Make Your Phoenix Home Rodent Proof

Rodent Proof Your Phoenix Home

Whether you’ve just completed rodent service with Budget Brothers Termite & Pest Elimination or your home is currently rodent free and you’d like to keep it that way, we’re here to help.

Rodent proofing your home is ultimately about a little extra maintenance and upkeep.

Here is a plan to help you keep away any unwelcome visitors from your home.

Rodent Proof Landscape Management

Landscaping is a great way to add beauty and value to your home. It can also provide everything a rodent needs to establish a new home.

Fruit Trees

Many Phoenix homes have fruit, olive, and nut trees on the property. Not only are these plants beautiful but also many people enjoy having ready access to the food they produce.

So do rodents.

Rodents are attracted to by smell of fruit that has fallen to the ground and is readily available for them to eat. When your trees begin producing, you must make sure that you clean up dropped fruit and that you harvest the ripe fruit on the tree. Make no mistake about it; leaving this food available to rodents is an invitation for them to come back again and again.

Climbers & Vines

A favorite for Phoenix landscapers are climbing vines and plants because they beautify your property but don’t require a lot of water to grow – ideal for desert conditions.

Unfortunately these types of plants make it easy for rodents to find sanctuary on your property.

One of the chief risks with these types of plans, particularly the vines that can climb up the side of your house, is that they can provide cover to rodents during the day and mask exterior damage to the home.

We recommend that all plants, particularly climbers and vines, be cut at least 3 feet away from the roof line and any external ventilation from the house. This will make it extremely difficult for rodents (particularly roof rats) to gain access to the attic crawl spaces of your house and it will make it easy for you to see any damage that may be done by invading pests who are looking to make a home in your roof.

Bushes

Even more popular than vines and climbers for Phoenix landscape are bushes. There are bushes of all varieties that are found within the Valley but they tend to share the same common features of being dense when they have matured.

We recommend cutting bushes in a “V” type shape where there is less coverage at the bottom.

This will prevent the rodents from being able to hide there during the day and it will expose any burrows they may have created to help them escape the punishing summer heat.

Rodent Proof Your Home Exterior/Interior

Phoenix homes have a wide variety of places for rodents to hide and build a nest. If you want to keep them away, you need to make sure that you haven’t put out the welcome mat.

Attic

Many Phoenix homes have an attic of sorts, providing space for limited storage, containing insulation to keep out the heat, and housing the electrical wiring for overhead lighting.

Your attic is also the ideal place for a rodent to build a new nest because it’s generally quiet, offers plenty of material with which to build a nest, and offers easy access to the outside to get food or water.

In order to ensure your attic is secure, you need to conduct an exterior inspection to determine that any ventilation leading to the attic hasn’t been compromised. If you find that any wire mesh has been broken or that there are holes or gaps leading into the attic, be sure to seal these. They are an invitation to pests of all kinds.

Garage

Your garage can be a great way for rodents to get into your house.

Make sure that your garage door closes completely each day (damaged or worn doors may leave gaps along the bottom that are large enough for rodents to enter).

Some Valley homes have garages that were once carports and may not have been enclosed properly, leaving opportunities for rodents to find gaps or create gaps of their own.

Garbage

Most municipalities provide trashcans to put on the curb for trash pick up day and they do a pretty good job of replacing ones that are broken.

The risk with garbage comes when the cans are overfull and the lids cannot be closed completely, especially after a big event.

Rodents can smell the food in the bags and will be attracted. To avoid this being an issue, make sure that your trashcan lids are sealed tightly.