Cooperative Living October 2018 - 24

SafetySense
Space Invaders: Keeping Critters
Away from Your Home
E
ach autumn, as the air turns brisk and leaves begin to drop,
it seems as if every beast in the animal kingdom wants to crash
your pad. Squirrels bed down in the eaves. Mice storm the
garage and shimmy up the pipes inside your bedroom walls. Crickets
and other insects find their way into the corners of each room. Once
inside, they make themselves right at home, gnawing electric wires,
shredding insulation and even feasting on aluminum siding.
While these critters are tearing up your property - and
potentially exposing your family to diseases such as hantavirus
- they may also be busy bringing forth more progeny. A handful
of mice can multiply to 60 in just 90 days, while squirrels can
pump out six infants a year. Because they reproduce so stealthily,
you may not know you have a problem until it's too late.
The best way to deal with uninvited guests is to keep them
from entering your home at all. It's a little like burglar-proofing:
If you make it tough enough to break in, they'll give up and go
elsewhere. The pest-control folks call this " exclusion, " a fancy
name for plugging entry holes. It is tedious work - mice can
Critters usually
get past entry
points that you
aren't guarding
very carefully.
wriggle through an opening just ¼ inch across - but you can do
much of the work yourself using items commonly found in the
hardware store.
Critters usually get past entry points that you aren't guarding
very carefully, including the garage, basement, roof eaves, and
anywhere else they find a crevice big enough to slip through. To
help make sure you aren't vulnerable, consider contacting a local
firm to examine and troubleshoot your house.
" Most companies will be happy to send someone out to inspect
and make recommendations, " says Greg Baumann, technical
director of the National Pest Management Association.
Then you have the option of hiring the pest control firm or a
contractor to plug the holes, or doing it yourself. Whatever you
decide, Baumann says, don't defeat your preventive work by
inadvertently rolling out the welcome mat.
" It doesn't make sense to pay someone to do exclusion work
but then leave your garage door wide open until bedtime. By
then, they've already gotten inside. "
Here are some ways to discourage critters from invading your space:
* Inspect your home's exterior for any gaps or holes in vents, then
close off any exterior openings with caulk or mesh. While
installing gutter guards and chimney covers to prevent animals,
also trim back tree branches that might extend onto the roof and
(carefully) remove any dormant wasp's nests.
* Plug interior openings. Mice and rats may try to enter your home
through spaces around the baseboard trim, so fill any holes inside
your home with steel wool and place traps near entrances to your
attic and basement.
* Secure your garbage. First, make sure any bins you keep outside
are shut tight so that nothing can get in and, if knocked over, won't
easily open. Extra deterrents include setting rocks or weights on top
of the lid and washing out the trash bins every so often to reduce
the aromatic smell of rotting food.
* Don't leave food around. If you feed your pets outside, bring any
remainders inside when they are done. Use extreme caution if you
witness wild animals such as raccoons being active during the day,
as this is not normal. They may be suffering from rabies or distemper
and need to be removed professionally.
With a little effort, you can prevent unwanted visitors from making
your home into theirs too! 
Source: Joseph D'Agnese, This Old House magazine
22 | Cooperative Living | October 2018
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Cooperative Living October 2018

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