How to Get Rid of Rodents in Your Yard

Which Rodents Do You Need To Control?

There are several rodents that you can find on your property.

• Woodchucks: These large rodents dig out significant-sized burrows in the ground.

• Squirrels: Squirrels are prolific. Yet, they cause little damage unless they start nesting inside the home.

• Voles: Similar to mice and gerbils. These rodents can cause damage to your lawn- especially in winter.

• Mice: Usually, it’s not much of an issue outside until they get in. You want to control this pest outside to lessen the pressure of them finding a way into your home or garage.

• Rats: Not something you want around inside or out. Usually attracted into the yard from compost, bird feeders, or nearby dumpsters.

• Chipmunks: Another prolific rodent similar to squirrels. Chipmunk activity agitates homeowners a great deal.

The Problem Removing Larger Rodents Like Groundhogs

Trapping and handling wildlife in the yard seems like something easy that a homeowner can do. By all means, they sell Havahart cage traps in stores. A lot of people see it as a free community service. For example, people think you can call animal control, and they will get your animals for free. We encourage you to contact your local animal control and county health department. Their service offerings might match your trapping needs. Many cities will remove any wild animal that you catch on your property.

It does take skill and technique to trap wild animals. Setting cage traps on the ground outside can cause you to trap any animal that can fit in the trap. Skunks love traps baited with tuna. But the neighborhood cat likes tuna also. Setting a trap in the open, you are more likely to catch an opossum or raccoon than the problem groundhog.

For this reason, we recommend calling a professional to remove larger wildlife. It will cost some money, but it is worth the cost to do things correctly. For example, a professional can attach a trap to the den entrance. Postive-set traps remove only the groundhog and not any off-target wildlife. We have found that few people value paying much to remove animals outside.

The Problem Cage Trapping Rodents in the Yard

Stores sell small cage traps for squirrels and chipmunks. And these small-sized traps are too small for the neighborhood cat or an opossum. So, the chance of catching off-target animals is minimal. You can probably catch a lot of small rodents in cage traps. But what are you going to do with them once you catch them? What are your options if the animal warden won’t pick them up?

So, you do not want to translocate wild animals to somewhere outside their territory.

• Other animals are territorial. Likely, these animals will violently kill the newly released animals.

• Translocated animals will not have food or shelter in the released location. They are likely to die from a lack of resources. It would be like someone dropping you off naked in a faraway dangerous neighborhood.

• Placing caught wildlife in your vehicle is not a good idea. Squirrels often carry fleas. And wildlife can carry disease pathogens. It is not safe to put caught wildlife in your trunk where your groceries go.

• It is illegal to release wildlife in public parks. You can only release some wildlife on private property. And you’ll need permission from the landowner. Check your state laws.

Hopefully, you can see how cage-trapping rodents in your yard is not a good idea. At a minimum, you will want a professional or an animal control agent to handle any of your caught wildlife.

Chipmunks

So many people complain to us about chipmunks. They are out during the day and are easily spotted. The digging in the mulch, the holes undermining the sidewalk, the constant glimpses of something scurrying out the corner of their eye… These cute little Chip and Dales get under people’s skin. There can be a lot of them, too.

What Causes Chipmunks?

• Well, they are native. Our yards are their natural habitat. It doesn’t take much to have chipmunks around. Like squirrels, chippies are part of our landscape.

• If you have nesting sites, you will have these crazy critters. Gaps around porch steps are a sought-after destination. Any pavement that has a less-than-ideal base is prone to burrows. If you have old tree roots, they will love that. They will make a condo out of your retaining walls. Somehow, they can even live where your downspouts go into the ground.

• Consider food sources- But they can make do with what is in your yard without any wrongdoing on your part. They are omnivores with a wide diet. A yard of many acorns helps, but they can get by on bugs.

How To Control Chipmunks

Trapping is the most effective method for controlling chipmunks.

