Issues With DIY Rodent Control In Long Island

Unfortunately, house mice, roof rats, and brown rats can all spread dangerous diseases and bacteria when they infest your home – including hantavirus, tularemia, and salmonellosis. In many cases, rodents can also cause a lot of property damage by chewing through electrical wiring, wooden siding, or other structural materials in your home.

From roof rats to house mice, having rodents in your Long Island home is always bad news – but can you get rid of rodents on your own? Here’s what Long Island homeowners should know about why rodents are so tricky to get rid of once they get in, the issues with DIY rodent control, and what to do if you’re currently dealing with a rodent infestation.

Are Rats And Mice Easy To Get Rid Of?

When they first discover a rodent problem in their house, it’s not uncommon for homeowners to assume they’re dealing with both rats and mice, but this is rarely the case. Rats eat mice, so if any of those critters occupy the same space, rats will hunt down the mice as a food source. Not to mention, the odor that rats emit is enough to scare most mice away. Even if both rodents start in the same place, it’s unlikely to stay that way for long.

Unfortunately, neither type is easy to eliminate. Both mice and rats are prolific, able to slip through even the tiniest holes, and can chew through various materials including vinyl, plastic, and even wood. Most mice only need a crack the size of a pen to crawl through, while rats can squeeze through a hole that’s the size of a quarter. This makes it extremely difficult for homeowners to keep these rodents from slipping through cracks and crevices in their home’s foundation or chewing the edges of an existing imperfection until it’s big enough for them to crawl through.