Best Rodent Exterminator in Richmond, Virginia
Do you really need a rodent exterminator for your greater Richmond, Virginia, home when there are so many do-it-yourself products on the market today? If you think not, then consider this: Rodents cause $19 billion in home damage each year, according to a study by the University of South Florida. Rodents chew through wires, cause fires, and degrade the structural integrity of your home by chewing up wood, drywall, and plaster. So, if you want to take on rats, mice, and other furry creatures in your home rather than trust the services of a professional rodent exterminator, well, you get what you pay for.
Are Rodents Really That Harmful?
Ask any professional rodent exterminator in the greater Richmond, Virginia, area if rodents are harmful, and the answer will be a resounding “yes.” Along with the damage they can do to your home, rodents can also make you sick. For instance, mice and rats often carry diseases such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, listeria, the plague, and rat-bite fever – which, by the way, doesn’t require an actual rat bite to catch. Even if you don’t come into direct contact with a rodent, their feces, urine, and dander can wreak havoc on your allergies and immune system. Don’t take our word for it, the word of one of Richmond, Virginia’s leading rodent exterminators, because this information comes straight from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Best Rodent Defense is a Good Rodent Offense
To reduce the likelihood you’ll ever never need to call one of Richmond, Virginia’s, professional rodent exterminators, take the following steps:
- Regularly and thoroughly check your home for potential entry points. Rodents, depending on the type, can squeeze through spaces as small as a dime, so be diligently about finding every crack, nook, and cranny and seal them off with caulk.
- Check your garage door sweeps, which, if worn and torn at the edges, will allow rodents access to your home.
- Remove debris around the home, as rodents will often take refuge there.
- Remove any ivy growing up the sides of your home. Ivy often harbors snails and slugs, which rodents love to eat. Even worse, ivy can form “rat ladders” to windows, attics, and other interior spaces.
- Keep compost piles as far away from your home as possible and grass cut to no more than two inches tall.
- Maintain at least a two-foot space between your home and bushes, shrubs, and fences. Also remove any tree limbs that are within three feet of your roof.
- Avoid having a bird feeder because it provides a source of food for rodents.
- Keep outdoor grills and cooking areas clean.
- Keep firewood off the ground and as far away from your home as possible to mitigate shelter opportunities.
- Use city-issue plastic trash bins. If cracked or missing a lid, contact the Department of Sanitation for a replacement.
What Attracts Rodents to My Home Anyway?
Like all mammals, rodents need food and water to survive, and they will infest any area where food and water is easy to come by. As any Richmond, Virginia, rodent exterminator will tell you, they prefer your home over any other home in the neighborhood because you’ve put food and water within easy reach. You can change the rules of the rodent exterminator game by keeping food in tightly sealed containers and repairing any leaking pipes.
Here are other things you can do:
- Do not leave out pet food and water overnight.
- Do not keep fruits or vegetables in open bowls outside the refrigerator.
- Make sure trash cans are covered.
- Keep stove tops clean and free of food scraps.
- De-clutter your home of papers, fabric, and any similar materials that attract rodents for nesting.
- Fix any holes near cabinets, closets, or doors leading to outside or crawl spaces.
- Fix any holes around sinks or appliance pipes.
- Repair cracked foundations in the basement and unscreened ventilation holes in the attic.
- Repair holes around windows or doors.
- Replace missing screens in vents or crawl spaces.
Removing food and water sources and blocking access points will go a long way to ensuring you never need to hire a professional rodent exterminator for your greater Richmond, Virginia, home.
Using Scare Tactics
Natural predators such as snakes, hawks, and owls can help control rodent populations by feeding on rats and mice. Barn owls are efficient hunters, and a family of barn owls can eat as many as 3,000 mice per year. To encourage barn owls to nest and stay in your area, consider installing a nesting box. Strategic placement of nesting boxes combined with the use of traps and other preventative measures will go a long way to managing your rodent problems and reducing the need for a professional rodent exterminator.
For more information on installing and maintaining nesting boxes, visit the Hungry Owl Project or the Barn Owl Box Company. Please note that the Hungry Owl Project strongly urges that NO rodent poisons be used indoors or outdoors while encouraging owls to your property. Using poisons could kill an owl if it feeds on a poisoned rodent.
When You Want to Use Traps
Using traps gives you clear confirmation of a captured rodent and allows you to better gauge the effectiveness of treatment. You are also able to dispose of rodents immediately rather than dealing with the foul odor of rotting carcasses from poisoned rodents inside your walls or otherwise out of reach. Most important, using traps allows you to avoid rodenticides, which pose a greater threat of exposure to children, pets, and non-target wildlife, including those owls we mentioned above.
