Signs Mice or Rats Are in a Home

There is little worse than discovering that rats or mice are lurking in a home.

There is little worse than discovering that rats or mice are lurking in a home. Unfortunately, sometimes after a professional pest control company has successfully eliminated the problem, the homeowner may fear that these awful creatures have once again returned.

Sometimes it is tough to tell. Have the mice or rats returned, or is the homeowner worried unnecessarily?

There are some tell-tale signs that rodents are in a home. For example, you may see droppings, gnaw marks, tracks, or nests, or there may be a terrible smell in the home.

To help concerned homeowners, let’s look at the signs.

Droppings

As awful as this may seem, droppings are an excellent way to tell if mice or rats are lurking around. Fresh droppings are easily identified as they are moist to the touch. Older droppings become grayer in color and will crumble when touched.

If mice or rats or nesting in a particular area, you will see that there will be more droppings there. The trick is to age the droppings. Fresh droppings mean there is cause for concern; old, dry droppings are of little concern regarding an infestation.

Gnaw marks

Homeowners may find gnaw marks on various food packaging or other places in a home. By examining these marks, a homeowner can tell the age of these marks, which can help answer questions.

Newly found marks are lighter in color and darken as time progresses. Therefore this can help determine if rodents are still present. Another trick that can help is to know that bigger gnaw marks may indicate that there are rats in the home, while small ones may indicate that mice are present.

Smell

Our pets can play a significant role in helping us to understand if rodents are running around our homes. If a dog or cat is running around sniffing and excited, using a flashlight to examine the area for signs of rodents may be worth it.

Remember that dogs and cats can hear and smell much better than humans, and if they are running around, this could be a sign of a rodent hiding. However, do not be falsely alarmed, as it could also be a smell of something else.

Tracks

Examining the mice and rat tracks can be a very telling sign of whether they are still hanging around. In time, their tracks become fainter and fainter in color. Therefore the darker their tracks are, the newer they may be.

Another way to determine if they are still lurking around is to put baby powder on their tracks. If they are actively still lurking around the home, they will track the baby powder through the home.

Nesting

Unfortunately, rodents will nest in almost anything. Therefore, any material left around the home may be used as a nesting ground.

If you see any signs of droppings, tracks, or a pet indicates that something smells off, contact the pest control company again to have the home inspected.

San Tan Pest And Weed Control offers reliable pest control for residential and commercial customers in Mesa, Tempe, Ahwatukee, Phoenix, Lower Santan Village, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Gilbert, and Chandler. Our pest management services control scorpions, ants, termites, bees, wasps, fleas, rodents, cockroaches, weeds, and more. We provide attic and crawl space cleaning and home sealing services to keep pests out. Call us at (480)405-0690.