Do Rodents Contaminate Insulation?

A rat climbing onto a roof in Eastern TNRodents are a common pest issue for East Tennessee residents every year, especially in the winter. If you think you’re hearing the noises of scurrying footsteps coming from your walls or crawl spaces, you could have rats or mice tunneling through your insulation. It is well known that rodents like to nest in our insulation and tunnel through it to travel around homes, but does this process cause contamination? Additionally, do you need your insulation replaced after a rodent infestation? Read on to learn about the effects of a rodent infestation in your attic from our rat and mice exterminators at Johnson Pest Control.

Should You Replace Rodent-Infested Insulation?

Having rats or mice inside your home can cause many different problems. Rodents are infamous for spreading disease — this happens not only through their bites, but through their urine and feces as well. The most notable diseases and ailments that rodents are responsible for include:

  • Salmonellosis
  • Tularemia
  • Hantavirus
  • Parasites
  • Rat bite fever, and more

Because rodent infestations can cause exposure to pathogens, we highly recommend that you replace your insulation after a rodent infestation. Infested insulation can become contaminated, but it can also become compromised in more ways, affecting its ability to regulate temperature and ward off other kinds of pests.

How to Keep Rodents Out of Your Insulation

In order to keep rodents out of the insulation in your attic, walls, and crawl spaces, you have to take measures to keep them off of your property in the first place. Here are some preventative actions you can take:

  1. Seal your food in airtight containers and keep it stored away when you aren’t eating
  2. Regularly inspect your home’s exterior for cracks and gaps in the foundation, siding, plumbing fixtures, roofing, and elsewhere
  3. Keep your trash bins at a maximum distance from your home, and make sure you take out your indoor trash regularly
  4. Hire your local rodent exterminators to conduct an inspection to assess your property for hidden vulnerabilities

The Best Way to Prevent Rodents in East Tennessee Homes and Businesses

The best way to prevent a rodent infestation and in turn protect your insulation is to hire your local rodent control experts to help you understand how they operate. The Johnson Pest Control rodent exterminators are trained to follow IPM principles, meaning that they are in search of the least invasive, most environmentally friendly rodent control solutions at all times.

Johnson Pest Control also offers a TAP® Insulation installation service. This insulation is specially designed to fortify existing insulation and act as an extra potent barrier against many common crawlspace pests. Contact us today to learn more about either of these services and receive a free quote!

What Are Those Sounds in the Attic?

Inspecting an attic for pests in Eastern TN - Johnson Pest ControlDo you hear scurrying or scratching noises coming from above your ceiling? Sounds coming from the attic or walls may be the first indication that animals are present, but there are other things to watch out for. The type of animal in the attic and the extent of the problem cannot be determined without sufficient experience in wildlife control. Fortunately, Johnson Pest Control‘s wildlife removal experts can help! Our critter control team has removed all sorts of wild animals around Eastern TN from our customers’ attics with efficient and humane strategies. Read on to learn more about common wildlife attic invaders!

Clear Signs of Animals in the Attic

If you suspect that the sounds coming from your attic are the result of a wildlife infestation, make sure to check around your house for other signs that can shed some light on the issue. There are several more things to look for that show you have animals in the attic:

  • Animal urine and feces behind appliances, in crawl spaces, and along walls
  • Nesting damage or destruction of insulation
  • Bite marks on your belongings or on the structure of your building
  • Branches, leaves, and torn paper litter your roof or attic

What Wildlife Do I Have in my Attic?

Once you’ve determined that there are animals upstairs, the first step in handling them safely is to identify them. Following is a list of the animals most commonly found in Eastern TN attics, along with the evidence they leave:

  1. Rats and mice: Mice and rats make nests in attics by tearing up insulation. Furthermore, they must constantly gnaw on hard surfaces in our houses to prevent overgrowth in their incisors. You have a rodent infestation if you notice these signs paired with dainty scurrying in your walls or attic.
  2. Raccoons: The strongest of the common culprits, raccoons are able to tear through our walls and roofing to get inside our attics. They are active at night, and being as heavy as they are, tend to make the loudest noises while we sleep.
  3. Squirrels: Squirrels use roof vents and eave gaps to sneak into our homes, preferring a less forceful approach than raccoons. You can tell squirrel noises apart from raccoon noises by their volume and times—squirrels are diurnal.
  4. Birds: Birds nest in our attics using twigs and leaves from outside like some other animals, but can be easily told apart by the noises that they make. It’s important to deal with birds quickly to eliminate any risks posed by their hazardous droppings.

What is the Safest Way to Get Rid of Animals in the Attic?

It’s important to get ahead of wild animals in Eastern TN by taking preventative measures before they arrive, such as sealing your trash bins and closing off holes in your roofing, walls, and foundation. However, if they’ve already snuck into your home, you’re best off leaving the wildlife removal work to your local exterminators. At Johnson Pest Control, we prioritize the most humane techniques to get wildlife out of your home safely as well as quickly. Contact us today to learn more about our critter control services and receive a free quote!

