Rodent Control Done Right For Yakima County Properties

No one wants to redo a project. When you remodel a room or have a backyard deck constructed, you want to avoid going back and fixing mistakes a week, month, or even years later. To avoid future repairs and redos, you think it through, educate yourself on the products and methodically plan the project. Your goal is to look back with satisfaction at a job done correctly with no need for future work.

Just as you would invest time, effort, and money into a project to do it right, you need to do the same to ensure effective rodent control. To successfully remove rodents from your Yakima County property, the first step is to secure pest control in Yakima County from Prosite. We have the tools, experience, and knowledge to remove rodents from your property. We will work with you to make sure that the rodents are no longer a problem and will not be an issue in the future.

Our mission is to educate our community so you can enjoy a pest-free environment at your house. This brief article will provide practical information to help you battle rodents and keep them away in the future.

What Are Rodents?

Rodents are mammals with furry bodies, a tail, two eyes, and four legs, like the typical household cat or dog, but they are different. Rodents in Washington state are animals with two pairs of constantly growing incisor teeth. The teeth have a soft dentine on the backside and a hard enamel on the front. Once humans get their adult teeth, they don't have to worry about them growing again, but rodents have the opposite problem. The two upper and lower incisor teeth continually grow, and unless trimmed, they become unmanageable and prevent the animal from eating. Thus, one characteristic of all rodents is that they gnaw on nearby objects to keep their teeth trim and sharp.

To help you understand rodents in Yakima County, this is a list of common rodents:

• Squirrels
• Rats
• Mice
• Gophers
• Voles
• Beavers
• Chipmunks

Rodents overlap with wildlife. Wildlife is animals that avoid humans and will not share the same space with them. Beavers, voles, chipmunks, and gophers are wildlife rodents that seldom, if ever, enter Yakima County homes; however, rats, mice, and occasionally squirrels are different. Let's look at each species to understand the rodents that waltz into our houses.

Of the three rodent species, squirrels enter homes less than rats and mice, and some would put them in the wildlife category even though they are rodents. Because they are excellent climbers, they enter through the attic vents, chimney openings, soffits, fascia boards, and siding corners. Although Washington State is home to several squirrel species, the bushy-tail eastern grey squirrels are the ones that most often invade homes during the coldest winter months.

Although squirrels may have dual status, rats and mice are known rodents that invade homes. Unlike squirrels, these two creatures don't mind living around humans and are not as quick to avoid contact.

Although there are many rat species, roof rats are the one that is problematic in the Central Washington area. Roof rats, also called ship rats, house rats, or black rats, have a 7 to 8-inch grey, black, or brown body with a light underbelly. A roof rat's scaly, dark tail is slightly longer than its body. Unlike other the blunt noses of other rat species, the roof rat has a pointed, narrow snout. Roof rats are so-called because they nest high in trees and inside attics.

In our area of the country, deer mice and white-footed mice invade homes. Although both mice species are in the same genus (Peromyscus), they have a few differences. Deer mice have soft, gray fur, a faint dark stripe down the back, and a bicolored tail (the top part is dark while the lower part is white). White-footed mice have coarse fur with brownish sides and backend. Unlike deer mice, white-footed mice have a tail shorter than their almost 7-inch bodies.

Deer mice live outdoors in nests underneath rocks, stumps, and logs that they create by shredding plant fibers, fur, and feathers. Although white-footed mice live in the same type of nest, they often burrow under rocks, logs, etc., to create nesting sites. Both species seek shelter inside Yakima County homes in the fall as the temperatures decrease.

When you call Prosite for rodent control in Yakima County, our technician will identify the rodent types on your property and house. 

Rats, Mice, And Other Rodents Can Be Very Dangerous

Homeowners want rodent pest control done right because they innately know rats, mice, and other rodents are dangerous. Rodents are omnivores who eat anything and travel anywhere to get food, including open garbage containers, compost piles, animal feces, sewers, and drains. These places are breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses that transfer to the rodent's oil fur as it moves through the polluted areas. The furry coat of rodents is also an attractant for fleas, ticks, mites, and lice.

Night-time foraging habits and poor eyesight of rodents cause them to bump into objects and walls, smearing them with dirt, grime, and disease-causing organisms. Furthermore, as they travel across countertops, cabinets, and other surfaces, bacteria on their four and five-toed feet transfer to the area. As rodents travel through Yakima County homes, they often have fleas and ticks riding along. Once they enter a home, the additional travelers leave the rodents and search for human and pet hosts.

Murine typhus, tungiasis, tularemia, bartonellosis, tapeworm, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are some diseases that ticks and fleas spread. Leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, and salmonellosis are bacterial diseases rodents spread. Rodents can also distribute the viruses causing cowpox and hantavirus. These diseases may spread from eating food contaminated by contact with surfaces; they may also manifest from direct contact with the animal's fur or if it bites and scratches.

While the consequences of contracting a disease from rodents can be flu-like symptoms or even hospitalization, another danger these animals pose is structural damage to the home. As previously mentioned, rodents constantly gnaw to keep their incisor teeth from becoming unmanageable. As a result, they chew on paper, plastic, glass, concrete, and even metal. Rats chew two to four-inch holes in the floor and on walls. Rodents damage wood furniture, plastic containers, and paper food packaging.

Because rodents live near food and water sources, and since those sources are often in the kitchen, they will inhabit appliances and nearby wall voids. While living in wire-filled areas, they chew on the exterior protective coating exposing the wires to each other and moisture. Short circuits, sparks, dead internet lines, and house fires can result in damage ranging from destroyed appliances and electronic equipment to the loss of a home.

Although not particularly dangerous, rodents produce pheromones in their urine to communicate and for mating practices. If the infestation is large, a musty odor will be present. If squirrels are the problem, the attic area will have a strong urine odor.

Prosite will remove rodents in walls protecting your Yakima County home from potential fires. Our rodent removal service defends your family against diseases from these furry, four-footed creatures.

Five Effective Rodent Exclusion Tips

Although rodent pest control seems overwhelming, here are five things you can do to keep rats and mice out of your Yakima County house:

• Prune trees and shrubs away from the house
• Seal the attic and crawlspace vents with 1/4-inch wire mesh
• Close gaps between incoming wires and pipes
• Plug holes in soffits, fascia boards, and siding corners
• Fit the chimney with a spark arrestor

Seal holes and gaps with steel wool or thick wire mesh to prevent the rodents from reopening entry points. When our technician from Prosite inspects your home to evaluate how to provide you with effective rodent control in Yakima County, they will identify access points on your property.

The Key To Total Rodent Control For Yakima County Properties

The best way to get rid of rodents in Yakima County is to use the rodent control services from Prosite. When our technician arrives, they will inspect the interior and exterior for entry points, attractants, and signs of rodents on your property. When the inspection is complete, we will provide you with a report of our findings and a quote for rodent removal. We will also provide details for our exclusion services if we determine you need additional services.

Upon approval, we will develop a strategic plan to remove the rodents from your home using a combination of traps, baits, and monitoring stations. We will return to review the monitoring stations as deemed appropriate for the severity of the infestation. If you choose our complete rodent control package, we will seal all entry points to prevent future infiltration by rodents. Additional services, such as odor control and cleaning, are available to protect against hantavirus if the infestation is from deer or white-footed mice. 

Don't be overwhelmed if rodents are in your Yakima County house. Contact us today to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Yakima County and get a free consultation. We will protect your family and home from rodents.