Suspect A Rodent Problem In Your Ducts? Here's How You'll Know

Rodents, whether they're mice or rats, may be a nuisance, but, if there is one thing that you cannot say about them, it is that they are not smart. These little pests are so smart, in fact, they can usually pick some of the best hiding places in the house to make a nest, which oftentimes proves to be the air ducts. If rodents make their way into the ductwork in your home, you may not be able to see them, but you will likely highly suspect they are there. Here are three snaky indications that you do indeed have a rodent problem in the ductwork of your home. 

You hear debris blowing around in your ducts when the air or heat is on. 

Mice and rats are busy little creatures that hoard things they find around the house to build their nests and feed themselves. All of this pack-rat behavior will lead to ducts filled with bits and pieces of debris. If you hear stuff blowing around in your ducts when the air or heat is on, and sometimes even see small tidbits of trash blowing out, you could have some rodents living inside. 

You have a telltale odor radiating from your vents. 

In some homes where there is a rodent problem, the first sign will be the odor these pests leave behind, which is a pretty stout ammonia odor caused by droppings and urine. If the air radiating through the vents in your house is smelling like ammonia, there is a good chance you have rodents bedding down inside. 

You have some vents that no longer produce air or heat like they once did. 

Some homeowners find this issue and assume they must have a problem with their HVAC system and not their ducts. However, if you start noticing that one room suddenly has very little air flow to it, it is usually a sign the transported heat or cooling is never making it all the way through the ducts because it is leaking out. Ducts don't usually start to fall apart on their own without some type of disturbance, and this disturbance very well could be rodents chewing holes into the ducts themselves. 

Determining that you have mice or rats in the ductwork in your home should be immediately addressed by an exterminator. However, once the rodent issue is eradicated, be sure you talk to a duct cleaning company like Capital Heating & Cooling to rid your ductwork of any leftover junk that gets left behind. 


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