It’s no secret that rodents like to get into houses. It’s a big reason why the pest control industry makes billions of dollars every year.
Rodents like our homes for the same reasons we do: they’re warm when it’s too cold outside, they’re cool when it’s too hot, and they provide a level of safety and security from the outside world.
It’s also no secret that rodents can cause a lot of damage to residential living spaces. But what kind of damage, and to what extent? And how can you prevent that damage from happening?
At HY-C, we manufacture wildlife exclusion products designed to keep rodents out of homes. We’re also an industry partner of the NPMA (National Pest Management Association) and NWCOA (National Wildlife Control Operator’s Association).
And we want to tell you all about the damage rodents can cause — and what you can do to stop it.
By the time you’re finished here, you’ll understand exactly the kind of havoc rodents can wreak when they get inside your home. We’ll also provide some resources to help you understand exactly what you can do to prevent rodents from causing problems in your house.
What Kinds of Rodents Damage Homes?
First of all, what are we talking about when we say “rodents”? There are hundreds of genera and thousands of species of rodents, but not all of them cause damage to your home. Your house is, for example, very unlikely to be damaged by a capybara or a beaver.
When we talk about rodents damaging homes and properties, we’re referring to four main culprits:
- Mice
- Rats
- Squirrels (both ground squirrels and tree squirrels)
- Chipmunks
And while these four types of rodents behave a little differently from one another and have distinct characteristics, for the most part, they cause similar damage to living spaces.
What Kind of Damage Do Rodents Cause?
Rodents have two pairs of continuously growing incisors — one in their lower jaws and one in their upper jaws. To keep these teeth from growing too long, rodents chew just about anything they can get their paws on.
Chewing is how the vast majority of rodent damage is caused. And homes across the country are vulnerable to rodent chewing in a multitude of different ways.
Damage to Electrical Wires
Rodents love to chew electrical wires. Something about the shape and material of wiring just draws them in. They’ll chew wires to your lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, appliances, and more.
In a best-case scenario, electrical wires severed by rodents simply require replacement. In a worse case, a mouse or a rat can ruin your stove or refrigerator, causing you to buy a replacement for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
On the worst end of the spectrum, though, rodents tampering with electrical wires can cause a full-blown house fire. It’s estimated that rodents are responsible for up to 20% of fires with undetermined causes. Even a single mouse in your walls could lead to your home being burnt down.
Damage to Car Wires
Admittedly, this is similar to the entry above, but it’s such a pervasive and unique problem that it’s worth listing on its own.
To a squirrel, your car is as good a place to live as any, and it’s arguably easier to get into than your home (especially if you park outside). Nowadays, cars are as much computer as they are vehicle, and this means that wires run their length from bumper to bumper.
Most mechanics can tell you a story or two about a car damaged by a rodent. In some cases, chewed wires can even total the vehicle entirely, irreversibly severing power to the computer brain that makes the car run in the first place.
Structural Damage
Rodents don’t just like to chew wires; they like to chew on wood, too. And your home is made of a lot of it.
Whether it’s your siding, your baseboards, exposed roof decking, or the very studs that hold everything together, rodents can gain access to essentially every square inch of your house from roof to foundation.
And after they’ve caused damage, they’ll use the holes to come and go as they please.
Damage to Insulation
If you have a rodent in your attic, you have a lot of potential problems brewing. But one of the first and foremost is with the insulation.
Attic insulation keeps your attic within acceptable temperatures. As mice, rats, or squirrels multiply and take residence in your attic, they scurry around on top of the blown-in insulation, tamping it down.
As the insulation becomes crushed, it loses its effectiveness. This can result in higher heating and cooling bills and an increased strain on your heating and cooling system, leading to expensive malfunctions.
Damage from Urine and Feces
Rodents eat and drink, and all of the excess has to go somewhere. They’re not courteous enough to use a toilet, though. So if they’re in your home, rodents usually end up urinating and defecating wherever they please.
This can result in damage to your insulation, your ceilings, your walls, and your floors. It will also (obviously) leave some pungent odors lingering throughout the house.
Zoonotic Diseases
It’s not just your home or your car you need to worry about with rodents. These critters can carry diseases that are a threat to your health and wellbeing.
Mice, rats, and squirrels can carry maladies like Lyme disease, ringworm, hantavirus, salmonella, Weil’s disease, and more. These illnesses can result in a headache, fever, muscle pain, chills, vomiting, and more.
For this reason, try not to come into direct contact with any rodents in your home. Steer clear of their urine and feces, too, which can transmit the diseases if you come into contact with it.
Damage to Personal Belongings
Nothing is safe from a rodent’s teeth. Yes, the wires and wood that make up your home are at risk, but so are the things you buy, store, and cherish.
From shoes and clothes to the food you keep in your pantry, rats, mice, squirrels, and chipmunks will go after anything they can get their teeth on. Keep an eye out for small holes on shirts, footwear, and cardboard boxes of food.
Damage to Plants and Gardens
Any gardener will tell you that wildlife of any kind is a threat to their precious plants. Rodents are no exception. They’ll chew on grasses, ferns, flowers, and all kinds of greenery, laying waste to your seasonal vegetable garden in a matter of days.
And it’s not just outdoor plants you need to keep an eye on, either. If you have any potted plants inside your home, try to keep them elevated. They may become a quick target for any rats that like to live inside your walls.
How Do You Keep Rodents Out?
By now, it should be pretty clear that rodents can cause extensive damage to your home, cars, landscaping, and even your health. And at this point, you may be worried about winding up with a rodent infestation inside your home.
So — how do you keep them out?
There are all kinds of myths about deterrents you can use to keep rodents away from your home. From smells like peppermint oil, vinegar, or cinnamon to sonic devices that purportedly irritate the critters to drive them away, all kinds of sources claim that you can keep pests out with quick, simple, cheap solutions.
But deterrents do not work. Whether it’s a smell-based deterrent or a sound-based deterrent, rodents simply grow used to the inconvenience, adapt, and go right back to destroying your home.
The only thing that will truly keep rodents from getting into your home are wildlife exclusion products — physical barriers installed over vulnerable home vents and openings that block the animals from getting in.
Installing a whole-home wildlife exclusion is an effective, long-term solution for stopping rats, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, and more critters in their tracks. It requires a sizable upfront investment, but it will last for decades at a time, keeping wildlife out and your home secure.