• Cage traps work well. But as previously mentioned, you will need a way to euthanize them. We do not recommend translocating wildlife. So you will want to hire a wildlife control company or use your city’s animal control department.

• Rat-sized snap traps provide the best ease of use. But you do not want to set snap traps on open ground. The last thing you want is a raccoon flapping around your yard with one of these on their feet. They sell exterior rodent bait stations or trap boxes. These contain traps so only small-sized rodents can enter. This is how we trap chipmunks outside. We utilize many trap boxes and provide a week’s worth of trapping at a fixed cost. Caught chipmunks are easily disposed of with this method.

• The bucket trick is an effective way to catch chipmunks in the yard. Rodents travel up a ramp and slip into the bucket from a baited rod or trap door. Usually, people place antifreeze or water at the bucket’s base. This is how they euthanize the caught rodents. The problem with this is that drowning is not an approved method of euthanization in the State of Ohio. As a result, you would need to gas them with CO2. It is expensive to purchase the correct euthanization equipment. Otherwise, you are stuck taking them to the park, which is also illegal.

Using Pesticides On Chipmunks

Short of trapping, you can control chipmunks in their burrows with CO2 or Carbon monoxide. Some professionals have this equipment. Since chipmunks are active during the day, applications are best made at night.

Garden centers used to sell Strychnine powders to place in chipmunk burrows. Nowadays, there are no rodenticides labeled for chipmunks. Some pest control companies sell you exterior rodent bait stations to kill chipmunks. This legally is not allowed.

Why Can’t You Use Rodenticides On Chipmunks?

• This is due to their habit of taking food and storing it. Chipmunks can build up large food caches. It is common for a chipmunk to build up stored food reserves somewhere. But then they die before they even eat it. If this is with rodenticide, other animals can find it and consume it. The government does not want rodenticide relocated to areas where other animals can access it.

• Chipmunks do not cause significant structural damage. Chipmunks are not vectors for disease. Therefore, rodenticides are not approved for use in controlling them.

• Chipmunks biomagnify more than rats and mice. Chipmunks carry ingested rodenticides in a way that is more likely to harm predators.

• While they can get inside, it is uncommon. Rodenticides are more for voles, mice, and rats.

• Rodenticides have not been tested or have been proven ineffective against chipmunks.

Meadow Voles

Meadow voles are not moles, nor are they related. Another common name is field mice. Their runways tamp down grass. You’ll notice most of the damage during winter. It can get pretty bad. Meadow voles are native. They do not affect human health. They rarely get into homes. Damaging a lawn is the worst that they do. They are known to get inside homes, yet it is quite uncommon. Their sharp urine smell alerts homeowners to their presence. Similarly, chipmunks inside are rare. They also give off a unique odor. Chipmunk odor is very musty.

Since voles are known to get inside and cause damage to lawns, you can use rodenticides against them. Although rodenticide is effective, we recommend trapping them. Or, a combination of both provides the best results.

How To Control Voles Outside

• You can perform burrow baiting with meal bait and a funnel. Remember that not many rodenticides are intended to jam down their nest entrance. Even pellet bait is not meant to be placed in burrows.

• Exterior rodent bait stations can be used. But they must be placed near their nests/ on the trails directly.

• Trapping is best. Bait mouse-sized snap traps with almonds/ nuts/ peanut butter. What animal doesn’t like peanut butter? Place traps on the tamped-down trails or by the nest entrance. You will want to protect the traps. We suggest cutting a half-circle hole on the top of a pot for plants. Then, flip the pot over the trap. That way, voles can run into the pot and get caught while protecting the trap from others. Similar covers can be made, but plastic plant pots are easy and effective.

Rats and Mice

Rats and mice are mostly nocturnal. You should not see much rodent activity outside. Unless you spot them around dusk, their presence should remain in our shadows. Mice and rats come out during the day when there is a lot of food competition or the population is high.

The Problems Feeding Wildlife Cause

Most of the time, this is a result of people feeding wildlife. Your eccentric neighbor throws peanuts for squirrels, attracting rats to your garage. Or bird feeders. I can write an entire article on the problems bird feeders cause.

