Ways You’re Attracting Rodents to Your Property in Phoenix & How to Put a Stop to It

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Temperatures drop during the Phoenix nights in winter, making this the opportune time for rodents, like mice and rats, to take up residence in and around your property.

Rodents and Colder Temps

When the weather is warm, rodents spend most of their time outside. The field mouse, for example, is well suited for outdoor living, while the average house mouse prefers the indoors no matter the season. House mice and field mice can survive outdoors during the warmer nights, but when the temperatures begin to drop, they look for a warm, cozy place to live — like your house or business. They also be look for food and water, two essentials that aren’t as available in winter. Their survival instincts will lead them to any home or business where they can find food, water, and shelter.

What Attracts Rodents?

Rodents aren’t fussy. They’ll move into any shelter that provides their needs. That means it is up to you to make sure your Phoenix home or business isn’t a rodent magnet.

The three essentials rodents seek are shelter, food, and water. Rodents will seek these things outside your property first. They’ll explore trash bins, drainage areas, and clumps of debris. All of these attract rodents year round. If these aren’t present, then they may try to move inside, but first they need to find a way in. Rodents are sneaky. They’ll choose a property with plenty of sheltered areas, like tall grass and bushes where they can hide while inspecting your property and looking for a way inside.

If you have a pond on your property, this is an excellent source of water for mice and rats. However, there are less obvious ways to unknowingly water rodents, such as water bowls left outside for pets, a leaky water hose, a bird bath, clogged gutters, and more. When you have an enticing property for rodents, you can be certain they will eventually find their way inside.

Once inside, there are many places for rodents to hide. They’ll look for out of the way places like the attic, basement, or storage areas. Leaving food out overnight, dirty dishes left in the sink, and crumbs that have fallen from the kitchen table will all attract rodents to come out of their hiding place to dine — while you’re asleep.

The Dangers of Having Rodents in Your Phoenix Home or Business

Rodents are explorers. They don’t stay huddled up in one place. They’re on the move looking for shelter, food, and water. Unfortunately for you, rodents are dangerous. They carry diseases that easily spread through feces, urine, bites, and saliva.  While they explore your home or business looking for food and water, they contaminate surfaces, which leaves you and your family or employees susceptible to rat bite fever and salmonella. Even just being exposed to their urine, feces, or saliva can have deadly consequences, like hantavirus. To make matters worse, rodents also carry parasites, like fleas and ticks, as well as tapeworms and roundworms.

Rodents put your health at risk, but they also put your property’s structure at risk too. They are destructive creatures that will chew through almost anything. In fact, they have to chew to keep their incisors, which never stop growing, at a manageable length. They’ll chew through boxes of food, sheetrock walls, insulation, wiring, pipes, ductwork, and more.

Protect Your Phoenix Property From Rodents

It’s not impossible to keep rodents from camping out in your yard or moving into your home or business. Simply eliminate what attracts them, such as:

  • Keep grass trimmed short
  • Keep wood piles away from your structure
  • Keep yard debris cleaned up
  • Keep tightly fitted lids on all garbage cans
  • Remove bird baths
  • Remove bird feeders
  • Regularly clean gutters
  • Never leave food outside
  • Eliminate outdoor hiding spots
  • Repair holes in siding
  • Seal cracks in foundation
  • Seal gaps around doors and windows
  • Look for areas where rodents can enter the home and fix them
  • Keep indoor food properly stored
  • Clean up after every meal
  • Clean floors regularly
  • Clean under appliances
  • Clean out clutter

Eliminating a Rodent Infestation in Phoenix

If you find yourself with a rodent infestation, you may try to take care of the problem yourself. You could set out traps and find you catch one or two. However, you’ll need more than a few traps to get rid of mice or rats. Both breed rapidly and the population can get out of hand quickly. They’re smart too and will eventually catch on to what the traps or bait are for and avoid them.

To completely eliminate a rodent infestation, you will need experienced professionals to do the job. At Buzz Tech Rodent Removal, we have the skills, training, and methods needed to get rid of your rodent infestation for good. We will safely eliminate the problem, as well as educate you on how to keep you home or business pest free.