date and effective products, equipment, and techniques to keep you and your family safe—giving you access to today’s eco-friendly choices. You can count on the highest levels of customer service from Turner Pest Control.
Our expert team must pass stringent background checks and they arrive at scheduled times. This provides you with peace of mind and the ultimate in convenience. Plus, we’re QualityPro Certified, a designation that fewer than three percent of our country’s pest control providers earn. So, when selecting Turner for your rodent control services, you know that you’re choosing a quality company with proven excellence.
This certification comes with four key pillars—Business Operations, Environmental Stewardship, Consumer Relations, and Technician Training—and symbolizes our commitment to protecting our customers, our people, and our environment.
To talk about the best rodent control plan for your needs and/or to find out more about the Anticimex SMART pest control system, just contact us online or call 800-225-5305.
