Winter is now officially here. While in many parts of the country the trees are beginning to change color and put on a glorious show, the cold weather isn’t too far behind. We humans can stay cozy by building fires, snuggling into thick sweaters, or just turning on the heat. All the critters of the neighborhood aren’t so lucky.
When the cold weather comes, they will naturally be drawn to warm, dry places where they can take shelter. Sometimes that means your house! In winter, your home may become a beacon to mice and rats. As food sources become scarce, possums and raccoons may grow bolder and start sniffing around your trash cans or even taking shelter under your crawl space.
If you don’t want your home to turn into an involuntary hotel for all the woodland creatures (who have a habit of chewing on electrical wires and leaving droppings in your attic), then now is the time to take precautions. One easy thing to do is to seal any openings into your home with a stainless steel mesh screen. This includes your chimney, laundry vent, and even around your crawl space. You’d be surprised at what small openings a mouse can squeeze through!
Where there is an abundance of rodents you have an abundance of shelters and food provided. It will have a great impact on reducing the rodent population if you remove or reduce these factors.
- All openings greater than 1/4″ should be sealed to exclude mice, but it may be impossible to seal all openings.
- All openings greater than 1/2″ should be sealed to exclude rats.
- Likely access points for rodents are where utility lines come into walls, as well as openings around air conditioning, drain pipes and vents.
- Look for broken basement windows, warped doors, and unscreened vents as possible points of entry. All spaces beneath doors should be checked if the opening is too large and reduced if needed.
- Roofs shold be checked to see that shingles are tight and sheathing is complete. Also check roof ventilators, screen vents and luvered in wall vents.
At Lawrence Sintered Metals, we have the stainless steel mesh screens you need to protect your house during the winter. Our steel is strong enough to withstand sharp little teeth. We can’t protect your home from your in-laws this holiday season, but we can at least keep all the unwanted critters away!