Below is a list of traps you might want to consider for your greater Richmond, Virginia, home that are recommended by rodent exterminators.
- Snap Trap: This is the oldest type of trap and uses a spring-loaded bar to kill a rodent on contact. Some modern snap traps prevent risk to children and pets by enclosing the device in a plastic box.
- Electronic Trap: This battery-powered trap delivers an electric shock that kills rodents quickly. This is a newer type of trap, and models are available for both rats and mice.
- Live-Animal Trap: This is a catch-and-release system that avoids killing a rat or mouse. Note that the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibits releasing captured rodents into the wild. In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that captured rats or mice might urinate and increase the risk of spreading disease.
- Multiple-Catch Live Mouse Trap: This is a catch-and-release system that allows for capture of multiple mice. See warnings for the live animal trap above.
- Glue Trap: Glue traps are not recommended because the adhesive plate that is used to capture rodents can also trap birds, baby animals, lizards, and even pets. These traps also cause undue suffering to rodents. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that captured rats or mice might urinate and increase the risk of spreading disease.
- Enclosure Box: Enclosure boxes are plastic boxes that can fit a single snap trap, sometimes more, to provide an additional layer of protection for children and pets. These boxes also hide the dead rodents, making for easier disposal, and can be re-used.
Why Rodent Exterminators Pass on Bait Stations
As one of Richmond, Virginia’s top rodent exterminators, people often ask us if they should put bait stations in attics or crawl spaces. Our answer is “no.”
Here’s why.
A bait station is not a trap; it’s a device that holds a bait block securely inside to prevent children and pets from coming in contact with it, so they’re protected against accidental poisoning. Rodents do not die in the bait station, so don’t expect to find any there.
Bait stations, unfortunately, will attract rodents to your home. After all, that’s what bait stations are designed to do – attract rodents. The bait contains a toxin, which kills the rodent. The problem is that after eating the toxin, the rodent will crawl elsewhere – many times to a place nearby, but still inside your home – to die and decompose. You don’t have to be a professional rodent exterminator to know that’s a problem.
That’s only the beginning. Here are other problems you’ll have to deal with.
- If a rodent does dies in your home, the smell of the dead animal will persist for several weeks to several months.
- If you or your neighbors have cats or dogs, they may die or become acutely ill from eating poisoned rodents.
- Predatory birds such as hawks, eagles, and owls, as well as mammalian predators such as foxes and coyotes may die from eating poisoned rodents or a rodenticide bait.
- Children are at risk of accidental poisoning because they might mistake the rodenticide bait for candy or food.
When to Call a Professional Rodent Exterminator
Eliminating a rodent problem in your greater Richmond, Virginia, home requires a professional rodent exterminator to deploy a multi-tactic approach that includes sealing the entry points to your home, removing food and water sources, and trapping rodents that have already invaded your property.
While you can do much of this on your own – with some success – a trained rodent exterminator will be much more diligent and thorough in the techniques deployed. For instance, if you miss even one tiny entry point that rats and mice are using to enter your home, you will wind up dealing with an endless cycle of invasion and extermination.
Why Eco Pest Control is the Leading Rodent Exterminator in the Greater Richmond, Newport News, and Williamsburg Areas
If you see any sign that you might have a rodent problem, then be proactive and call Eco Pest Control, the leading rodent exterminator in the greater Richmond, Newport News, and Williamsburg areas. What makes us different than all the others? Here are four reasons you should trust us for your rodent extermination needs.
- Our staff are certified in all aspects of pest control – including rodent extermination – and every member of our team undergoes extensive training in the identification, removal, and control of rodents.
- Training our staff doesn’t stop after their initial certification. Eco Pest Control maintains an ongoing rodent extermination education program to ensure everyone on our team stays abreast of the latest industry advances.
- We offer free rodent extermination inspections.
- We offer a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee. If you are not fully satisfied with our rodent extermination services, we will come back for free, which is why so many of our customers recommend us when friends and family need a rodent exterminator.
Resources
- The Humane Society of the United States: What to Do About Wild Rats
- CDC: Diseases Directly Carried by Rodents
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Identify and Prevent Rodent Infestations
- Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides: Controlling Rats Without Poisons
- Poison Free Malibu: Earth Friendly Management
- University of Florida IFAS Extension: Rat and Mouse Control
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Prevent Diseases Spread by Rodents
- National Pesticide Information Center: Rodent Control Tips
- US Environmental Protection Agency: Rodenticide Cancellation
- Humane Pest Control
What’s the Difference Between Rats and Mice?
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