Understanding Attic Rodents

When rodents enter your attic space, they can often make their way into dark areas of your attic. Unfortunately, these dark areas are sometimes crucial in ensuring the rest of your home functions correctly. 

Common Species of Attic Rodents

Depending on your climate, you may be no stranger to rodents in your attic. When given the opportunity, rodents who access your roof or walls are likelier to enter your attic. Here are 5 of the most common pests that are likely to infest your attic space

• Squirrels
• Bats
• Mice
• Rats
• Raccoons

Behavior and Habits of Attic Rodents

When you have a rodent infestation, you may be able to identify what kind of animal you’re dealing with based on the noises you hear or the damage you see.

1. Squirrels: If you’re dealing with a squirrel in your attic, you’ll most likely be able to tell immediately. Squirrels have erratic behavior, which causes them to become extremely noisy. You may hear gnawing, jumping, or scurrying on the floorboards. When dealing with a squirrel in your home, our team will humanely remove squirrels from your attic and return them to their natural environment.

2. Bats: If you have bats in your attic, they are nocturnal, which means they are more active at night. Bats will typically fly into your attic and find a cozy area to roost. Since bats can be carriers of diseases such as rabies, it’s essential to have your attic inspected and rodent-proofed.

3. Mice: Nocturnal rodents make the most noises at night if you’re dealing with mice in your attic. You may hear squeaking or gnawing when you have mice in your attic.

4. Rats: When you have rats in your attic, you’ll notice fast-paced scurrying across your floorboards. Rats will also follow the same paths, so you’ll continue to hear these noises in the same areas. You also may hear scratching sounds when they begin making their nests.

5. Racoons: One of the most challenging rodents in an attic is raccoons. Not only are they very mobile, but if one makes their way into your attic, there’s a high possibility they’ll have babies. You may also hear loud thumping or crying if babies are in the mix.

Damage that Attic Rodents Can Cause

1. Squirrels: Since squirrels are considered rodents and love to chew, they chew on wires to sharpen and strengthen their teeth. Exposed wires can become a significant safety concern in your home. If a squirrel has damaged your wires or pipes, our professionals can immediately remove squirrels from your attic.

2. Bats: Since bats mainly eat insects, one of the biggest concerns with these rodents is feces. We’ll seal off all entry points by rodent-proofing your attic to prevent bats from reentering. After rodent-proofing, our team will perform an intense attic cleanup to remove any bat feces and other germs or viruses left behind.

3. Mice: Having mice in your attic can be a massive headache for homeowners. Mice chew through almost any material, such as wires, water pipes, drywall, ventilation, attic insulation, etc. Not only can this cause significant structural damage in your home, but it will also create a fire hazard.

4. Rats: Not only can rats leave severe damage from chewing, but they also can defecate up to 60 times per day, leaving an obscene amount of feces in your attic. Not only will this cause a foul odor, but it will also attract other unwanted rodents to your attic space.

5. Raccoons: Since raccoons weigh up to 30 pounds, one of the most severe damages a raccoon can create is damage to your insulation. They can quickly compress your attic’s insulation by walking around. Damaged attic insulation can reduce its effectiveness, leading to higher costs in heating and cooling bills. 

Rodent-Proofing: The Master Attic Approach

When you have a rodent infestation in your attic, our team knows these pesky critters can become a nuisance and lead to structural and other health issues. Our main goal is to prevent rodents such as raccoons, squirrels, mice, rats, and other pests from entering your attic for good!

What is Rodent-Proofing?

Rodent-proofing your attic involves using durable materials to seal up entry points so rodents can’t invade your home. Rodents are sneaky creatures that can enter even through minor holes and other gaps. Sealing attic entry points will prevent rodents from entering your attic and creating their nests.

Our trained professionals from Master Attic can inspect your attic and identify problem areas.

Process of the Master Attic Rodent-Proofing Method

At Master Attic, our team can bring you the most-effective rodent-proofing method to keep rodents out. We will locate all hidden entry points by using eco-friendly methods that won’t disrupt your ventilation system and block these areas permanently.

After rodent-proofing your attic, we will perform attic remediation to remove any damaged insulation and feces. Once we remove the damage, we will install new insulation.

