The steps to take if rodents are in your air ducts are simple. Remain calm and jump into action by conducting a thorough examination of the inside and outside of your house, turning off the system, and planning your cunning trap dispersal throughout your home. Rodent removal will be great or gross. Either way, this will be a do-it-yourself project that you’ll never forget!
Take Time Outside of the Home
The best way to prepare for this rodent removal debacle is to take some time away from the house. Whether it’s an hour or eight, give yourself time to not worry or think about the rodent. Having a clear mind while preparing to take your home back is critical. Reentering your home with a new smell palette and a fresh set of eyes will have you in a refreshed and more focused headspace.
Inspect the Inside and Outside of Your Home
By inspecting the inside and outside of your home, you give yourself a better idea of how the rodent entered. For example, you notice that air is not coming through a specific vent properly, this may be where the blockage is.
If you walk around the home's perimeter, you may see the entryways and boroughs that the rodent may have come through. These would be great things to keep in mind while planning the next steps in this process.
Turn Off Your HVAC System
By turning off your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, you are protecting yourself. Leaving your HVAC system running may only exacerbate the problem at hand. Turning off this system also makes it easier to hear the rodent clearly.
Another tip to prevent this from occurring again in the future is to not plant vegetation or place garbage near the entrance for the HVAC system. Having a high-capacity filter and making sure it gets changed frequently helps, too.
Collect the Necessary Materials
The materials you may need to catch a rodent can vary depending on the size of the pest. However, the basic materials to trap a rodent are a spray or food intended to attract that specific species that has made a home in your ducts.
Generally, it’s also good to have padding for your body, a flashlight, a container or bucket that you can use as a trap, and some food to load inside the trap. A great thing to have on standby is the directions to the nearest emergency room just in case a rodent harms anyone in the course of your production.
Remove the Vent Covers
Before you remove the vent covers, be sure that someone is in place or close the door just in case the rodent runs out. By removing all the vent covers, you allow yourself a better line of vision to see what’s in each duct. Take your flashlight and trapping mechanisms, and be ready to duck and catch whatever pops out at you.
If nothing is in one duct, you’re able to reapply the cover, dust that vent off to improve the general airflow, and proceed to check the other areas of the house. As a precaution, you can set traps near and in the vent!
Set the Traps
If you removed the vent covers and checked the ducts and still found nothing, be sure that you set up traps. Setting up traps is the most innovative step to take to capture a rodent that’s in your air duct because you will not lose as much time going around the house trying to hunt down the rodent.
Check the Traps Daily
By going around and checking the traps daily, you prevent the rodent from spreading disease throughout your house and making anyone sick. For example, certain rodents can carry salmonella, hantavirus, and leptospirosis, which can make humans quite sick.
If you catch the intruder early on by going around and checking the traps daily, you prevent foul odors from spreading around your house the next time you turn on your HVAC system. While checking the traps daily, you should also check for property damages. Rodents love wires, garbage, and any other food sources in the home and have been known to cause significant damage in areas with these items.
Remove the Intruder
If you check a trap and find something inside, the next step is removal. The proper way to remove a rodent from your air ducts is to put on your disposable gloves and acquire disposable baggage to remove the carcass of the rodent. After, immediately discard the rodent’s body in your garbage, so long as neighborhood ordinances allow this.
If not, be sure to check the state laws regarding disposing of unwanted animals to avoid any additional fines and penalties. Removing the rodent means the end of all your problems. Unless you didn’t fix the outside entryways, you shouldn’t be faced with this issue again.
Repeat the Process
If there’s more than one rodent in your home, be sure that you repeat these steps. If you are not positive but want the extra layer of security, repeat the steps anyway. Start from setting more traps to retracing the perimeters' interior and respraying your HVAC system to ensure that no more rodents will enter your home.
If you have pets, you may wish you find rodent spray that will not harm them. This will also prevent you from having to deal with other animals that may be affected by the spray, such as raccoons or possums.
Call a Professional
Taking matters into your own hands to ensure the rodents don’t overtake your house should be your first tactic. However, if this issue keeps occurring and it's no longer something you can handle yourself, please call a professional. You did the best you could, but some rodents are smarter than we give them credit for. Rest assured that animal control or local HVAC specialist will take care of your problem!
If you want to put an end to your war with the local neighborhood animals that terrorize your garbage, pets, and gardens, these steps to take if a rodent is in your air ducts are crucial.
Replacing Your HVAC Filter
Replacing your HVAC filter is crucial to ensure anything nasty isn't circulating in your air. Rodents and other pests can leave behind debris and contaminants that compromise your indoor air quality. Regularly changing your air filter helps to remove these unwanted particles, keeping your air clean and healthy. Plus, a clean filter improves the efficiency of your HVAC system.
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