Rodent Prevention, Exclusion & Control

■Signs Worth Acting On

• Droppings in cabinets, drawers, garages, or along baseboards
• Scratching or scurrying sounds in walls and ceilings, especially at night
• Gnaw marks on food packaging, wiring, or wood
• Nesting material — shredded paper, insulation, fabric — in hidden corners
• A musky odor in enclosed spaces

■Why They Come In

Food, warmth, and shelter — and Connecticut's fall cooldown drives the annual push indoors. Rodents follow structure lines and enter through gaps you'd never notice: foundation cracks, garage door corners, utility penetrations, damaged vents, and crawlspace openings.

■Inspection, Prevention, Exclusion, Trapping — What Each Actually Means

Inspection maps activity and entry points. Prevention removes the attractants — food access, harborage, clutter. Exclusion physically seals entry points so new rodents can't follow the old ones in; it's the step that makes results last, and the one skipped-over most often. Trapping removes the animals already inside. Lasting control uses all four in that order — trapping without sealing is a subscription to the same problem.

■When to Request an Inspection

At the first sign — droppings, sounds, gnawing — or proactively in early fall before the seasonal push. An inspection tells you exactly what you're dealing with and what it takes to close the doors.