Protecting Your Home From Palm Rats in Bonita Springs
One of the critters that folks in Bonita Springs have to deal with from time to time is rats. If you’re a nature lover like me and you feed birds, a side effect of bird seed is … rats. I love feeding my birds and gardening. I love the birds more than I hate the rats so I keep feeding the birds. I use the best possible practices to reduce making it easy for them to get to the food and not build nests in or around the house.
The other day I was showing property to buyers in Hawthorne in Bonita Springs, Florida. When I pulled into the driveway I noticed that the downspout which was directed to spill the water onto the driveway caught my eye. There was a mesh “rat deterrent” inside of it. Technically, it’s a gutter strainer but it’s perfect for keeping rats out.
Now, I don’t know why I’ve never noticed them before. I’ve been in every neighborhood in Bonita Springs and Estero, Florida and never seen them before.
A quick Google search alter I was able to locate them for sale at Sunshine Ace Hardware store on Bonita Beach Road. They’re only about $4.00 per unit. They can be expanded to fit any size downspout or lodged in the top opening to keep leaves and debris from clogging the downspout, too.
Eh, it’s just a little something that I thought was interesting for homeowners in Bonita Springs. If you live in SWFL rats are not uncommon. These expandable gutter strainers are a great tool for interrupting the secret routes of rodents. Of course it would be most helpful if you would also employ best practices of putting away anything rats would find interesting to eat or build a nest in. You should also trim your foliage so it doesn’t touch the house and plug any holes in the eves, siding, drain/spigot openings with steel wool so they can’t easily get in.