Rated How to Keep Rodents Out of a Garage
Your garage is a safe harbor for your valuables, your vehicle, and maybe even a workshop for your most important projects. Even if you don’t spend any significant amount of time in your garage, you probably agree that seeing signs of an actual rodent in your garage is concerning. Not only are rodents a source of emotional distress for many people, but these creatures also present the possibility of major health problems.
A garage is a popular spot for rodents as it presents a warm, safe space for them to burrow into to escape the elements. They can make nests in the wall insulation, chew through electrical wires, and turn your garage into an unsanitary nightmare instead of the perfect storage space. How do you keep these little critters from calling your garage home? Your trusted garage door experts at Action Garage Door have created this helpful guide on how to keep rodents out of a garage.
Preventative Steps for Keeping Rodents Out of Your Garage
Mice and rodents are tricky little critters. Even the cleanest home may get the occasional visit from these pests. While it is entirely possible that one snuck in while the garage door was open, the bigger problem is that they multiply quickly. If you find one, often there are more taking refuge in your garage. Here are a few safe ways to ensure that rodents find your garage unattractive and look somewhere else for their new home.
Tighten Seals Around Points of Access
Pipes, drains, air ducts, and vents are entryways for these little critters to infiltrate your space. To keep mice and rats out, you will want to ensure that any openings that lead from the home’s exterior to the garage are sealed properly. Check these openings at least once a month for signs of damage or worn-out sealant. If there is even a small crack or opening, you can be sure that the fuzzy little creatures will find a way in. Always repair broken sealant and any damage to these openings to secure your garage and home from an unwanted invasion.
Patch Up Holes
Over time, small holes may appear in your garage due to age, the wearing down of materials, or impact damage from an accident. Whatever the case, a small hole is an unintentional open door for a rodent. Make sure that these holes are properly patched and sealed so that the little critters cannot get through.
Check the Attic
If there are signs of rats or mice in your attic, odds are they have found a way to move into your garage, as well. Attics and garages are often connected through air ducts, drainage pipes, or vents, giving the rodents an easy way to move from one place to the other. As mentioned above, make sure all of these avenues are sealed to keep the rodents from traveling around. Make sure you also take care of the rodent problem in your attic to reduce the possibility that they migrate into your garage or home.
Remove the Attractants
Making your garage less rodent-friendly is a great deterrent, as it encourages them to look somewhere else for their home. Rodents look for two things in their environment: food and shelter. Making sure any food in your garage is stored in plastic containers that are impossible for the rodents to chew through or removing the food altogether can remove one of the vital aspects they look for. Even pet food should be stored in plastic bins to ensure that rats or mice don’t nibble on them.
Clearing out clutter can remove hiding spaces for rats and mice, making them feel exposed. This creates an unfavorable environment for them, which encourages them to look elsewhere to safely sleep, raise their young, and hide from potential predators.
Reinforce Your Garage Door
While entryways from the house through drains and air vents are one way for a rodent to get into your garage, it isn’t the primary way. Most rodents will take the more direct approach and get in through your garage door, either when it is opened or through a hole near the bottom. Making sure your garage door is reinforced is the best way to keep rodents out. There are two effective ways you can strengthen your garage door and create a barrier against rodents:
Rodent Block Door Seals
Garage doors are equipped with a strip of rubber at the bottom to seal the garage door’s opening while it is closed. It also protects the ground beneath the garage door and the garage door itself from being damaged when opening and closing. Rodents often like to chew through this rubber strip.
Garage door rodent seals consist of a rubber strip that wraps around your garage door’s existing bottom seal. Inside of the strip is a mixture of fabric and metal, making it almost impossible for rodents to chew through the sealant.
Rodent blocks are compatible with both roll-up and overhead garage doors. As an added bonus, they also act as weather seals, keeping your garage at a comfortable temperature all year long. This gives homeowners the benefit of lower energy bills as their HVAC system doesn’t have to work as hard when the conditioned air stays in the garage instead of escaping.
Adjustable Rodent Deterrent for Door Jambs
The rubber seals on the sides of your garage door are also vulnerable to rodent teeth. Most people don’t realize that these seals have been chewed on until they see the hole or the rodent in the garage.
As with the seal on the bottom of your garage door, the side rubber seals can be reinforced. Stainless steel door jamb seals will create a rodent deterrent as the rodent will not be able to get through the steel. While they will still probably gnaw at the rubber, their hard work will be in vain as they hit the reinforced steel behind it.
How Do I Know If I Have Rodents in My Garage?
Mice and rats are pretty recognizable, and if you see one, you can be sure that there are others. Even if you don’t see a mouse or rat, you can usually see signs of them by looking out for mouse/rat droppings, unusual odors, or holes that appear in areas where they weren’t before. Hearing scratching or scampering sounds are also a dead giveaway and may mean that the mice/rats have found a way into your garage.
How Can I Handle a Mice/Rodent Infestation?
Handling a mice or rat infestation starts by acting quickly and promptly. Depending on the severity of your problem, some people may be able to set out a few live bait traps, capture the little critters, and place them outside. If the problem is serious, then an exterminator may be your best and safest option.
Get Action Garage Door to Help You Reinforce Your Garage Door
Once the infestation is taken care of, it is extremely important that you reinforce your garage door and take care of any repairs. This can ensure that those little rodents don’t find their way back inside your garage. The dedicated team of garage door professionals at Action Garage Door can help you install rodent block door seals or adjustable rodent deterrents for your door jambs. Contact our team today for more information on our garage door services or to schedule an appointment!
