A nor'easter is a coastal storm whose strongest winds blow from the northeast, and on the South Shore it can mean a day of driving rain, flooded yards and branches across the driveway. After the cleanup of the obvious damage, there is a second, quieter job: checking what the storm did to the places rodents use.
We cannot predict what any storm will do to animals, and we make no claim that calls rise after one. What we can offer is narrower and still useful. Gusts and tides rearrange shelter and pry open fresh gaps, and one slow lap of the lot will reveal either.
What a storm changes around a house.
Heavy rain fills burrows. Norway rats and field mice tunnel, and a tunnel full of water gets abandoned fast, with the occupant hunting for a drier covered spot. The nearest candidates may be the gap under a deck, a shed with a loose floorboard or the shadowed corner of a garage.
Wind does a different job. It bends vent covers, lifts loose trim and drops limbs across roofs. Storm surge and high tides leave wrack, a tangle of seaweed, reeds and driftwood, which often lands against a wall or a fence line. A heap like that is cover, and cover next to a house shortens an animal's trip.
A half-hour walk, in order.
Wait until limbs and wires are no longer a hazard. Bring a flashlight, begin at ground level and work upward until you reach the eaves.
- Walk the base of every wall and look for fresh holes, slumped sand or soil, and leaf litter that was not there last week.
- Push gently on each vent cover and crawl space screen; wobble, rattle or a lifted corner is the thing to note.
- Check the garage door seal and both bottom corners for daylight.
- Peek beneath decks and stoops for fresh tunnels or grass pressed flat along a path.
- Glance along the eaves for branches, reeds or debris resting on the shingles.
- Open the crawl space door, if you have one, and look for water, displaced insulation or droppings.
Snap pictures of anything unusual with the date attached. Should noises start next month, those images tell the technician where the animal probably entered.
A short call is the fastest way to find out what applies to your house.
(888) 686-4821What each finding usually means.
| What you find. | Why it matters. | What to do. |
|---|---|---|
| A fresh, smooth hole beside the foundation. | A burrow in active use, probably a Norway rat. | Photograph it, do not fill it, and call. |
| A vent cover bent or loose at a corner. | A gap about the size of a pencil or larger. | Replace it with metal mesh in a frame. |
| Wrack or driftwood against the siding. | Cover that hides gaps and attracts animals. | Move it well away from the wall. |
| Damp or displaced insulation in a crawl space. | A potential nest site and a moisture problem. | Dry the space and have it inspected. |
The roof edge after wind.
Wind can slide a soffit panel out of place or open a seam where trim meets siding. These gaps are small, high and easy to miss from the ground. Use binoculars if you have them and look for dark lines, torn screens or daylight along the underside of the eaves.
If you find a gap, resist the urge to stuff it with foam or steel wool from a ladder in wet weather. The materials do not last, and a fall costs far more than a rodent. A technician carries mesh and flashing and can close the opening safely.
Low ground, sheds and crawl spaces.
Sheds, crawl spaces and the area under porches are the lowest, darkest and most protected parts of a property. After heavy rain they may also be wet, and a wet shelter is less attractive than a dry one, so animals tend to move toward higher ground. Check that crawl space doors still close tightly and that nothing has washed in under a shed.
Moisture complicates repairs. Do not seal a damp space and walk away. Let it dry, note where the water came from and have a pro check the area if standing water persists. A technician can see the rodent side of the problem, and a contractor can fix the moisture.
What to do tonight if you hear something.
- Keep children and pets out of the room where you hear the noise.
- Do not set poison bait, which can cause an animal to die inside a wall.
- Close the door to the room and note the hour and the sound.
- Call the next day, or call tonight if the sound is loud or the smell is strong.
Questions about what you just read? The line is answered day and night.
(888) 686-4821Getting ready for the next storm.
The cheapest time to seal a gap is before the weather turns. In late summer, replace rusted vent screens, set a new door sweep on the garage, trim branches that touch the roof and move firewood onto a rack. Keep kibble and birdseed in tubs with lids, and bring anything that could float off, like tarps and lumber, into the garage or tie it down.
None of this guarantees a quiet house, but it removes the easy openings. For the work that needs a ladder or a trained eye, our sealing page explains the materials and our inspection page describes what a first visit includes.
Before you call, a protective checklist.
Doing it this way keeps dust low while you wait.
- Nothing dry should be swept, blown or vacuumed, since airborne dust is the main way the germs spread.
- Fresh air does a share of the work, so let the space breathe with nobody in it.
- Gloves go on at the start and soap and water come at the end.
- Paper towels, not dry rags, pick up the wet waste, and you keep spraying until nothing looks powdery.
- All that the cleanup touched, towels and gloves included, goes out to the bin in a knotted bag.
- Keep tabs on your health across the next few weeks, and see a physician should you develop flu-like illness or labored breathing.
Where the cleanup steps were taken from.
Each link carries a one-line summary of its contents.
- CDC walkthrough for rodent mess: Soak times, protective gear and the final resting place of the sealed bag.
- CDC recommendations to keep rodents out: The CDC's hantavirus overview with tips for keeping rodents out of homes and vehicles.