INDOORS

• Keep a clean home, especially kitchen (wash dishes, clean counters and floor, keep food covered in rodent-proof containers).
  
  
• Keep a tight-fitting lid on garbage, discard uneaten pet food at the end of the day.
  
  
• Set and keep spring-loaded rodent traps. Set traps near baseboards because rodents tend to run along walls and in tight spaces rather than out in the open.
  
  
• Set Environmental Protection Agency-approved rodenticide with bait under plywood or plastic shelter along baseboards. These are sometimes known as "covered bait stations." Remember to follow product use instructions carefully, since rodenticides are poisonous to pets and people, too.
  
  
• Seal all entry holes 1/4 inch wide or wider with lath screen or lath metal, cement, wire screening or other patching materials, inside and out.
  
  

  If bubonic plague is a problem in your area, spray flea killer or spread flea powder in the area before setting traps. This is important. If you control rodents but do not control fleas as well, you may increase the risk of infection with bubonic plague, since fleas will leave rodents once the rodents die and will seek out other food sources, including humans.

OUTDOORS

• Clear brush, grass and junk from around house foundations to eliminate a source of nesting materials.
  
  
• Use metal flashing around the base of wooden, earthen or adobe homes to provide a strong metal barrier. Install so that the flashing reaches 12 inches above the ground and six inches down into the ground