Over the weekend a chore led to a pretty disgusting discovery, my workshop has become home to rodents.
They’ve been nesting there for some time, making use of an old motorcycle cover, speaker box and even an overturned gutter I had stored there.
I even found a long-lost rat trap that went missing more than a month ago, with the captive varmint still ensnared. I will spare you the details of my discovery.
After clearing out all of the places where they had set up nests comprised of old insulation, leaves and pine straw, brand new traps were set out for another round of extermination attempts.
I’ve actually been waging this war since moving into the home.
So, now, a little research is in order.
To better protect a storage area, and subsequently a house, from becoming the rat hotel, several sources cite finding each and every small space in the foundation and walls and sealing them with liquid cement or caulk. Local hardware stores also sell a variant of “Great Stuff” that has an ingredient to dissuade pests from chewing on it.
Other tips include removing food from around the home, storing firewood as far from the home as possible and addressing drainage issues.
If the pests have to travel far away for water, food and shelter, they will be less likely to make your home theirs.
As for whether you should use traps or poison, that is a personal preference. However, I choose traps for two reasons; you won’t accidentally poison the family pet, and traps enable you to positively dispose of the carcass. There’s nothing worse than the smell of decay that you can’t find, especially when they expire behind a wall or under a floorboard.