Rodent Rundown Keeping These Dangerous Pests Away From Your Chicago Property

What do you do when you get spam calls or when someone pesters you with messages? You block them. If you are in a group text and your phone is buzzing constantly with chatter from the group, you mute the conversation. If you don't want people on your property, you put up a "No Trespassing" sign or a locked fence. In most cases, we have ways to keep unwanted spam calls, annoying people, or potential trouble-makers away, but how can we keep rodents out of our homes?

Rodents don't use phones or send text messages, so blocking and muting won't stop them; they also don't read, so signs will not keep rodents out of our homes. While a fence may help, rodents can squeeze through nickel-sized holes, so if there are gaps in the fencing, they will find a way into our homes. While it may seem impossible to keep rodents out of your Chicago home, you can keep them out with the help of Chicago pest control services from Aerex Pest Control.

Aerex Pest Control is a family-owned, Chicago-based company that has removed rodents since 1948. Leading American entomologist Dr. George Rotramel trains our service technicians. In addition to their extensive training, our service technicians are certified through the Illinois Department of Public Health. We are fully bonded and carry property damage and personal liability insurance.

You probably found this article because rodents are inside your Chicago home, and you want them out. Not only do you want the current infestation to end, but you want to ensure rodents never invade your home again. If that describes your desire, please keep reading to learn how to regain control of your home from rodents. 

Common Rodent Species: Identify Rats, Mice, And Other Intruders

What is the difference between rodents, wildlife, and other warm-blooded mammals? While they share some of the same features, the main difference is a pair of ever-growing incisor teeth. These teeth have a razor-sharp edge that rodents use to cut through wood, thin metals, vinyl, plastic, glass, roots, and even concrete. Because they grow continually, rodents must trim their incisor teeth (which also sharpens them) by gnawing on available objects.

From a pest control perspective, rodents generally consist of animals with growing incisor teeth that live alongside humans. These types of rodents are known as commensal rodents.

Rodents in the Chicago area that cause problems for owners include the following: 

• Norway rats
• House mice
• Voles

Some animals, like beavers, have growing incisor teeth but avoid humans, which puts them in the wildlife category. Of course, we don't have a problem with beavers in Chicagoland.

What is the difference between Norway rats and the mice species that invade Chicago homes? We will discuss each of these animals so you can determine what rodents you witness running out from underneath the couch or behind the kitchen cabinets.

Norway rats have a 7 to 9 1/2-inch long brown body with black interspersed hairs and a gray or white belly. In addition to their long bodies, these rodents have a 6 to 8-inch scaly tail, blunt muzzle, and small ears and eyes. Norway rats live outside in garbage and woodpiles and underneath concrete slabs. When harsh weather drives them into homes, they gravitate to the basement and other lower floors.

Although they have a long tail, furry body, two ears, and eyes, house mice are smaller than Norway rats. These four-legged creatures have 2 1/2 to 3 3/4-inch dusty grey round bodies and a cream-colored underside. They have a 2 3/4 to 4-inch tail and large ears. Although they can survive outdoors, these fast-breeding mice prefer to live inside human-made structures, where they create nests from paper, insulation, cotton, fabrics, and other materials in dark, secluded areas.

Field mice, also known as voles, have a similar shape and size as a house mouse. Unlike house mice, voles do not invade homes but live in the yard, where they feed on grub. Unlike moles that create underground tunnels, voles construct trenches on the surface.

To remove rodents from your Chicago home, you need rodent control from Aerex Pest Control. Our trained service technicians can identify the types of rodents invading your home and property so that we can create the best strategy for their removal based on their habits and behaviors.