4 Signs Rodents Have Invaded Your Home Theater

A home theater is supposed to be a relaxing place to enjoy movies, television shows, and video games. Unfortunately, if rodents have invaded the area, then the damage they cause can put a damper on your viewing experience. No matter how many rodents you have in your home, it may be hard to tell as they hide in walls and scurry away at the sight of humans.

Look for signs of the rodent instead of the animal itself. Once you have spotted signs in your home theater, you can contact a pest control company to help eradicate the problem and return your home theater back to its normal state.

1. Furniture Destruction
Mice and rats have teeth that constantly grow. The only way for the rodents to reduce the side of their teeth is by chewing on objects and grinding the teeth down. In a home theater, the furniture you have may provide an ideal location for rodents to chew.

Some of the earliest signs of a rodent infestation will be on the bottom legs of a chair or couch. Look for small bite marks or shavings on the ground indicative of a rodent. Before further furniture destruction occurs, you should contact a pest control service to help with the problem.

While you can cover up or repair leg damage, problems can also occur when rodents chew through cushions and seat portions on couches and chairs. The pests will chew through the cushions to take out soft materials and use them for nesting.

Mice and rat nests can yield over a dozen new rodents and create major pest problems for the home. Perform quick visual inspections of your furniture every few weeks or so to spot any potential problems.

2. Wiring Issues
Along with furniture, rodents like to chew through wires. The metal found in wires helps quickly wear down teeth and provide an easy way for the rodents to chew. In a home theater, you may have an abundance of wires going from TVs to sound systems and other gadgets like video game consoles or streaming boxes.

If any wires go through a wall and into a media closet, then rodents may have easy access to the wires. One of the first signs you may see is performance issues with the home theater. If you hear distorted or scratchy sounds, or the picture scrambles, glitches, or comes in and out, then it may be a sign of chewed A/V wires.

After you notice these issues, you can perform a visual inspection on the wires. Look for any frayed edges or wires that have been fully chewed through. Chewed wires can present fire hazards, so you should unplug and replace the wires as soon as possible.

You may want to wait for pest control service before you add new wires so the rodents do not return and chew again.

3. Extra Noises
A home theater experience often includes loud surround sound and audio effects to take you into a movie or television show. While the sounds may block out a majority of the rodent noises, sometimes you may hear extra noises during the quiet moments of the media you watch.

For example, you may hear the rodents running in the ceiling above you. In the walls, you might hear mice scratch and claw on various materials. Over time, those noises can become a real distraction, especially as you try to enjoy your home theater. Pest control workers can access attics, crawlspaces, and walls to remove the rodents and use measures to prevent their return.

4. Nesting Areas
Mice and rats are often attracted to warm areas for nesting, especially during the colder autumn and winter months. If your home theater has a lot of electronics, the heat given off from devices like cable TV boxes and consoles could create ideal nesting areas.

You can often spot two signs of nesting areas in the space. The first is nesting materials. If you see any sign of loose insulation in a media stand, cabinet, or closet, then a rodent mostly like chewed and pulled the insulation out from the walls to build their nest.

Another common sign you will find are droppings. Mice droppings typically look like dark small grains of rice. Rat droppings are much bigger and often have a shine to them. In a dark area like a closet, the use of a flashlight will help you spot signs of the droppings and any possible nests that are built nearby.

If the media closet is stuffed with devices, Blu-Ray cases, and extra cables, all of the tight spaces will create ideal nesting spots for the rodents. For example, if you have untouched boxes or totes at the bottom of a media closet, then mice might find a way to nest between the cracks.

Contact us at Paffy's Pest Control to prevent rodents from invading your home theater space. It only takes one sign to point to a potentially major pest problem and the earlier you contact us, the faster your pest problem can be taken care of.