There is an art to feeding birds without drawing in rodents. Put out enough for the birds to eat each day, then remove the food before the end of the day. Thistle seed is less attractive to wildlife. But most people let it be a feeding frenzy. Sunflower seed shells are as thick as mulch on the ground. Squirrels are so obese they can hardly jump from branch to branch.

It is hard to tell people they must stop feeding wildlife. They do not want to stop. Yet, they are usually baffled when a mouse infestation occurs, or rat burrows pop up. If you are dealing with a rodent infestation, please consider stopping feeding wildlife. Minimally, you should remove food sources. Do this until you resolve the problem. Sometimes, you can move bird feeders back on the property where rodents will not be as big of an issue.

Trapping and Baiting For Mice and Rats Outside

Rodenticide

Use caution when baiting rats and mice outside (using rodenticide). The main consideration is the safety of children, pets, and non-target animals. Contain rodenticide in a tamper-resistant station. One exception is burrow baiting with meal bait rodenticide. With this, we place it inside the burrow where only the target pest goes. The fine meal resembles seeds or leaves commonly falling into the burrow entrance. In this way, it is easily accepted and not thrown out of the nest. For everything else, place in stations.

What is Rodenticide?

To control mice and rats outside, use exterior rodent bait stations. “Bait” is another term used for rodenticide. Rodenticide is a highly attractive food matrix that is spiked with a pesticide. Blood thinners are the most used mode of action. Other types of rodenticides exist, but anticoagulants are the most common mode of action.

The Risk of Off-Target Animal Poisoning

In case of accidental ingestion, most anticoagulant rodenticides have the antidote vitamin K1. Rodenticides are formulated not to kill off-target organisms with secondary poisoning. The effect on rodenticide poisoned animals is controversial. The truth is that rodenticide has been found in predators that feed on poisoned rodents. They do not necessarily get sick or fall fatally ill, though. This article describes poisoning of non-target animals with rodenticide: https://www.pctonline.com/article/secondary-poisoning-concerns-with-rodent-baits/.

Benefits of Using Exterior Rodent Bait Stations

The main thing is being responsible with your rodenticide. And the best way to use rodenticide is in high-quality rodent bait stations.

• Compartments keep the bait fresh- protecting it from moisture.

• Compartments also help keep crumbs from falling out of the stations.

• Metal rods hold the bait securely.

Bait Choices For Use in Exterior Rodent Bait Stations

Most bait is paraffinized. These wax blocks are solid. It keeps them weatherproof, long-lasting, and difficult for rodents to remove.

In some cases, we use soft bait. This formulation of rodenticide is not a solid block. It is a paste made into a paper sachet. This type of bait is highly palatable. It is the perfect bait for cleanouts and rats. There is a specific bait station that holds soft bait more securely. But soft bait can be used in regular stations as well. Rodents more easily remove soft bait. So, there is a greater risk when using soft bait outdoors.

Avoid pellet bait outside. Rodents will likely relocate the bait to less secure areas.

Exterior Rodent Bait Station Maintenance

Placement of the Stations:

Once placed, we need to check the stations for activity. We reuse bait stations since the odor of used stations will make them more inviting than a new station. Sometimes, we apply attractants around the outside of the station. Placement is key. For example, you want to place them against your home’s foundation. But if you have an irrigation system, this placement will get too much moisture on your bait. Also, if it is sunny and hot without any cover, the bait will melt, and rodents do not often traverse open ground.

Bait stations are common around commercial buildings. They are black boxes or containers disguised as landscape rocks or circuit boxes. You will see these in open sunny areas because there are no other good places to put them. You can place them anywhere within 100 feet of a structure. Sometimes, being more strategic is better by placing them away from the structure.

