Ian harm now a gap for pests & rodents to enter your own home

Debris and discarded belongings still line the streets of many Southwest Florida communities.

But like the big piles, the homes damaged by Hurricane Ian are now vulnerable to some unwanted late fall visitors.

If you’ve noticed more rodents or pests in your home, you’re not alone, and you may have the hurricane to thank for it.

It’s normal to hear the buzzing of bugs in Florida, but now residents hear noises like banging on the ceiling late at night, according to Kyle Selbach, All “U” Need Pest Control’s chief of operations. He said these sounds are actually rodent activity.

“A rodent can get into anything the size of a quarter, they can crush their skulls and get into the house that way,” he said.

Selbach said before Ian that any accessible holes that allow heat and ventilation to enter and exit allow rodents to enter your attic.

In many cases, the hurricane caused huge holes in the roofs of homes throughout our community. It is now easier for these pests to invite themselves.

“The problem we’re running into is that the holes are too big, people’s homes and their soffits are being blown out, the tops of their roofs are being blown out,” Selbach said.

The best thing you can do is to seal your house and any holes, big or small, as best you can.

Yes, rodents and pests are already in roadside debris. But in our homes there is food and other things that attract these pests even more.

“You know, I’m looking at peanut butter in a fridge outside a vacant house,” he said. “That’s a perfect thing because rats love peanut butter and slim jims, that’s literally what we put on our traps.”

You have to do something because if you don’t, an infestation might not be far away.

A rat can just climb walls and get in easily and then other rats will follow the pheromones and then you have an infestation. “Once you have an infestation in the house you go through a whole catching process that can take anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks, it just depends on how many are in your house.”

For more information you can contact All “U” Need by calling 239-424-8742 for a free consultation or by visiting their website here.