Oakville Home Owners Dealing with Rat Infestation?
Homeowners in the communities of Oakville, Toronto, Kitchener – Waterloo and many others are struggling with an increase in rat populations. As a home owner, what can you do to mitigate the risk of these destructive creatures from becoming your house mates?
In a recent article seen at Insidehalton.com - https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/8624033-oakville-resident-calls-for-action-as-neighbourhood-deals-with-rat-infestation/ towards the end of the article there are some helpful tips relating to yard cleanliness to reduce the risk of attracting the rodents. In addition to these, there are a few concerns that are not going to be resolved by one’s property cleanliness that still put you at risk of rats and mice moving into your home.
With cooler temperatures rats and mice will be naturally attracted to warm protective shelters such as your homes, garages, under sheds and hot tubs etc. Its very possible there may be a larger wave of shelter seeking rodents due to massive amounts of residential and commercial property developments taking place across most regions of Ontario that have displaced rodents from their natural homes.
So how do you protect yourself from this? Its not like these pests will ignore a clean property over one with over grown shrubs given what they really want is to be in your walls or attic where it is warm.
First thing you can do is secure your brick home weep holes with the proper fix – stainless steel weep hole covers. These devices will stop the rodents from getting into your home via the weep holes, an all to common entry point. They will put an end to rats chewing their way in or pulling out materials they can get a grip on and over power. But equally as important they will maintain the brick inner wall ventilation – of significant important to home health.
Second, have a look at your roof line. Roof rats love to get on to your roof and discover small openings to enter, and if desperate, they’ll create openings. Once in there they are hard to get rid of and you’ll likely hear them at times in the evening as they head out for food and water and upon return. While in the attic they like to keep their jaws active on anything chewable, electrical wires are a favorite.
Do you have an old roof under disrepair? Unprotected roof vents or chewed up vents? ¼ to ½ or more gaps in siding and facia? Siding with corner posts that remain unprotected? Roof line where a lower roof meets an upper roof and looks secure where soffit meets the lower roof but in reality is not? Gaps around utility lines that pass through your walls?
Blocking up these holes likely means getting on your roof, conducting minor repairs and stuffing holes with strong stainless-steel mesh that you can seal with proper pest repellant spray foam or caulking.
When it comes to solving these issues the easiest thing you can do yourself without having to get on a ladder is to install your own weep hole covers. These are simple to manage and hundreds upon hundreds of home owners do this every year. Its your best first line defence. Then if you aren’t the type to get on your roof due to risks of injury you can always call in a handy man to get up there for you.