How Quickly Can Mice Breed Indoors?

A house mouse in Sevierville TN - Johnson Pest ControlWinter is just about back here in Eastern TN. When the rain starts to fall and temperatures start to drop, all sorts of rodents are looking for hiding places and warm shelters to last them through the winter. Every winter, mice look to the structures of our homes to provide warm nesting sites where they can continue their breeding routines, given that the colder months come with conditions too harsh to sustain reproduction outside. Are you looking to learn more about mice reproductive habits and what you can do to stop them from breeding in your home? Read on for some information gathered by the technicians at Johnson Pest Control!

How Quickly Can Mice Breed Indoors?

Mice are able to reproduce at a much higher rate than many other animals living in Tennessee. To show just how quickly they can proliferate, we’ve gathered some alarming statistics for you to look over:

  • Female mice have a 25 day gestation period and are able to mate again directly after delivery.
  • Mouse mothers can produce up to 10 litters per year with up to 14 pups per litter at the most. These are the extremes, though—an average female mouse produces 40-50 pups a year.
  • Mouse pups can begin to reproduce just 4-6 weeks after being born.

As these numbers show, having just a few mice enter your home in the late fall can allow for an infestation of hundreds to be active by the early spring.

How to Keep Mice from Reproducing in your Home

In order to keep mouse populations from overflowing in your home, it’s important to find ways to prevent them from coming inside in the first place. This can be much harder than you might imagine—with the ability to squeeze through holes the size of a dime, mouse access points can hide in plain sight! We understand that it can be very difficult to properly mouse-proof a home without training, so we are offering advice to people looking to be preventative or who are already dealing with an infestation:

  • Preventing an infestation: Pest-proofing the outside of your home comes in many forms. First, you should look for any holes in your walls, foundation, roofing, plumbing fixtures, vents, or anywhere else that mice could sneak through. You can seal these with a silicone-based caulk or by placing steel wool in the gaps. Also be sure to keep your yard clear of waste, your plants trimmed away from your home, and your garbage cans sealed and distanced.
  • Getting rid of an infestation: You can spray diluted peppermint oil or apple cider vinegar around mouse hotspots to drive them away. Kitty litter and fabric softener sheets have worked for some, but we find these to be less effective and only viable as supplemental treatments. If your infestation is bad enough to necessitate using traps, talk to your local rodent exterminators about which trap options are suitable for your home and your family.

Top Mice Exterminators in Eastern TN

If your at-home mouse control measures aren’t getting the job done, reach out to your local pest control company. At Johnson Pest Control, we pride ourselves on our holistic approach to rodent control, complete with exhaustive inspections, preventative maintenance, and a long list of options to conduct the most effective mice removal services for your property. Contact us today for a free quote or to learn more about how we can help!

How Do Mice Get in Your House?

A mouse found in Eastern TN - Johnson Pest ControlAs autumn kicks into gear, animals of all sorts are starting their preparations for another cold winter. Unfortunately, this means the start of mice infestations in Eastern TN. Every year, people come to us to help them remove mice from their crawl spaces or inside their walls, and most of the time, they don’t know how the mice ended up inside their homes in the first place. Whether you’re dealing with mice in the house right now or you’re looking to get a head start on pest prevention, read on for some advice from our technicians at Johnson Pest Control!

Why Do Mice Come in Your House?

Like all animals, mice have to take precautions to keep themselves safe during the winter. When mice enter your home, you could just be a victim of circumstance, living near a growing mouse population. If mice find your property suitable, they will enter your home looking for three things:

  1. Warmth: Mice do not hibernate, so they need to find a warm place to stay during the winter.
  2. Shelter: Mice are actually a very important part of their ecosystems, but unfortunately for them, they serve the role of common prey. They have to find a consistent place to hide from their predators.
  3. Food: Although it’s commonly believed that cheese is the most coveted mouse delicacy, they actually prefer foods that are higher in carbohydrates. That being said, mice will eat just about anything that they can find.

How to Keep Mice Out

Mice are tiny rodents and can squeeze through much smaller holes than you would imagine, so it can be very difficult to keep them out of your home. That said, these are our recommended steps to take for a mouse proof house:

  • Check your doors, vents, and windows for gaps. You can fit brush strips to your doors and screens to your windows to ensure that there are no slots to squeeze through.
  • Seal any holes in your pipes and roofing. Mice often squeeze through gaps in roof tiles or cracks in plumbing fixtures.
  • Keep your lawn cut short to prevent hiding places and accumulating seeds that rats can eat.
  • Store your food away properly when you’re done eating and promptly clean up any spills.

