NEW YEAR, NEW INVADERS: WHY JANUARY IS PRIME TIME FOR RODENT PROBLEMS IN SAN ANTONIO

Why Rodents Invade in January

1. They're Seeking Warmth

San Antonio winters are mild compared to the rest of the country, but nighttime temperatures still drop into the 30s and 40s. For rodents, that's cold enough to send them searching for shelter.

Your attic? It's warm, dry, and full of insulation they can nest in. It's the rodent equivalent of a luxury hotel.

Rats and mice don't hibernate. They stay active year-round, and when temperatures drop, they move indoors. Your home becomes their winter refuge.

2. Food Sources Dry Up Outdoors

In spring and summer, rodents have plenty of food options outdoors—seeds, insects, fallen fruit, garbage. By January, those food sources have largely disappeared.

Your home offers easy access to:

• Pet food left in garages
• Pantry items (cereals, grains, packaged goods)
• Crumbs and food debris in kitchens
• Trash bins

Once rodents find a reliable food source inside your home, they don't leave.

3. Breeding Season Begins

Rodents breed year-round, but activity spikes in late winter and early spring. A pregnant female rat will seek out a safe, warm nesting site—your attic—to have her babies.

Here's the scary part: one female rat can have 6-12 babies per litter, and she can have 5-6 litters per year. If you ignore scratching sounds in January, you could have 50+ rats by April.

4. Holiday Activity Creates Entry Points

Think about what happened at your home over the holidays:

• Contractors installing Christmas lights
• Roofers doing end-of-year repairs
• Landscapers trimming trees
• Garage doors left open for parties
• Delivery drivers coming and going

All of this activity can create or expose new entry points. A contractor drilling into your soffit for lights may leave a gap. A tree trimmer may expose a previously hidden roof return. Rodents are opportunistic—they find these openings fast.

How to Tell If You Have Rodents (Not Just Seasonal Noises)

San Antonio homes make noise. Settling, wind, branches—it's easy to convince yourself that scratching sound is "probably nothing."

Here's how to know if it's actually rodents:

Timing of the Sounds

• Rats: Most active at dusk and dawn (6-8 PM and 5-7 AM). You'll hear running, scratching, and thumping.
• Mice: Active throughout the night. Sounds are lighter and faster than rats.

If you hear scratching between 10 PM and 5 AM, it's almost certainly rodents.

Type of Sound

• Scratching/gnawing: Rodents chewing on wood, wires, or insulation
• Running/scurrying: Fast movement across attic floor or inside walls
• Thumping: Rats jumping or fighting (they're surprisingly loud)

If the sound moves, it's not your house settling. It's wildlife.

Visual Evidence

Check your attic for:

• Droppings: Rat droppings are 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, dark, and pellet-shaped. Mouse droppings are smaller (1/4 inch) and more scattered.
• Gnaw marks: Fresh chew marks on wood beams, wires, or plastic.
• Grease marks: Rats leave dark smudge marks along walls and beams where they travel repeatedly.
• Nesting material: Shredded insulation, paper, or fabric piled in corners.
• Footprints: In dusty attics, you'll see tiny paw prints.

If you see any of these, you have an active infestation.

Smell

Rodent urine has a strong, musky ammonia smell. If your attic smells foul, you likely have a significant rodent population.

What Happens If You Ignore It

"It's just a few mice. I'll deal with it in spring."

We hear this every January. And every spring, those same homeowners call us back with a $6,000 problem.

Here's what happens if you wait:

Week 1-2: Minor Annoyance

• 2-5 rodents in your attic
• Occasional scratching sounds
• Minimal damage
• Cost to fix: $1,200-2,500

Month 1-2: Growing Problem

• 10-20 rodents (they reproduce fast)
• Daily scratching and running sounds
• Chewed wires (fire hazard)
• Contaminated insulation
• Cost to fix: $3,000-5,000

Month 3-6: Full Infestation

• 30-50+ rodents
• Constant noise, foul smell
• Destroyed insulation (needs full replacement)
• Structural damage to beams and drywall
• Electrical damage
• Health hazard from droppings and urine
• Cost to fix: $6,000-12,000

Every week you wait adds $200-500 to your final bill.

Why DIY Rodent Control Doesn't Work

Before you run to Home Depot for traps and poison, understand this: DIY rodent control fails 95% of the time.

Traps Don't Solve the Problem

You can catch 5 rats with traps. Great. But if you don't seal the entry points, 10 more rats will move in next week.

Traps address the symptom (rats inside), not the problem (rats getting in).

Poison Creates Bigger Problems

There's a myth that poisoned rodents will leave your house to find water and die outside.

This is completely false.

Rodents have plenty of moisture in your attic (condensation, AC ducts). When they eat poison, they die in your walls or attic—usually directly behind your bed.

Then you smell it. For weeks.

You Can't Find All the Entry Points

Rodents can fit through openings as small as 1/2 inch (about the size of a quarter). Your home has dozens of potential entry points:

• Roof returns
• Soffit gaps
• Foundation cracks
• AC line penetrations
• Garage door seals
• Attic vents

Unless you know exactly what to look for, you'll miss most of them. And if you seal one entry point, rodents will just use another.

Professional exclusion seals EVERY entry point. DIY seals one or two and hopes for the best.

What You Should Do Right Now

If you're hearing scratching sounds in January, here's your action plan:

Step 1: Confirm You Have Rodents

• Note the timing and type of sounds
• Check your attic for droppings, nesting, or damage
• Look for entry points on your roof and exterior

Step 2: Schedule a Professional Inspection

A professional wildlife inspection takes 30-45 minutes and identifies:

• What type of rodents you have
• How many entry points exist
• How extensive the damage is
• Exact cost to fix the problem permanently

Most inspections are free and give you a clear understanding of what you're dealing with.

Step 3: Act Fast

Rodent problems compound daily. The difference between acting in January vs. waiting until March can be $3,000-5,000.

The best time to fix a rodent problem is the day you hear the first scratch.

How Homeland Wildlife Solves Rodent Problems Permanently

We don't just trap rodents and leave. We solve the problem at the root.

Our Process:

1. Complete Inspection

• Attic, roof, and exterior inspection
• Identify all entry points (usually 8-15 per home)
• Assess damage and contamination
• Provide written quote

2. Exclusion Work

• Seal every entry point with steel mesh and aluminum (not foam—rodents chew through foam in days)
• Set traps in attic to catch rodents already inside
• Install one-way doors if needed

3. Cleanup and Restoration

• Remove contaminated insulation
• Sanitize attic to eliminate bacteria and odor
• Replace insulation to proper R-value

4. Lifetime Warranty

• All work backed by renewable lifetime warranty
• If rodents ever get back in through our seals, we fix it free

Most jobs are completed in 2-3 days. You'll never hear scratching again.

The Bottom Line

January isn't just the start of a new year—it's the start of peak rodent season in San Antonio.

If you're hearing scratching sounds, don't wait. Don't try DIY solutions. Don't convince yourself it's "just the house settling."

Call a professional, get an inspection, and fix it now before it becomes a $6,000 problem.

Your home. Your family. Your peace of mind.

Don't let rodents ruin your new year.

Hearing scratching in your attic? Call Homeland Wildlife & Pest Control at 210-776-6100 for a free inspection. We've been solving rodent problems permanently in San Antonio for 14 years.

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