Keeping Rodents out of Your Furnace: A How-To Guide

Getting rodents in the furnace is a common issue that can cause a lot of frustrating things. The little critters can severely damage the furnace as well as the walls and floors surrounding the furnace vents. We get calls for furnace repair in Minneapolis all the time to deal with this kind of issue. While we are happy to remove the problem, the best way for you to solve any issue is to keep it from happening at all. The following tips can help you keep the mice, rats, voles, and other critters out of your heating system.

Fill in All Gaps

Once we handle any needed furnace repair in Minneapolis due to rodents, we will immediately get to work figuring out where the rodents got in. Even the smallest crack or hole can be sufficient to let in an army of rodents. They are tiny and are very adept at fitting their bodies in impossibly small spaces. Go around your house and find any of these possible openings, and fill them in. There are a lot of great products that can do this quite easily.

Use Pesticides

There are some chemical sprays that can be used around the exterior of your home that will keep pests and rodents away from your home. Having this kind of treatment done every few weeks can help keep your home free of these annoying house guests.

Clear Clutter from Exterior Walls

Rodents are drawn to dark spaces where they can hide and stay warm. This is especially true in the winter, which is why the mice and rats love to get into the heating vents. Any clutter that you have stacked near the exterior of your home will work as suitable shelter for these critters. We suggest moving all of these items a few feet away from the exterior of the home, or relocating them to a shed or garage. This will reduce the number of rodents coming up to your house, and will thus reduce the amount of searching they will do to find a weak spot to gain entrance into your home.

Winterize All Windows

Windows are one of the easy places for rodents to gain entrance to your house. Winterizing them will not only reduce your utility bills, but will also keep pests of any kind from getting into your house. We have found that homes that take the winterizing tips for their home seriously tend to have much less trouble with rats and mice.

Clear out Food Traces before Bed

This is just good common sense, but we know that people can get tired right before bed. Just remember before you decide to leave those dishes for tomorrow that the food traces could be luring rodents into your home. Once they are in, they will likely take refuge in your furnace vents. Don’t leave a buffet out for them, or they will begin treating your home like a little critter bed and breakfast.

Call In Professionals

If you are certain that you have a rodent issue and none of the aforementioned tips are working, then you need to call in the professionals to have your home exterminated.