Benefits of Master Attic Rodent-Proofing

By rodent-proofing your attic and having an attic cleanup, you will leave your attic in better condition than when our team arrived. At Master Attic, you’ll get the most excellent service. Some benefits of rodent-proofing your attic include

• Prevents structural damage caused by rodents such as raccoons, squirrels, and mice.
• Improves energy efficiency when replacing damaged insulation with new attic insulation to reduce energy costs.
• Improves indoor air quality by reducing health risks.
• You have a professional team that can save you time and effort to ensure your attic rodent-proofing is completed correctly. 

Master Attic Guarantees and Warranties

At Master Attic, we use top-of-the-line materials to ensure safe and long-lasting solutions that will bring you comfort while living in your home. Each job we take is carefully discussed and planned to meet your needs and budget.

With over 20 years of experience, all of our work is conducted by our technicians, who our company trains. With customer care being our top priority, you can rest easy knowing that our services will safely and effectively return your home’s attic to its original condition. 

Extermination: An Alternative Approach

According to the National Pest Management Association, almost one-third of Americans are dealing with a rodent infestation. You can not solve a rodent issue based on extermination alone. Extermination is a temporary fix when compared to rodent-proofing your attic. 

What is Extermination?

When you have a rodent infestation, extermination is one of the main methods of getting rid of pests. Extermination helps control the growth of a rodent infestation. However, extermination alone will not prevent rodents from infesting your attic space. 

Process of Extermination

Depending on the extent of your rodent infestation, an exterminator may use one or more techniques to try and get rid of rodents from your attic.

To get rid of rats or mice in your attic, exterminators will use traps and other removal materials to capture and reduce the number of pests in your attic. 

Exterminators will use fumigation for more severe infestations in hard-to-reach areas. Fumigation is using chemicals in your attic space to get hard-to-reach places where rodents tend to build their nests. 

Benefits of Extermination

Extermination is one of the main methods homeowners seek when dealing with a rodent infestation. Some of its benefits include

• Time-saving
• Cost-effective
• Reducing health risks
• Peace of mind

Drawbacks of Extermination

While it may seem like a great idea to eliminate rodents at first sight, there are drawbacks of using an exterminator in your home. If fumigation is needed, exterminators use spraying techniques to keep rodents away.

1. Spraying: One of the main drawbacks of spraying is that most companies use toxic chemicals, which can harm your health. These toxic chemicals are harmful not only to rodents and homeowners but also to the environment. Spraying is also very inconvenient for you, the homeowner. While exterminators use their spraying techniques, this often means you must relocate to a different part of your house or out of your home altogether.

2: Rodents Will Return: Another major drawback of using an exterminator is that rodents will always return. Extermination is only a temporary fix to remove the current rodents from your attic, and does not stop them from returning. The only way to eliminate rodents currently and in the future is by rodent-proofing your attic by sealing up all entry and exit points.

Comparison of Rodent-Proofing and Extermination

When you run into a rodent infestation in your attic, there are two solutions you’ll run into to address the problem. These two solutions are attic rodent-proofing and extermination. 

Effectiveness

Rodent-proofing your attic is the only way to ensure your home stays permanently protected from a rodent infestation. At Master Attic, our team can rodent-proof your attic area without using traps or harmful chemicals.

While extermination effectively solves your current infestation, it doesn’t address it long-term. Unless you schedule an attic rodent-proofing service, there is a high chance for rodents to return. 

Safety

At Master Attic, our team uses safe and eco-friendly methods to rodent-proof your attic without blocking ventilation.

While opting for extermination, you must be mindful of having proper ventilation methods put into place. If not well-ventilated, you may begin to cough, sneeze, or experience other chemical-related symptoms. 

Long-term Results: 

An attic rodent-proofing service will ensure that you keep a rodent infestation from reoccurring. Sealing up minor entry points will ensure that rodents cannot re-enter your attic and other areas of your home. 

Conclusion

To wrap things up, rodent-proofing will prevent rodents from entering your attic, while an exterminator can assist you in eliminating your current rodent infestation. 

Our professionals at Master Attic believe that rodent-proofing your attic is the best solution to stopping rodents in their tracks and preventing an infestation from ever occurring. Keeping these pesky critters out of your home will provide a clean environment and eliminate health risks for you and your family.

Contact Master Attic

If you have any questions or concerns, Contact Master Attic today for a free in-home estimate on rodent-proofing your attic.

Phone Number: 800-285-4009

Email: [email protected]