Record year for rats and mice in the attic, due to Hurricane Harvey
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Pest control companies are seeing a record year in rodent activity, thanks to Hurricane Harvey.
Tom Baldwin knew his phone wasn't ringing...but didn't know why.
"The phone guy came out and looked at it and said something had chewed through the wire," said Baldwin.
He called a pest control company. "Yeah, they said it's roof rats."
Normally there's an offseason for rodent activity, but not this year.
"The populations have grown to a level it's never been anywhere close to over the last 35 years," said Raleigh Jenkins with ABC Home and Commercial Services.
Jenkins said, "Since Harvey, there has been a big change. There has been a huge increase in rodents that were nesting in other places that have up and moved into attics."
Flooding brought the rats inside, Jenkins wants to keep them out.
"I can look at a house and in a couple seconds go - problem, problem, problem, problem," said Jenkins.
Jenkins says rodent proofing is all about plugging holes, "A mouse needs the size of a nickel and if you can stick a nickel in there, a rat or mouse will be able to get in there too."
