Louisiana Homeowners Urged to Inspect Homes to Keep Rodents Out

With cooler nights in Louisiana, rodents near your home are on the move, and they will be looking for a warm place in your home.

As we enter the cooler nights of Fall in South Louisiana, we will see more cool fronts sweep across the area, and no, we aren't complaining.

With those cooler days and nights, small creatures and rodents will be looking for a warm place to stay, and unfortunately, that means some unwanted pests could end up in your house.

Like you and me, when it gets cold out, pests look for warm places to stay as they attempt to escape the elements, and often mice will find their way into your house.

Now, I should note here that I am not a licensed exterminator, but here are a few ways you can seal your house off as temperatures begin to drop as we approach winter.

Let's start by noting you need to check the plumbing in your house. Often, when a home is built, those building or doing the plumbing leave too much space where the pipes run, thus allowing for mice to enter from the wall.

Small cracks between a wall and a pipe can be filled with steel wool. Mice won't eat through the steel wool, which can be purchased at any hardware store.

Next, check for any openings behind your appliances. Again, when houses are built, spaces are left open where hoses attach, making this a prime entry point for rodents.

Use mothballs to repel mice. Now, I am not 100% certain this works, but many have told me that it does. Leave an open box of mothballs, if you can stand the smell, in your garage.

Many have sworn to me that this works, but I suggest you put the open box in an area where kids or pets cannot reach it.

This is important. If you want to keep mice out of your home during the cold months, be sure to check the exterior perimeter.

Mice will look for the easiest entry point to your home, and often it is where your A/C work is. Like with plumbing in your house, large spaces are usually left wide open upon completion of a house near the A/C pipes and wiring.

I had a space between the bricks and cooling pipes, so I filled it with more steel wool.

There's something else you can do to fill this space, and we're about to get to it.

One safe way to repel mice from your home is to place secure bait traps around it. Most exterminating companies can provide these, and they will even service them for you during the cold months.

I have a few of these around my house, and they are locked so that kids and pets can't get to the bait inside.

The bait inside will dehydrate rodents, forcing them to leave the area around your home and search for water. The rest, well, you know.

If you live in a brick house, you may want to secure the weep holes around your home. However, you DO NOT want to block them.

These small spaces allow for moisture and water to seep out from your bricks; thus, blocking them would cause significant issues.

You can purchase screens or filters to prevent rodents and insects from entering your home through the walls. This may take some work, but it works.

Now, if you have cracks around your plumbing or on the outside of your house, you can fill them with foam. This works well, and it is not very expensive. I remind you, DO NOT use this in the weep holes around your house.

Finally, here's one I preach often at home because the kids can't seem to keep the doors shut.

Please don't make it so easy for rodents to enter your home by keeping doors open on cool or cold winter days. Close the doors and seal off your house.

I don't have any statistical data to back up my claim, but I bet most rodents enter homes through an open door. Close all doors as soon as you enter or exit your home.