7 Easy Ways to Keep Pests Out of Your Crawl Space

Written By Leah LeitowPublished on 05/30/2020Updated on 03/19/2024

Pests in your crawl space—such as rats, mice, raccoons, and possums—can cause significant damage by leaving droppings, eating away at insulation, and damaging wooden beams. This affects your home’s structural stability and air quality (no one wants to smell animal droppings).

We want you to remember this: If you discover an infestation, immediate action is necessary to remove the pests and protect your home’s integrity and safety.

Here’s seven ways to make your crawl space less attractive to pests:

How to Fight Off a Pest Infestation in 7 Easy Steps

1. Clean Your House Consistently to Remove Food Sources

Most pests come to a crawl space looking for food, especially during the winter season when their food supplies are limited. If there are food crumbs in your home, or even open containers, pests will actually crawl up through the crawl space just to get into food sources.

Cleaning up food and keeping snacks in airtight containers will make your home (and crawl space) less desirable to creepy crawlers.

2. Cover Your Trash Cans

Rodents are known to nestle inside a crawl space because it’s dark and covered. Interestingly, rodents are more inclined to go into your crawl space if they smell left over food in a trash can inside or outside your home.

Make sure that your trash bins are securely covered. That way, mice, rats, and other rodents won’t be attracted to your trash looking for leftovers and then take shelter in your crawl space.

3. Set Snap Traps for Larger Pests

Mousetraps are an easy and affordable way to get rid of rodents. You can find them in your local hardware store and they come with reusable snap traps. These traps have entries from both sides of the trap and a detachable bait cup. Lure mice into the trap with food they love.

Keep a weather eye on your traps. Check them every few days and reset them if necessary, and soon you will manage to knock down your mice population.

4. Encapsulate the Crawl Space

Cutting off this source of water makes the crawl space less desirable to pests. Pests are drawn to water sources, and crawl spaces without any protection are more likely to have pooling water within them.

Installing a vapor barrier helps keep moisture water from rain or snow out of the crawl space and also makes it harder for pests to get in.

5. Seal Crawl Space Vents to Block Entry Points

Many pests only need an opening no larger than a quarter to squeeze into your crawl space. Once they are in there, they will cause damage, gnaw your beams, leave droppings, and breed. For instance, mice multiply incredibly fast, as two small mice can turn into 200 mice in less than a year.

If you have a vented crawl space, make sure you seal the vents. Not only will you make it more difficult for pests to get inside, but you will also prevent the moisture-laden air from entering your home. Look for cracks as well and have them fixed by a crawl space and foundation repair professional.

6. Don’t Store Organic Materials in an Unencapsulated Crawl Space

Sagging insulation, stacks of firewood, and old newspapers aren’t things you want to keep in your crawl space. Organic materials like this offer pests two opportunities:

Food
Nesting Materials

Either way, materials like this draw pests into your crawl space.

Once in the crawl space, pests will have everything they need to stay healthy and reproduce. Clear every bit of junk out of your crawl space.

If you decide to fully encapsulate your crawl space, then you can use it for storage, but still keep everything in its own airtight container.

7. Exterminate Rodents with Professional Help

If you have a problem with pests in your crawl space, one option is to use pesticides to exterminate them. However, this can be dangerous to you and your family. It’s best to contact a professional exterminator who will be able to handle eradication with the proper means and safety gear.

FAQs

Can Foundation Recovery Systems exterminate pests?

No, we are not certified exterminators. We advise seeking a pest control expert for extermination, but we provide deterrent solutions. These include moisture control, dehumidification, and encapsulation. Get in touch with us to learn more about our crawl space services and to schedule a free inspection.

What harm can crawl space pests cause?

Pests can spread diseases, weaken wood structures, gnaw through materials, and leave waste and odors. This adversely affects your home’s structure and your family’s well-being, making extermination and preventive strategies increasingly crucial. Contact Foundation Recovery Systems now to book a free crawl space inspection and repair estimate.

Can clogged gutters attract pests?

Absolutely. Clogged gutters are the ideal location for pests to make their homes. From wasps to birds to squirrels and mice, wet, damp leaves and debris are a hotbed for infestations.

Keep Pests Away With Foundation Recovery Systems

Are you worried that pests have invaded your home? Contact professionals at Foundation Recovery Systems and schedule an inspection and a free crawl space quote.

With us, homeowners across Missouri and Northern Illinois can get fast, thorough crawl space encapsulation to deter pests and fight off infestation for decades.

You can get a FREE crawl space inspection today by following the link below!

schedule free inspection

Leah Leitow

Content Writer

Leah is a Content Writer for Groundworks with more than ten years of experience working in the foundation repair industry. Her experience ranges from working with homeowners to find the right solution to training inspectors and staff. In her background as a Michigan journalist, she gained invaluable insight into people's lives throughout our state. Leah lives in metro Detroit with her husband and two sons.