2026 is here, and it’s a great time to protect your home against rodents like rats and mice. Unfortunately Houston’s mild winters don’t stop rodents. They don’t hibernate, and they don’t hunker down.
They just seek warmth indoors, in your house.
So if you’d like 2026 to be a rodent-free year, it’s time to make a few adjustments.
Resolution #1: Inspect & Seal Gaps
The goal: to inspect and seal gaps around your foundation.
What’s the best way to inspect and seal gaps around the foundation of your home?
Rats and mice can fit through holes the size of a dime. So it’s important to focus on common entry points like:
- Weep holes
- Siding gaps
- Utility line entry points
You can stuff these holes yourself, with steel wool or hardware cloth, but this can be dangerous. Often it means getting up on a ladder. It’s often safer and less expensive to call us. You skip the trip to the hardware store and you get the benefit of our rat-proof resin, which is all but impossible for them to chew through.
Resolution #2: Manage Your Landscape
The goal: to trim tree branches and clear dense vegetation.
How does your landscape contribute to rats in the attic?
Houston roof rats use the tree “super highway” to run into your attic. So do squirrels, which can be just as destructive.
To solve this problem, you should trim branches at least six feet away from the roofline. You should also remove ivy or overgrown shrubs that sit next to the house, since this material provides the perfect cover for nesting.
Resolution #3: Audit Food Storage Habits
Rodents are attracted to smells. Are you setting out a buffet?
How can you adjust food storage habits to prevent a rodent infestation in your Houston home?
Decant pet food, birdseed, and pantry staples from chewable bags and cardboard boxes into thick plastic or glass containers. This is the year you finally adopt that cute, labeled pantry system you keep seeing online!
Well, okay. The aesthetics aren’t that necessary. But the decanting is.
While you’re at it, clean up crumbs under the toaster and behind the fridge, all those places that are “out of sight, out of mind.” Mice and rats can thrive on those “hidden gems.”
Resolution #4: Fix Leaky Pipes and Clogged Gutters
These home maintenance tasks will protect your house in a myriad of ways.
How do leaky pipes and clogged gutters contribute to rat problems?
Rodents need water sources like any other creature. A dripping outdoor faucet or a clogged gutter full of standing water offers a ready source. You or I might not drink out of a gutter, but to a rat, water is water.
Want professional help?
A professional inspection can help you find every entry point that’s invisible to an untrained eye. We can also help you get rid of any rodents who might already be living in your home, ensuring a clean, fresh start for the new year.
Our professional exclusion services get rats out and keep them out.
And while we joke about New Years’ resolutions, rodent control is a year-round commitment here in Houston, one of the rattiest cities in the world. So if you’re concerned, don’t wait. Call our offices to schedule your inspection today.