How To Keep Rats and Mice Out of Your
Senior Living Community?

A Rodent Overview

Understanding the different habits between mice and rats can help you learn to control them better. The rat isn’t afraid to travel far and wide searching for a morsel, but the mouse is a bit lazier. Mice only tend to go no more than 25 feet to find sustenance. Rats have no problem going a great distance, and they can smell food from up to 10 miles away, and they have no problem going up to 200 feet from their nest to get it. 

While you try to keep your senior living community clean, you’re often at the mercy of residents. Is the trash being emptied regularly? Are there storage rooms overrun with clutter and paper that would make nesting easy? It would help if you asked yourself these things to ensure you control pest issues. Residents often have food in their apartments or rooms, and you can’t always see the messes or snacks they leave out, which can cause a potential problem. 

Remember that storage room you’ve left unorganized and full of stuff for months? While you mean to get to it and get it cleaned out, improper maintenance is like rolling out the welcome mat. Rats and mice are drawn to facilities where people are living, as they know there’s always food nearby. These critters have no problem moving into your home, shed, garage, or senior living facility. The three vermin we fight the most in New Jersey in establishments like yours are the Norway, roof rat, and house mouse. 

While it’s unsanitary to have these crawling critters in your facility, you must also consider the amount of damage they can cause. You cannot get rid of a persistent infestation with some glue boards, but they can help a little bit. It would help if you took extreme measures to take control of your establishment’s health and safety issues by implementing a plan for your pest control. One of the worst things you can do is to tell yourself that it’s only one harmless mouse, as there’s always so many more that you don’t see hidden in your walls. 

Fast Reproduction Means Big Problems

Assume that you see one mouse in your building and brush it off as a common occurrence. Did you know that if you have a pair of mice that get into your senior living community, they can reproduce to more than 20 mice within 30 days? What’s even more ominous is that those same two rodents that started this problem can cause the population to grow to tens of thousands within 12 months. 

The average woman has a menstrual cycle that runs 28 days. You might assume a mouse would be the same, but mice cycle every 4-5 days. Another difference is that mice can reproduce from a mere two months of age. So many people think that getting rid of rodents is a one-time and done thing. You must use preventative measures to keep them away from your facility and be on top of pest control. 

Signs of a Rodent Infestation

By now, you’re invested in keeping these nasty critters out of your building, but the first step is recognizing that you have a problem. There are all kinds of signs that something is amiss. The most common signs that you’re dealing with an infestation are as follows:

1. You Hear Scratching or Gnawing

Mice and rats like to get back into the walls of your facility as it provides them safety while moving about the building. It’s common to hear them scratch and gnaw as they try to make new ways to get in and out of the confines of the walls. It’s common to hear these noises at night since they’re nocturnal creatures. 

While you may not see any damage from the chewing overnight, in time, you might notice holes in the drywall, chew marks on paper and wood, and even electrical issues from chewed wires. 

2. Burrows

Examine the outside of your property. Do you see any burrows? These little mounds in the ground are signs that these creatures are on the move. They use underground systems that allow them to go from one place to another without being spotted. When there’s a severe infestation, you’ll likely see some outdoor signs as well as ones indoors. Remember, they must have a way to get to the inside from the out, and they want to travel without the risk of running into any humans or other predators. 

3. Droppings and Smear Marks

One thing that you can’t ignore is droppings. It’s usually the first sign you’ll see. Rat droppings are quite a bit larger than that of the mouse. Their fecal matter resembles a raisin, while a mouse drops pellets the size of a grain of rice. The most common place to find these droppings is near the kitchen or other food sources. 

Another thing you will likely see is smear marks on the walls. The oils in these creatures’ skin are abundant, and as mice and rats move about your facility, they leave smear marks behind. When you see these marks on the walls, you know that these are the most traveled pathways, and it’s good to set traps and put bait in these locations. 

4. Destruction

Rodents chew on things to use the materials to build a nest. If you see papers with teeth marks, you’ll know they’re trying to move in for good. Everyday things that rodents use to build their nests include the following:

• Cardboard boxes
• Clothes
• Paper

Did a parent tell you your room was a “rat’s nest?” It’s because rodents love to congregate in areas with ample supplies. A big pile of papers is a way to build a nest, so they can’t resist. Any lump of materials all gathered in one place is like rolling out the welcome mat. 

Doing a Track Test

Before you call for pest control, you likely want to make sure there’s a problem. One simple way you can do that is by performing a track test. Putting something as simple as powder or flour in the areas where you see activity can tell you if there’s a problem. 

Leave the powder down overnight since they’re nocturnal, and you’ll have your answer by the morning. The scary part is that you might see many tracks through the substance that indicates a more significant problem than you imagined. 

Being Proactive with Vermin

You may be doing everything right and still get an infestation in your senior living facility, but it’s always better to be proactive. You need to understand that mice and rats are curious by nature. While they can’t see very well, they do have the power to get lids of trashcans and dumpsters open to get inside. 

Their sense of touch and smell is heightened due to their poor eyesight, which is how they can easily crawl through the sewers. It would help if you considered that rodents like to stay 100-150 feet from the nest, though some varieties of rats may go a bit further. 

If one scurries past you while you’re in the building, it likely means they’ve already nested someone in the facility. Since it only takes them a short period to multiply, time is of the essence. Here are the ways to control or eradicate a problem.

1. Get Rid of Food and Scraps

You must be proactive with the food and scraps. Do you have a kitchen area where you prep food? You must ensure that all trash cans are covered, and they have no access to food. If you store food in your facility, ensure they’re in an airtight container. 

You can’t detour them with plastic tubs, but using metal is foolproof. They can chew through plastic. Never leave food sitting out and ensure that all residents have their trays removed promptly, trash emptied often, and keep any snacks in sealed containers. 

2. Take Away Their Homes

Do you see nests or holes in the walls? The holes in the walls are only commonplace when an infestation is out of control. However, when you start sealing off these entry points and destroying any nests you find, you’re taking away their comforts. The key is to ensure that there are no materials to build another nest once you’ve removed the ones they already created. 

3. Set Traps and Call for Help

Go ahead and set traps around the facility. Glue traps won’t kill them, so you must be proactive to set them free once you capture them. Snap traps will kill them and can also be a hazard to any residents if you set them in areas where they might encounter them. There are advantages and disadvantages to these types of traps, and you should evaluate the place where you’re putting them before making a choice. 

The other option to use is bait. While bait is excellent because it kills a large quantity, and you can put it back in inconspicuous areas, it has some drawbacks. The rodents often are trapped in the walls when they die, so their bodies will release a gas into the air that’s putrid and can be nauseating for residents. 

Those with asthma or other breathing issues might be extra sensitive to the toxins the decomposing body releases. So, know that when you set this kind of stuff out, some downsides come with it. There’s no way to get to them; the smell will cease once the decomposition process is complete. 

Calling Your Local Pest Control Professional

A senior living community is full of wonderful people in their golden years. It’s your job to ensure the health and safety of each resident, and part of this process entails keeping your building rodent-free. It’s a significant task, but you should do it alone, just like other maintenance items. 

We understand how difficult it is to keep rodents out of your facility, and we also know all about roaches, termites, spiders, and anything else that might invade your space. We want to partner with you to ensure your building is bug and vermin free. Call us today for a consultation to see on how we can take care of a current problem and prevent an infestation in the future.

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