Rodents Winter

Maybe you are thinking that surviving the winter in the Bronx would be hard for the rats and rodents. First of all, they are not fat animals that they would be able to live the entire winter just depending on their body warmth and fat burning to provide them with energy. However, rats have very clever ways to survive. As evolution has proved only the best could survive; therefore rodents also have found their way to survive the freezing cold. How do they do it you ask?

  • Stockpiling: Rats can survive on anything even garbage. Therefore, if you are thinking that being small animals they have limited options, then you are wrong. They may not be able to fatten themselves with food to survive the winter but they surely have ways to store food. From late summer and fall, rats and rodents start storing food and stop eating opportunistically.

They start seeking out extra food and drag those extra slices or crumbles of food to their hiding place. They thus start stockpiling from the very early days so that they do not face any problem. They store it at places where they would be able to access it easily later.

  • Burrowing: Rodents and rats need a place to stay warm too. Winters could be freezing in Manhattan and Yonkers. Stockpiling explains their solution for food, but how do they stay warm? They are excellent diggers. Yes, they would look for solid structures like rock or underground and also holes. They would all unite at one place and start digging the place to make a small comfortable place for themselves. This would save them from predators and also the freezing snow.

They do not build elaborate tunnel systems but go out looking for stable and preferable shelter. Therefore, they would look at homes and residential building in Mount Vernon which are old or have advantageous entry points. Thus, it is best if you seal all of these points to stop rat, rodents and other kinds of pest infestation.

  • Nesting: If you have witnessed a rat hiding, then you would know that it is similar to a bird nesting only a lot more dirty and disorganized. They just drag what they find on the ground and make for themselves a place to survive and stay comfortable during the winter. Location is very much important for rats and rodents. They seek out places which are warm, dingy and are dirty.

Like sewage tunnels or maybe underground. They also look for a place where they would find little water to survive the freezing winter. The more things are accessible to them, the more it would be appealing to rats and mice and rodents. Therefore, nesting is a combination of stockpiling and burrowing.   

Mice and rats love to sneak into vehicles to keep themselves warm. Therefore, you have to be very careful as they could sneak into your house as well. Look for any possible entries that would seem inviting to the rodents and seal them immediately. They are small and therefore even the smallest of things could attract them. Try to keep your surroundings clean and if necessary take professional help.