Rodents will build their nest anywhere they can inside of a structure, generally somewhere that’s dark and warm. Attics and basements are common rodent nesting places, though they may also nest inside of your walls or even in a neglected cabinet or storage bin. Because rats and mice are small and primarily active at night, it’s easy for an infestation to go unnoticed for months. However, there are signs you can look out for.

Your first sign of rodents may be seeing or smelling their waste. Mice and rats will often leave small droppings and trails of urine near feeding sites. If you see these in your kitchen or another food storage area, it’s almost certain that you have a rodent infestation. Be careful when disposing of rodent droppings and urine, which are known to carry deadly diseases including hantavirus, leptospirosis and salmonella. You should also keep an eye out for rodent nests and signs of chewing on bags or boxes that contain food. It’s possible that you’ll hear the little pests squeaking or scratching about in your walls, too.

While eliminating a large scale rodent infestation from your home can be nearly impossible, there are many measures you can take to eliminate small numbers of rats and mice. Every hardware store in the Las Vegas area sells all manner of traps which you can use in and outside of your building. Contrary to popular belief, cheese is not a very good bait for rodents. Instead, try baiting your traps with peanut butter. Varieties of traps include standard snap traps which kill instantly, glue traps which ensnare and starve rodents, and poisoned bait boxes which kill rodents farther down the line. If you’d prefer to catch the invasive rodents alive, there are also live traps available, though be sure to release your rodents far away; otherwise they will likely reenter your home at the first opportunity.