Rodent control in La Crosse, WI

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What rodent problems look like in La Crosse

La Crosse sits on low ground between the Mississippi and the bluffs, and the soil stays damp for much of the year.

Rodents live along the river bottoms and the marsh, and the nearest old houses and outbuildings are the first places they try.

Older homes here are brick or frame, sitting on stone or block, with cellars, attached porches and a chimney or two.

Mortar powders over the decades, sills soften and the holes where pipes pass through the wall are rarely sealed well.

The winters are long. From October on, more mice and rats come in, and they stay in the walls until the thaw.

The rodents La Crosse homeowners meet

Most calls in La Crosse County involve one of three animals, and each one points the inspection in a different direction.

• House mouse: a small, grey-brown animal that sets up in kitchens, wall cavities and storage boxes, and keeps breeding through winter. It needs only a crack the width of a pencil.
• Deer mouse: pale underneath, at home in garages, sheds and cabins near the bluffs and woods. It can carry hantavirus, so droppings should never be swept dry.
• Norway rat: a thick-bodied digger that lives beside foundations, under concrete and near the riverbank and storm drains.
• Near Onalaska, rodents turn up at the attic hatch before they turn up in the main rooms.

What a rodent inspection in a La Crosse home covers

In an older house the visit tends to begin on the outside and finish in the attic.

• Stone or block foundation walls, and every spot where a gas, water, power or cable line comes through.
• Cellar windows, window wells and the wooden sill resting on the foundation.
• The cellar floor: drains, the water heater closet, shelves and stacked boxes.
• Cupboards and the gaps behind the stove and refrigerator, where mice leave their droppings.
• Attic insulation, rafters and wiring, for tunnels, nests and chewed cable.
• The yard and outbuildings: sheds, woodpiles, compost and bird feeders.

What to look for near the North Side

The work follows a simple order. Take out the animals, shut the doors they used, then clean up what they left. Reversing it can leave animals sealed inside.

• Traps set in the runs found during the inspection, and revisited on a fixed timetable.
• Locked bait stations outdoors, used only where bait is suitable and children and pets cannot reach it.
• Gaps closed with metal mesh, patching cement, flashing and new door sweeps, because rodents chew through foam and plastic.
• Droppings and fouled insulation removed with gloves and a respirator, then the area disinfected.
• A return visit to see what the traps caught and whether anything new has opened up.

Get the method, the areas covered and the dates of any return visits written down.

Why rodents come back to La Crosse houses

• The animals were trapped but the hole they used stayed open.
• The gaps were sealed while something was still alive inside the wall.
• Dry droppings were swept up, throwing dust into the air.
• Bird seed, pet kibble and cardboard boxes were left on the garage floor.
• The shed or garage next door was never checked, though the same animals were living there.

Rodents through the year in La Crosse

Calls begin to rise in October and peak from November to January, as mice and rats look for a winter home in cellars, garages and attics.

They breed indoors all winter, so the scratching overhead and the nibbled pantry food get worse until the ground thaws.

Late summer is the best time to seal a building. The weather is dry, there are fewer droppings to deal with and the work is done before the next cold snap.

Rodents and flood-prone yards near the river

Houses close to the Black River, the La Crosse River marsh and the Mississippi see animals pushed out of burrows when the water climbs.

After a flood or a long wet spell, expect more activity at doors and along foundations.

Stack firewood well away from the house, keep seed in metal bins and check foundation vents after any high water.

If a cellar floods, dry it out quickly. A damp, cluttered cellar is an open invitation to rodents.