Find Rodents In Your Holiday Decorations? How To Avoid A Repeat Visit Next Year
If you just pulled your holiday decorations out of storage, only to find that they've been overrun by rodents, you'll want to avoid a repeat occurrence next year. Cleaning or replacing decorations that have been destroyed by rodents can be time-consuming, unhealthy, and costly. This year, you'll want to take the necessary steps to keep rodents out of your decorations while they're in storage. Here are four simple, yet effective, steps you can take to keep the rodents out of your holiday decorations.
Keep the Storage Area Clean
Before you put your decorations back into storage, make sure you give the area a thorough cleaning. Begin by sweeping away all the loose debris you've found, including the nesting material. Follow the sweeping with a once-over with your shop vacuum. This will help you get deep into the cracks and crevices of the storage area. Finish the process by mopping the area with a solution of bleach and water. Fill your bucket with warm water and add about 2 cups of bleach. Mop the area you'll be using for storage and allow it to air dry. The bleach solution will remove any trace odors that the rodents might use to find their way back.
Do Away with the Cardboard Boxes
If you're using cardboard boxes to store your holiday decorations, you're asking for rodent problems. Mice and rats can chew right through those boxes, and that's exactly what they'll do if they're attracted to anything you've got stored inside. In fact, they don't even need to be attracted to anything. They just need to know that they can nest inside, and the cardboard is easy to chew through. Take away the temptation, and the easy access to nesting, by investing in plastic storage bins.
Toss Out the Gingerbread Houses and Edible Ornaments
If your kids, or grand kids, made gingerbread houses, or edible ornaments this year, you might be tempted to hang on to them as keepsakes. Unfortunately, that's a good way to attract plenty of mice and rats. Even those ornaments made out of salt dough, which isn't very tasty for human consumption, will attract plenty of rodents. Instead of attracting rodents, toss the gingerbread houses and edible ornaments in the trash, and make new ones next year. Be sure to take plenty of pictures of them before they get tossed into the trash though. You'll want to remember what your kids and grand kids made for you.
Hire an Exterminator
If the rodents go after your holiday decorations, they're not going to stop there. Those rodents are going to infest every inch of your home if they're given a chance. At the first hint of rodent activity, you need to hire an exterminator, such as from Patrick Exterminating. They'll get rid of the problem so you won't need to worry about it.
