Rat Proofing Services in Los Angeles

If you’ve created a clean environment which offers no easy food, water, or shelter for rodents, and you’re already working on trapping any rodents already present, there are two more things to take care of: assess and repair all the damage and seal off all rodent entry points.

During the inspection, we will find out what kind of damage rodents may have already done to your home and, with your permission, go ahead and fix it. That may mean replacing damaged insulation where rodents had been nesting, redoing some chewed-through wiring, replacing a damaged vent cover, or a host of other odds and ends.

But the “main event” with rat proofing is clearly the process of identifying and then sealing all potential rodent entry points. How do we do that? Here is a basic overview of the process:

• We use a foam sealant to plug up cracks and crevices in your walls, attic, foundation, or other locations. You’d be amazed at how small a hole or crack a rodent can squeeze through! Even a quarter-inch diameter gap could let in a small mouse.
• Next, we put up metal screening wherever it makes sense to prevent rodents from chewing their way into the building. When rats chew wood, they don’t mind it. But when they chew on metal, it hurts their teeth and they ultimately give up. Metal mesh can be used as a back-up to foam and is especially recommended for gaps an inch or two or more across.
• We can also put wire mesh over your downspouts to keep rodents from trying again and again to “go up the water spout” and right into your house!
• We’ll fix all leaking pipes or drains, or we can find them and you can have a plumber fix them or go DIY on it. But you can’t have a ready water supply from a leaky pipe inviting new rodents in – to say nothing of water damage and a high water bill!
• You’ll need to fix or replace any doors or windows with holes in them or in the frames. If the weather stripping is missing or not tight enough, that also has to be addressed. All windows should be screened. And if rodents have been chewing on the bottom of your door – it’s time to block them off with a metal kick plate.
• It’s important to thoroughly inspect and take action wherever wires, cables, pipes, or other utilities enter your home. Tools like sheet metal, wire mesh, foam sealant, and hardware cloth will make these favorite entry ways obstacles instead. Placing rodent guards around vertically positioned pipes that climb your house’s walls is especially important here.
• The chimney (if you have one) should be capped. And if vents or vent screens are missing or damaged, they need to be replaced. Any holes or damaged shingles on your roof need to be repaired as well.
• At Pure Eco, we don’t cut any corners when it comes to sealing your home against potential rodent invasion. We have the tools and experience it takes to locate and effectively seal any and all rat/mouse entry points.

We probe your building for weak or rotted wood, use a flashlight to locate otherwise hard to find holes and gaps, and utilize our extensive experience in looking in all the “usual places” where rodents are known to get in.

And when you seal your home against rodents, the bonus is that you also air seal it simultaneously. And air sealing will benefit your building by keeping out unwanted moisture, bettering the quality of indoor air, and lowering your monthly energy bill. And of course, sealing up your home (along with proper ventilation) will benefit the environment too by lowering your carbon footprint!

Finally, we should not that it’s never 100% impossible for a rodent to somehow find its way into a building, not matter how tightly you seal it up. And over time, storms and forces of nature or the natural process of a house settling on its foundation can create new gaps/cracks. Plus, if a gap is foam-sealed but not backed up with wire mesh, it’s possible a rodent could “get smart” and chew through the foam.

What rat proofing does is greatly reduce the chances of a rodent getting into your building. It brings it down to the minimum. But it’s still advisable to have a new rodent proofing inspection every 5 or 10 years just to be sure your seal is still “unbroken” and you don’t have a rodent infestation that, perhaps, you weren’t even aware of.