It is not enough to trap rodents living on your property. Though this might temporarily remove the immediate problem, it does not address how mice and rats got into your home, and if they found their way in once then more are likely to follow after. At NY and NJ Animal Control Trappers, an inspection is a key part of our rodent control, enabling us to find how wildlife is getting inside.

Signs of a Rodent Entry Point at Your Home or Business
Mice and rats will almost always enter through cracks, holes, and gaps that already exist anywhere around a property. A space as large as ½” can be enough for a rodent to squeeze through.

We seek out and check each hole for signs that mice or rats are using them, including:

  • Oil Marks – The skin of rats and mice produces oils that collect on the fur. When the rodent squeezes through a hole, the grease will transfer to the surrounding surface. These often show up as black or grey stains due to the dirt that the oil traps.
  • Ragged Edges – Rats and mice will chew around openings to enlarge them if necessary. Gnaw marks or chewed edges in plastic, roofing materials, or wiring can indicate a mouse used the area to get inside.
  • Interior Nests – By determining where rodent hot spots are inside your home – primarily their nests and feeding areas, we can focus our search on nearby holes that provide easy access from the outdoors to the hotspots.
  • Light and Wind – If we enter a space and turn off the lights, we can often find rodent opening by looking for outdoor light that shines through the holes. We can also try to find areas with cooler or warmer air (depending on the season) that indicate that there is a hole nearby.
  • Signs of Activity – Footprints, droppings, and other debris can reveal the paths that mice and rats take from their entry point to the area of your home where they set up their nests. By tracking these trails back to the external walls or roof of the property, we can often find exactly where the rodents entered.

Even if there are no apparent signs that a gap or crack has been used by mice to enter your property, exclusion necessitates sealing every potential rodent entrance point. Once we have exterminated those already inside, your home or business will be secure against mice and rats.

Many of the holes rodents use to gain entry to a property are tiny or hidden. Experience with rodent behaviors and the signs of mice and rats makes it possible for NY and NJ Animal Control Trappers to locate the most hidden entry points. Call us today to get started.