Why Problems with Energy Efficiency Could Also Cause Rodent Issues

As you are heating your home in NYC this winter, having an energy efficient home is important for both your comfort and savings on energy costs. Cold air seeps into your home and warm air seeps out, forcing you to spend extensively to keep your property at the right temperature.

One of the main ways that air moves from inside to outside is through small gaps around your property. While new windows, a new HVAC, and other technology can reduce your energy usage and help with your comfort level, it is the gaps in and around your home where air leakage can quickly cause significant problems with your energy efficiency.

Those same gaps can also lead to pests. Every gap in your home is an entrance point for pests, and the larger the gaps, the more they’ll be able to attract the bigger pests – most notably mice and rats. If you have an energy efficiency problem, here is why you should also look out for pest issues.

How Rodent Issues and Energy Efficiency Issues Go Together
There can be a number of reasons that you are paying a lot for heating. An outdated boiler or furnace, aging windows, older insulation, and other features of your home can provide poor thermal control and let your warm air escape.

But the place where air can escape most readily is through holes around your home. These tiny holes could be the result of the original construction or installation of elements like pipes and vents. They could also be caused by damage or the wearing of aging parts. Common locations for gaps include around:

• Windows
• Doors
• Pipes
• Vents
• Foundations
• Siding
• Cables

As warm air from your home passes through these holes into the cold air outside, the temperature change will draw mice and rats near as they look for a warm place to shelter. The rodents can then squeeze through the tiniest of these gaps. Rats can get through a hole with the same diameter as a quarter. Mice can get through a hole that has the diameter of a pencil.

If you have noticed an increase in your energy bills or have been struggling to keep your home warm in recent years, carefully inspect your home for any sides of rodents living inside. Animal Control NYC provides rodent control and rodent exclusion in NYC that can seal up these holes, preventing rats and mice from getting in. Give us a call to learn more.