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Why Rodents Start Moving Indoors in October: A Recent Job & Some Homeowner Tips

Category: Holiday

Published: 061 Oct, 2026

By Jerry, Owner, Extermatrim Exterminating, Inc

What I Walked Into

October is usually when I start reminding homeowners around Southwest Louisiana to pay a little more attention to signs of rodents.

We don't get the same kind of early cold weather that other parts of the country do, but rodents still respond to changes in the season.

I recently visited a homeowner in Lake Charles who had started hearing light scratching above the kitchen late at night. It wasn't happening constantly. They would hear something for a few seconds, then nothing for the rest of the evening.

At first, they thought it might be something outside or on the roof.

A few days later, they found small droppings in the garage near a shelf where they kept bird seed and some other outdoor supplies. That's when they decided it was worth having someone take a look.

When I arrived, I started in the garage and then worked my way around the exterior of the home. It didn't take long to find a couple of things that could explain what was happening.

The Problem

The biggest thing homeowners need to understand about rodents in October is that they don't suddenly appear because the calendar changes.

They have usually been living somewhere nearby already.

What changes is what they're looking for.

As outdoor conditions change, rodents start searching for dependable food, water, and protected places where they can stay without being disturbed. A garage, attic, wall void, or storage area can provide exactly that.

At this house, I found droppings behind a shelving unit in the garage. The bird seed was stored in its original bag, and there were signs that something had been chewing near the bottom of it.

When I moved outside, I found a gap near one of the utility entry points. It wasn't something that would immediately catch your eye while walking past the house, but it was enough space for a rodent to investigate and potentially use as an entry point.

There was also thick vegetation along that side of the home, which gave rodents plenty of cover as they moved around the exterior.

The homeowner had only been hearing occasional scratching, but the signs told me this wasn't something I wanted them to ignore.

The Process

I started by showing the homeowner the evidence I had found in the garage and the possible access point outside.

From there, I inspected the rest of the exterior for other openings, paying particular attention to utility penetrations, doors, vents, the foundation, and areas where different building materials met.

Inside the garage, I focused on the locations where we had found droppings and signs of feeding. I placed rodent control products in the appropriate areas based on the activity I was seeing.

We also moved the bird seed into a sealed container. I explained that bags of bird seed, grass seed, pet food, and similar products are easy food sources when rodents find their way into a garage.

Outside, the opening near the utility line needed to be addressed so rodents couldn't continue using the same route.

The important part was dealing with the entire situation instead of just putting something in the garage and hoping the scratching stopped.

The Outcome

Over the next several days, the homeowner noticed the nighttime scratching becoming less frequent.

When I checked back with them, they told me they hadn't heard anything for several nights and hadn't found fresh droppings around the garage.

What they told me afterward is something I hear pretty often. They wished they had checked the garage sooner.

The first scratching sound didn't seem like much, and neither did a couple of droppings. Once they understood how rodents were getting around the property, those little signs made a lot more sense.

That's why I tell people not to wait until they actually see a mouse or rat running through the house. Usually, there are smaller warning signs before it gets to that point.

DIY Advice I Shared

October is a good month to spend a few minutes checking the areas around your home that rodents are most likely to use.

1. Check your garage doors. Look at the bottom corners and weather stripping for gaps. If you can see daylight underneath or around a closed door, it is worth addressing.

2. Look around utility lines and pipes. Check where plumbing, electrical lines, cables, and other utilities enter the structure. Small openings can easily go unnoticed.

3. Store food in sealed containers. Pet food, bird seed, grass seed, and pantry items stored in garages or utility rooms should not be left in open bags.

4.Clean up cluttered storage areas. Boxes and items that sit untouched along walls give rodents quiet places to hide.

5. Trim vegetation away from the house. Thick shrubs and overgrown areas close to the structure can give rodents cover while they move around looking for an entry point.

You don't have to make the house completely rodent-proof in one afternoon. Start with the obvious areas and correct the small things you find.

"It's brighter than before!"

— Megan

Professional Insight

One mistake I see homeowners make in October is assuming they don't have a rodent problem because they haven't actually seen a rodent.

Mice and rats generally prefer staying out of sight. If they're moving through an attic, garage, crawl space, or wall, you may hear or find evidence of them long before you see one.

That's why I pay so much attention to entry points during a rodent inspection.

Treatment can address the rodents that are currently active, but if the same opening remains available, another rodent can eventually find it.

October is a useful time to check those things because you're getting ahead of the cooler part of the year, when rodents have even more reason to look for protected shelter.

Closing Thoughts

A lot of fall rodent problems start quietly.

Maybe you hear scratching once or twice after everyone goes to bed. Maybe you find a few droppings behind something in the garage. Maybe a bag of bird seed suddenly has a small hole in the bottom.

Those signs are easy to brush off.

But they're also the signs I would rather a homeowner notice early.

If you're in Southwest Louisiana, October is a good time to walk around the house, check the garage, and look at the small openings you normally pass without thinking about them.

Catching an entry point now is much easier than dealing with rodents after they've made themselves comfortable inside.