Pest Library

What You Need To Know About Rodents In Los Angeles

If you are a homeowner, you need to learn about rodents. While you may not want to think about rodents like mice and rats crawling through your home, it can happen to anyone. You should never think about a rodent infestation in terms of if it will happen in your home, but rather when.

We have put together a helpful pest guide to help you learn about rodents and how to guard your home from being overrun by them. Read for information about rodents in Los Angeles, what they look like, what attracts them, and how to prevent problems with them.

House Mouse

House mice are a small species of rodent. We identify these mice by their triangular-shaped head, pointed noses, ears that sit up off their heads, and long skinny tails. Adult mice are usually about five and a half to seven inches in length from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail. 

As their name tells us, house mice regularly wind up inside homes. These mice have adapted to living in suburban and rural areas, taking advantage of the basic needs our properties offer. Food is the biggest attractant for house mice. In our homes and yards, trashcans, bird feeders, pet food, and food debris in kitchen and dining areas provide mice with reliable food sources.

Once house mice discover your home offers them food, they will keep returning and possibly decide to stay and build a nest. When nesting inside houses, these mice choose quiet, dry places. We commonly discover house mouse nests in wall voids, the backs of closets, cardboard storage boxes, and even inside pieces of upholstered furniture. 

Sharing your home with mice is not just unpleasant; it is dangerous. Despite their small size, they can cause a lot of damage and create serious health risks. Mice are small and active, and when inside our homes, they will crawl across surfaces, contaminating them with bacteria, human pathogens, and allergens. 

Use the following tips to help you prevent house mice issues in your home.

• Remove trash from your home each day.
• Regularly wash dishes and put away leftover food each evening.
• Vacuum regularly to pick up stray crumbs.
• Remove clutter from your home that offers harborage spots.
• Don’t leave uneaten pet food out each evening.

To further prevent issues with house mice, reach out to us and allow us to put together a customized home pest control solution.

Norway Rat

The Norway rat is a large, heavy-bodied rat. Shaggy brown or gray fur covers their bodies, and they have blunt noses and thick, scaly tails that lack hair. These rats are not agile or great climbers; they prefer to live at ground level. They are good swimmers and are often called sewer rats because they regularly live in and around sewers, docks, and riverbanks.

Because Norway rats are burrowers, they have exceptional digging power and will create extensive tunnels under foundations, woodpiles, construction debris, and dense vegetation. Their burrowing habits allow them to cause a lot of damage to the structures of buildings, cement slabs, and our gardens and flowerbeds.

While Norway rats are typically a problem outside in our yards, they can move into our homes, garages, sheds, and other outbuildings. Once inside, like other rodents, they cause health risks, contaminate food, and cause unpleasant odors and structural damage. Preferring to live at ground level means inside buildings, roof rats are most likely to be a problem in basements, utility rooms, and crawl spaces. 

Take advantage of these prevention tips to help prevent Norway rats from feeling at home on your Los Angeles property. 

• Fill in holes around the perimeter of your home.
• Bury fencing into the ground around gardens and outbuildings.
• Reduce clutter in your yard and around your home’s exterior.
• Regularly harvest gardens and remove vegetables that have fallen to the ground.
• Keep grass cut short and reduce greenery around your home.
• Keep basement, shed, and garage doors closed as much as possible.

Please reach out today for year-round help controlling and preventing issues with Norway rats or other types of rodents.

Roof Rat

Roof rats are another species of rodent that live in large numbers throughout Los Angeles and surrounding areas. They are much smaller and have a slimmer build than Norway rats. It is common for young roof rats to be confused with adult mice. Smooth, black fur covers their body, their nose is more pointed than blunt, and they have scaley, hairless tails. Roof rats are skilled climbers who prefer to spend their time up off the ground. 

Because roof rats are exceptional climbers, keeping these pests away from and out of our homes can be difficult. Roof rats climb vines, latticework, trees, and shrubbery to access houses and other structures. Common entry points are holes along the roofline, damaged roof shingles, chimneys, spaces around windows, and gaps around utilities entering your home.

Like all other rodents, roof rats have continuously growing front incisors. Rodents constantly gnaw on objects they come across to stop their teeth from overgrowing. When roof rats are in our homes, they are a health risk and, with the help of their sharp front teeth, can cause a lot of destruction. Roof rats and other rodents chew through wires, cables, drywall, flooring, food containers, cabinets, and clothing. Rodent infestations are often a root cause of short circuits and house fires. 

Take advantage of the following tips to keep roof rats from easily gaining access to your Los Angeles home. 

• Cut back tree branches from your home’s exterior.
• Remove vines from the outside of your home.
• Cut back shrubs and bushes from your house.
• Install caps on all your home’s chimneys.
• Repair roof damage and replace damaged shingles.
• Regularly inspect roof eaves and attics for signs of rodents.

The longer roof rats are in your home, the more of a problem they will become. If you have any inkling that these or other rodents have gotten into your home, immediately reach out for assistance.