As the temperature drops and we huddle up indoors, other creatures are seeking shelter, too, and you want to make sure they don’t do it inside your home.
This is the time of year when you may start hearing the pitter-patter of tiny feet in a most unwelcome way — in the attic or the walls, where critters are looking for a warm place to ride out the winter.
As you might imagine, this is a thing home inspectors find evidence of from time to time. As a homeowner, if you have a current or previous infestation of mice, rats, squirrels, or other vermin, you’re likely to have one again if you don’t take steps to correct the access points.
Here are some examples we’ve found of critters in the field:
That’s A Big One
More like the thump-thump of footsteps. This guy has been around awhile from the looks of things.
The longer you wait to take care of the problem, the more damage critters can do. They chew on wood, PVC or ductwork, and poop everywhere, and eventually they may have their babies in your home, and now you’ve got LOTS of critters eating, pooping and gnawing on your house.
When you hear those tell-tale scratching, skittering, and scraping noises coming from the attic or walls, don’t hesitate to call pest control. They will help you find the access points, identify the critters, and make a plan to remove them.
Squirrel!
Poor little guy. Another warm spot critters like to get into is your electrical panel. This is dangerous for them and for you. It’s important to seal up any openings on the outside of your garage or exterior panel box to keep squirrels, mice, rats, lizards, etc from getting inside. They chew on the wires and can short out your system or even start a fire. We find wasp nests in there sometimes, too.
What Sharp Teeth You Have
Two takeaways here: 1) animals are sharpening their teeth on your house. 2) When you don’t keep your trees trimmed back, you are giving critters easy access to your roof, all the equipment up there, and your attic. This video was taken in spring, but the same is true any time of year in North Texas – keep your trees trimmed back from your roof to prevent damage from storms and to keep vermin away from your home.
I Smell a Rat
A sure fire way to know if you have an infestation of critters (if you haven’t heard them) is to smell them. There is a certain…odor that begins to imbue the space when little furry creatures are relieving themselves all around you, and it’s not nice. If you hear (or smell) something funny, take a look in your attic, or other small, dark spaces where people don’t go, and see if you find the clincher: poop.
If you think you have critters in your home, your pest control company will take care of that for you. If you are concerned about general seals, holes, gaps where critters can get in, and/or other winterizing issues, you can have a seasonal home inspection to get advice on things you can DIY, and things you may need a professional for.
