How to get rid of rodents in the attic

Rodents can be really problematic and a great annoyance in your home, especially when you notice their presence in the attic. Of course, you will want to get rid of them as soon as possible. There are several steps to do once you have noticed a rodent presence in the attic:

The first thing you need to do is an investigation and definite determining that there are rodents in your attic. In this step you will verify that there are some rodents present in your attic, i.e. that they live there.

Another thing to do once you have definitely verified a rodent presence in the attic is to seal all entry points that are enabling rodents to get into your attic. When checking vents, the roof line and eaves, make sure to also check soffits, roof vents, dormers and all other cracks and holes.

Once you have located all possible entry points, you should close all of them – except for the main entrance and exit point. This one is usually bigger than the others. Leave that one open because it will be used for trapping purposes.

After completing the previous step, you should now choose a particular trap for rodent trapping. There are different types of traps, different in size, the material they are made of, and the mechanisms they use. The majority of rodents, though, can be caught most effectively with one-way exclusion traps. These traps have one entrance that works on a spring. The rodent will be let through to enter the trap and then the doors/entrance will close after it, enabling it to leave the trap. This way, once the rodent is trapped, you can safely remove it from your home and put the trap back into function.

It is important to check the trap regularly so that a trapped rodent stays in the trap as little time as possible. Being trapped is very stressful for rodents and can even cause death, so it is definitely advisable to cut down that time as much as possible.

Once you have trapped all of the rodents, you need to seal shut the remaining entrance hole in order to prevent further rodent infestation. Before doing so, it is a good idea to check out the attic just to make sure that there are no rodent babies left in the attic because they could starve to death and start decomposing in the attic – and this would cause a really nasty smell.

Once you have removed the entire rodent family from your attic, it is important to thoroughly clean it to remove urine stains, feces and all mess left after the rodent invasion in your attic. Urine stains and feces can carry viruses and bacteria, so it is very important to remove such danger from your attic.

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