Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

How can we solve a rodent problem?

  • By Drew McFadden
  • 10/01/17

It’s critical that pest problems be identified and addressed quickly, as rodents breed rapidly — a single pair of rats can multiply into 640 within a year, and mice can multiply to over 1,000. Stopping them for good means finding the points of entry and sealing them up to prevent future invasion. Following are some of the most common entry points and exclusion solutions. Remember, when conducting your inspection that mice can fit through a gap of about one-quarter of an inch, and rats through a gap of three-eighths of an inch.

Common Entry Points and Solutions

  • Exterior doors. Damaged or worn out sweeps are one of the most common entry points. Most standard brush or vinyl sweeps are good at keeping out the weather but not good at keeping out mice and rats. All doors should be fitted with specialized rodent-proof door sweeps.
  • Vents and grilles. These should be protected with screen or mesh. Ensure any voids or gaps around them are filled with a pest-exclusion fill material.
  • Drain pipes. Rats are excellent swimmers. Make sure exterior drain and sewer access points are covered with an appropriate metal cover. Openings surrounding the drain should be patched or filled with exclusion material.
  • Vertical wires and pipes. Mice and rats are excellent climbers. Circular rat guards should be placed around all vertical wires and pipes.
  • Utility and other building penetrations. Check the places where pipes, wires or HVAC enter the building and fill any gaps with a pest-exclusion fill material.

Ensure the exterior of the building, especially around the foundation, is free from harborage areas such as shrubs and ground cover, and eliminate any “bridges” to the roof, such as overhanging trees.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Drew McFadden is director of Marketing for Xcluder, and can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Tennessee Middle School Completes Health, Life Safety Renovations

    The Giles County Board of Education in Pulaski, Tenn., recently announced that a series of renovation projects has been completed at Bridgeforth Middle School, according to a news release. The district partnered with Wold Architects & Engineers and Brindley Construction to modernize building systems at one of the district’s oldest schools.

  • FGCU Breaks Ground on New Health Sciences Building

    Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) has launched construction on a major new academic facility that leaders say will reshape healthcare education in Southwest Florida for decades to come, according to university news.

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • Ohio State University Opens 26-Story Hospital

    The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center recently opened in Columbus, Ohio, standing 26 stories and covering 1.9 million square feet, according to a university news release. The project marks ten years of effort and is the university’s largest single-facility construction project ever.