Maintaining the Exterior Rodent Bait Stations:

Once placed, you need to supply a constant supply of bait. Otherwise, the population will rebound, and you won’t do much good. To control rats outside, we do more frequent visits at first. We will do two-week intervals until activity decreases enough to switch to monthly. Rats tend to clean out the bait quickly at first. We have had a few jobs in Lakewood, OH, where you could use fifty soft bait pouches in each station, and they would be gone the next week. Luckily, they sell Contrac Super Size blocks. These are palatable to rats and are affordable. It helps provide a constant supply of bait without spending much on bait and frequent visits.

You can set out exterior bait stations for mice/ rats. The stations will kill off chipmunks since they can access the stations, too. But you cannot place rodenticide for chipmunks as the target pest.

Ongoing Maintenance for the Stations

The goal is to get the rodent population down to a manageable level. Then, we provide maintenance visits every other month. These are quick and easy visits to switch out the bait. We keep the cost to a minimum for these services. You do not want to go any longer than every other month intervals. The rodenticide bait goes bad after a while. So, you will want to provide fresh bait at least every other month.

The Need To Control Rodents Year-Round

We skip January and February rodent bait station maintenance. Besides the dead of winter, we maintain the stations throughout the year. Rodent control is not only done in the fall when they try to get inside. The population is harder to break once the reproduction rate is high. The need for rodent control sees a big jump in July. Naturally, rodents want their highest population going into winter. Not all of them make it through the cold spell. So, they spike in midsummer, flourish through fall, and slowly recover in spring. Likewise, the stations will have less activity during the colder part of the year. But this is also an easier time to maintain them at a tolerable level. Hence, there is a need to maintain the stations year-round- not just when you see them.

As previously mentioned, you will only see rats and mice outside during the day if populations are high and they compete so much for food that they must alter their feeding times. Just because you don’t see rats and mice outside doesn’t mean they are not there.

Trapping

Trapping rats and mice outside is a feasible endeavor.

• Trapping involves significantly more maintenance than exterior rodent bait stations.

• Trap maintenance exposes you to health risks with potential pathogens/ contamination.

• Get trap stations so kids, pets, and other non-target animals can’t injure themselves. Set them up and check them frequently.

• It is good to have a significant number of traps set up. Cover all their hotspots. Cover the perimeter of your property also. Otherwise, neighboring rodents will converge on your yard quickly.

• Due to the expense of trap boxes and the amount you need, we suggest hiring a licensed trapper.

The Best Locations for Trap and Bait Boxes Outside:

• Areas out of the hot sun.

• Places under cover.

• Corners where rodents naturally go to feed.

• Along runways- not out in the open.

• Nearby food and water sources.

• Outside of burrow holes/ nesting sites.

• Between nests and food sources.

Downsides Of Trapping

Outdoor rodent trapping could become a hobby, depending on activity. Neighboring rodents will move into the available real estate soon after removal. Some rodents will always move in unless food sources become scarce in your yard. Slow new rodent infestations by filling or collapsing old burrows post-trapping. Taking over another animal’s home is much easier than excavating a new one. Don’t let this be the case.

You do not need to check rat and mouse traps daily. But traps for woodchucks, squirrels, and chipmunks require daily trap checks. This raises the price of a professional service unless the homeowner can check the traps.

Combining these two factors can make hiring a professional impractical. Paying for a week of daily trapping is several hundred dollars. Is it worth it if your neighbors’ chipmunks are going to converge on your yard within weeks?

Conclusion

You can do things as a homeowner to control the rodents in your yard. Removing food and shelter is the most important thing you can do to control any pest population. We highly recommend putting time and effort into this when dealing with rodents in your yard.

Consider trapping and baiting as a compliment to cultural controls. Cultural controls consist of manipulating the rodents’ food and shelter. Certain traps are feasible for homeowners. Always consider how you will dispatch the rodents. Otherwise, hire a rodent control specialist or consult local animal control services.

Rodenticide use is practical for specific rodents. Always follow the Label directions for the specific product used. Otherwise, hire a professional exterminating service. Pesticides are generally considered safe when used according to the Label.