How Johnson Pest Control Handles Rodents

Rodent control can take many forms, depending on the type of infestation you’re dealing with. Whether it’s rats, mice, gophers, opossums, or any of the other rodents we find so often here in Eastern TN, our expert rodent control technicians can take care of the problem. Trained to deliver a holistic service from inspection, to extermination, to advice, our rodent control team has been serving local homeowners with top-of-the-line pest control for years. Contact us today for a free estimate!

Rodents Moving Indoors This Winter

As temperatures here in Sevierville and across the country drop during the wintertime, rats and mice may be looking to take shelter. Rodents, one of the most common winter pests, love nothing more than to spend the chilly winter inside a cozy home. Needless to say, no one wants rodents making themselves at home in their property this time of year—or ever, for that matter. It’s important to be aware of the dangers rodents may bring into your home. It’s also important to learn how to keep them out in the first place! Keep reading for expert info on rodents moving indoors this winter with Johnson Pest Control.

What Time Of Year Do Rodent Problems Occur?

Fall & winter rodent movement
45% Fall & Winter
Spring rodent movement
29% Spring
Summer rodent movement
28% Summer

According to the NPMA, rodents have, at one time or another, been a problem for nearly one-third of American homeowners. Rodents don’t need much space to get inside our homes and bring with them threats to health and property. Rodent infestations are most common in the winter and fall months, but are a year-round pest problem in Tennessee.


Where Are Rodents Found in the Home?

Mouse infestations in home infographic
Size of hole for mice to get in home
Mice can squeeze through openings the size of a dime.

 

Dangers of Rodents Inside Tennessee Homes

1. Mice and rats spread salmonella and carry disease-causing parasites.

Green flea pest icon
Green tick pest icon
Green lice pest icon

These pests are capable of causing damage to property by chewing through drywall, insulation, wood, and electrical and automotive wiring, increasing the potential risk for fires. They are also known to spread a variety of diseases, including Salmonella, murine typhus, infectious jaundice, rat-bite fever, and the potentially fatal Hantavirus.

2. Rodents can chew through wood and electrical wires, increasing the risk of electrical fires.

Rodents have open-rooted incisors that continue to grow throughout life, enabling them to gnaw continuously without wearing down their teeth.

This gnawing habit can cause a fire hazard in your home, making it important to learn how to keep rodents out of your property for good.


How to Prevent Winter Rodents In Your Home

To avoid the dangers of rodents altogether, it’s best to learn how to make your property less attractive to them in the first place. Here’s how:

  1. Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home – pay special attention to areas where utilities and pipes enter the home.
  2. Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around the basement foundation and windows.
  3. Store firewood at least 20 feet from the home and s feet off the ground.
  4. Keep basements and attics clear; eliminate all moisture sites, including leaking pipes and clogged drains.
  5. Keep food in rodent-proof containers

Need Help Keeping Rodents Outside This Winter?

Rodents can squeeze inside easier than you think. If you are noticing a growing rodent problem in or near your Sevierville TN home, it’s time to call the rodent control experts at Johnson. Contact us today to learn how we can keep you safe from rodents in the winter and all year long.

Size of hole required rat to get in home
Rats can squeeze through openings the size of a quarter.
Size of hole for mice to get in home
Mice can squeeze through openings the size of a dime.

 

Dangers of Rodents Inside Tennessee Homes

1. Mice and rats spread salmonella and carry disease-causing parasites.

Green flea pest icon
Green tick pest icon
Green lice pest icon

These pests are capable of causing damage to property by chewing through drywall, insulation, wood, and electrical and automotive wiring, increasing the potential risk for fires. They are also known to spread a variety of diseases, including Salmonella, murine typhus, infectious jaundice, rat-bite fever, and the potentially fatal Hantavirus.

2. Rodents can chew through wood and electrical wires, increasing the risk of electrical fires.

Rodents have open-rooted incisors that continue to grow throughout life, enabling them to gnaw continuously without wearing down their teeth.

This gnawing habit can cause a fire hazard in your home, making it important to learn how to keep rodents out of your property for good.


How to Prevent Winter Rodents In Your Home

To avoid the dangers of rodents altogether, it’s best to learn how to make your property less attractive to them in the first place. Here’s how:

  1. Seal cracks and holes on the outside of the home – pay special attention to areas where utilities and pipes enter the home.
  2. Replace loose mortar and weather stripping around the basement foundation and windows.
  3. Store firewood at least 20 feet from the home and s feet off the ground.
  4. Keep basements and attics clear; eliminate all moisture sites, including leaking pipes and clogged drains.
  5. Keep food in rodent-proof containers

Need Help Keeping Rodents Outside This Winter?

Rodents can squeeze inside easier than you think. If you are noticing a growing rodent problem in or near your Sevierville TN home, it’s time to call the rodent control experts at Johnson. Contact us today to learn how we can keep you safe from rodents in the winter and all year long.