Home Maintenance Tasks That Are A Must To Keep Rodents Out This Winter

No one likes to be cold outdoors, and that goes for mice, rats, and other rodents as well. As the temperatures begin to drop, they begin to seek shelter. Your house, with any cracks and crevices to offer, could be the ideal place for them to find the warmth they need. As a property owner, that's the last thing you want to happen. The good news is that by performing several maintenance-related tasks before winter, you can work to make it much harder for these rodents to make their way into your home. These include removing potential housing materials and sealing up holes around the exterior.

To avoid these unwanted guests, start by making the area surrounding your home less desirable. Remove potential food sources and outdoor shelters like your compost pile or that big stack of wood. Be sure to clean up any food particles left outside from nights around the bonfire, too. In addition to this, you'll want to work to seal off your home. Not only will sealing holes and cracks keep pests from getting into it, but it will also allow you to reduce your heating and cooling costs. Over the summer months, it's quite common for holes to develop, especially behind siding that's falling off or from pests that tried to burrow into the area. Normal wear and tear from weather can also create worn areas that allow critters to get in, so make sure you patch up these spots.

The first strategy for protecting your home from the invasion of rodents is to minimize anything that would lure them onto your property. Start with a good fall cleanup where you remove as much of the debris outside of your home as possible. This includes any type of garbage or food scraps that may have been forgotten about. You also want to move bird feeders that are near your windows or patio. Instead, place these further away and near wooded areas to prevent mice and rats from coming too close.

You also want to be sure to move firewood away from the structure as well. It's no fun to have to trudge out into the cold to get firewood, but this is the ideal home-like environment for rodents to live in. Keep any type of fallen wood debris from trees away from the home, too. Mice and rats also like clutter of other types as well. While all those fabulous little birdhouses and outdoor landscape décor items you've added over the summer are a lot of fun, they can also serve as shelters for pests. Close and remove grills, wood stoves, outdoor firepits, and other items that could become makeshift shelters for rodents. The goal is to keep pests away from your home so they don't make their way closer to the interior.

The most important maintenance task for reducing your rodent problem this winter and keeping your home's energy bills low is to seal cracks and holes. Walk around the exterior and look for problems. Small gaps in the foundation, holes in the siding, or open cracks between planks can all be easy openings for critters to get into, especially if they chip away at them. You'll also want to seal any gaps around pipes and vents leading into and out of your home. Spend some time really examining the air conditioner condenser and ventilation in your attic eaves, where it is very possible that mice or rats could gain access to your home. Water lines and gaps near the water heater are also prime targets. 

If it is safe to do so, have your chimney inspected, too. Consider the addition of a cap and make sure that all gaps around the base are sealed. The warmth from a fire will draw rodents into the area, so keeping a cap in place that's designed for protection is key. It's also important to apply exterior caulk around your windows and doors. If a window does not close properly, get it fixed before winter, as well as any screens that have holes in them. Don't overlook that small gap under your garage door, too. If the garage door seal doesn't create a strong barrier, critters will make their way in.