The Do's And Don'ts Of Ridding Your Garage Of Pesky Animals And Keeping Them Out!

Raccoons, mice, rats, and squirrels are among the most common animals you'll find making their home in your garage. If you've noticed any of these animals hanging around the outside of your house or suspect they may be living in your garage, here are a few simple tips to get rid of them and keep them out:

Don't Keep Anything Enticing Around Your Garage.

Several things that entice animals to you garage are:

• trash cans with strong food aromas
• loose food particles around your garage or trash can
• wood on your garage door

Try to clean up any loose food particles on the ground around your garage and even inside as well.  Make sure the lid of your outdoor trash can stays completely closed to eliminate extra food aromas, and get a second trash can if needed to control overflowing waste buildup between trash collections. 

Get a metal wrap, such as aluminum, added to the trim around your wooden garage door to keep pesky animals from being drawn to chew on the wood. Not only will this feature look nice when you paint over it to match your garage door, but it will help insulate your garage and protect your door from extra wear and tear from the environment. Just be sure to call a professional like The Garage Door Company to do the job, because if it's done improperly, it can end up causing you more problems in the future. 

Don't Waste Time With Repellents.

There are many natural remedies, such as mothballs and peppermint, for repelling pests from your garage, but these remedies only provide temporary deterrents and don't actually eliminate the pests. Those pesky animals will work around the repellents and find alternate ways of getting into your garage. Some animals, such as mice, will just deal with the repellents rather than risk dying if they try to relocate.  Once mice have made your garage their home, you will only succeed by physically removing them.

Do Seal Any Possible Re-entry Points and Remove Any Intruders.

Before you remove pests from your garage, you need to repair and seal any possible re-entry points so you won't get new intruders while you are getting rid of your current ones. As mentioned previously, the only way to keep your garage free of pests once it has been infested is to physically remove the intruders. You can hire a professional to do this, or you can tackle the process with animal traps that kill or capture your targets.

When you think you have removed all the intruders, check very thoroughly for animal droppings or other signs that you may still have remaining inhabitants. You may want to have a professional do it for you so that you can be sure you have eliminated the pests for good.

Getting pesky animals out of your garage and keeping them out can be a big endeavor, but it's worth it to tackle this project as soon as you have your first suspicion. If you already have pests in your garage, follow these simple do's and don'ts so you can get rid of your pests before they start inhabiting the main section of your home and keep them out!