Rodent Awareness Week 2022

As we get further into the fall season, residents in Western Massachusetts begin to embrace cooler temperatures, the falling leaves, and the coming holiday season. Some of these are a bit more traditional, like Halloween.

But then there are those you won’t find on the calendar, like Rodent Awareness Week, which is just as important — if not more so.

Founded by the Professional Pest Management Alliance, a branch of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), the goal of Rodent Awareness Week is to raise awareness. Running from October 16^th to October 22, 2022, the week-long even is designed to educate property owners, homeowners, and business owners about a serious problem that affects millions of homes and businesses across the country: rodents.

This week is also an ideal time to highlight just how essential pest control companies are for all types of owners. Removing, monitoring rodents and other pest activity, and exclusion services are only part of what USX Pest provides our customers.

Rodents Are Active Year-Round but Increase Indoors in Fall and Winter

As temperatures drop, rodents start looking for warm, safe shelters. The NPMA estimates that 45% of rodent infestations happen in fall and winter.

The key to managing these critters, protecting homes, businesses, and other structures is simple — awareness.

With awareness and education, rodent treatment and prevention becomes exponentially more effective. After all, if residents don’t know what to look for, how would they know they have a potential problem?

Rodent Awareness: What are the Dangers?

Rodents can spread more than 35 diseases, both directly and indirectly. Direct spread happens when people handle rodents, get bitten, or come into contact with their saliva, feces, or urine. Indirect diseases spread through fleas, mites, and ticks that can carry diseases from rodents to humans and pets.

Beyond health implications, rodents can also create significant damage, wreaking havoc in their wake.

Their teeth continually grow, which is why these pests are such big chewers. Rodents gnaw on anything and everything, including food packaging, structural elements (particularly wood), insulation, wires, and so much more.

Signs of Rodent Infestations

Rodent Awareness Week 2022 is designed to help you better understand the signs and risks that coincide with rodent infestations. Because these critters are nocturnal — active at night and asleep during the day, it’s possible not see them. But that doesn’t mean the rodents aren’t there.

Sounds in ceilings, walls, and floorboards are common sounds associated with rodent issues. Other things to look for include:

• Gnaw marks on cabinets, doors, and around windows.
• Torn up fabric, insulation, plant materials, and other items.
• Chewed up food, food packaging, and garbage.
• Dark, greasy-looking marks where rodents run back and forth or enter and exit.

Rodent Treatment and Prevention

More than 33% of homeowners have reported seeing a rodent within the past year, most commonly in garages, kitchens, and basements, but those aren’t the only areas that rodents infest.

Walls, attics, crawl spaces, yards, sheds, and nearly any type of structure can serve as an inviting shelter.

In addition to causing structural damage and health risks, rodents reproduce very quickly. Left unchecked, a small rodent infestation can grow into a large-scale invasion in a matter of just a few weeks or months.

That’s why professional pest control is so critical. USX Pest brings decades of expertise to Western Massachusetts, with elite pest control services to help keep people, pets, and structures safe.

Our comprehensive four-step rodent treatment and prevention program starts with a free, detailed inspection of the property. This process allows technicians to identify where rodents are nesting along with how they are getting inside.

From there, professionals create a plan tailored to each property for removal, maintenance/monitoring, and sealing off entry points.

This comprehensive approach allows our pest and nuisance wildlife technicians to expertly care for each property and the unique situation it is facing.

Rodent Exclusion Systems

Permanent, chemical-free rodent prevention is just a phone call away. Wildlife exclusion systems provide natural barriers to keep rodents and other wildlife out in the long-term. USX Pest offers three state-of-the-art exclusion systems that can be used alone or together to establish complete protection for homes and other buildings.

• Upper Level: Designed to protect homes and businesses from the top of the first-floor windows to the peak of the roofline from birds, squirrels, bats, rats, and more.
• Lower Level: From the first-floor windows down to the ground, homes and other structures are protected from mice, chipmunks, rats, and other rodents.
• Trench-Guard: Low-clearance areas like sheds and decks are protected against nuisance wildlife like skunks, woodchucks, opossums, and many others.

General Rodent Prevention Tips

Any time of year is a good time to take preventive steps, but fall is a particularly critical time as rodents begin looking for warmth, food, and shelter. Keeping outdoor spaces tidy and trimmed can help reduce potential hiding spots. Additional preventive steps include:

• Clearing debris and clutter from the yard, especially near the house.
• Switching to garbage cans (inside and out) with tightly fitting lids.
• Not feeding birds or switching to a low-mess food blend like sunflower hearts or suet.
• Storing all foods, including pet food, in impermeable containers with tightly fitting lids.
• Sealing off openings on the foundation, around doors and windows, and around pipes to keep rodents and other pests out.
• Regularly cleaning and disinfecting floors, counters, tables, and other spaces.

Schedule a Free Inspection from USX Pest

Getting a free inspection is the first step in taking control over rodent problems and other pest issues. Contact USX Pest to schedule a free inspection of your property. After completing a thorough inspection of the property, our pest and nuisance wildlife technicians will be able to create a tailored strategy for the home or business, leaving you with peace of mind.