Sitting quietly by the fire, curled up for an evening, with snow-capped peaks on the horizon, November in Bend is beautiful. And it also brings intruders scuttling through your walls. With nighttime temperatures averaging as low as 26°F, rodents are leaving their outdoor homes in search of a warm place to settle in for the winter. That noise in your attic at 2 AM is not a breeze blowing through the trees.
More likely a mouse or rat that has found a perfect winter hideout in your insulation. They do not just make noise; they also chew through wire, contaminate food, and leave droppings that can pose health risks to your family. Once rodents have a nest, the problem quickly escalates, so they need to be detected early.
Pest Control professionals from pointepest.com can detect these points of entry and remove various infestations before they run rampant throughout a property.
How Bend Home Design Impacts Rodent Activity In Winter
The architectural style of homes in Bend, ironically, works against homeowners during rodent season. Homes here often have wooden beams above, stone foundations, and crawl spaces.
Garages that connect to living areas provide warm pre-heating rooms for infested rodents before they gain entry into your home. Many homes from the 1970s and 80s in Bend’s older neighborhoods around Drake Park and the Westside have settling foundations that form new cracks every winter. A vaulted ceiling with an attic above the ceiling creates the perfect, quiet nesting space for rodents. Even newer construction is not exempt from this attachment: utility line entry points and dryer vents are often poorly sealed.
DIY Measures That Work and Those That Don’t
Steel wool packed into gaps you can see provides a temporary fix, but rodents can yank it out or find another path in just a few days. Peppermint oil and ultrasonic repellents? Save your money. These are not backed by science and will not deter a rat hellbent on getting warm.
Sealing any openings greater than a quarter inch with metal flashing or hardware cloth. Since mice can fit through areas the size of a dime, the inspection is critical. Keep firewood at least 20 feet from the exterior of your home. Woodpiles become rodent condos in Bend winters.
Eliminate hiding spots by keeping your garage organized and keeping boxes off the floor. Small infestations can be resolved with snap traps along walls, but these treat only symptoms rather than the source of the problem. If you are putting out more than three traps each week, you have an established colony that requires professional help.
Why November Is Prime Rodent Season in Bend
At 3,623 feet in the Cascades, winter arrives with a vengeance. Overnight freezes become the norm by November, so rodents face a straightforward decision: seek indoor refuge or perish. In fact, calls for pest control jumped by a whopping 43% from October to December, according to Deschutes County data.
Outdoors, food resources disappear when vegetation dies back and insects become less plentiful. They like the climate you’ve set in your home, around 68°F, and enjoy the convenience of your pantry. They also love insulation and cardboard for nests. Deer mice, common as ants in Central Oregon, harbor hantavirus and are more aggressive this month in search of shelter.
Again, the Thanksgiving holiday exacerbates the situation by having homes stuff their fridges with more food, and more scents attract more rodents from farther away.
Time to Speak to a Professional!
As rodent activity increases beyond a single mouse sighting, homeowners want experts like us who understand the unique pest pressures in Bend. When it comes to rodents, Pointe Pest Control has earned its reputation by listening to the specifics of Central Oregon, from the entry points lava rock foundations provide to the effects ponderosa pine ecosystems have on pest activity. Instead, they employ integrated pest management techniques that prioritize exclusion over endless cycles of trapping.
