What Is A Rodent & Do I Need A Treatment?
Rodents are a group of nuisance pests that includes mice, rats, and squirrels. These animals can contaminate food, damage property, and spread disease. The rodents that most often come into conflict with people in the United Kingdom are:
Rodent Types
Rats
- Instincts: Rats are instinctively wary of new things, including control measures such as traps and bait. They colonize attics, burrows, under concrete, porches, wall voids, and other hard-to-reach places.
- Disease: Rats can harbor and transmit serious diseases and introduce parasites like fleas and ticks into your home.
Mice
- Access: Mice invade homes seeking food, water, and warmth.
- Contamination: Each mouse can contaminate much more food than it eats.
Rodent Family
The Order Rodentia is comprised of over 2,000 species, subdivided into many families. The Family Muridae is the largest, containing nearly two-thirds of all rodent species, including sand rats, gerbils, crested rats, and Old World rats and mice.
What Do Rodents Look Like?
Characteristics
Rodents are warm-blooded mammals found worldwide. They have oversized front teeth for gnawing and chewing, adapted for breaking down various materials. Rodents chew on a variety of items, causing significant damage in and around homes.
Where Do Rodents Live?
Rodents thrive in almost any habitat with access to food and water. Their small size allows them to enter homes through tiny holes—rats through quarter-sized gaps and mice through dime-sized gaps.
Are Rodents a Cause For Concern?
Rodents are tough to control and may carry diseases, contaminating food with waste, fur, and saliva. They host fleas that can spread plague and diseases like lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, affecting those with weakened immune systems. Handling wild rodents is inadvisable as they can bite to defend themselves and transmit various bacteria, viruses, and diseases through their saliva, feces, and urine.
If you locate a rodent within your home, contact a pest management professional for removal and identification. The presence of one rodent could signal an infestation.
Keep all children and pets away from the rodent. If cornered, the rodent will bite to defend itself.
Rodent Infestations & Control
Infestations
- Rodents are highly adaptable and can be extremely difficult to exterminate.
- Rodent infestations can cause significant damage to buildings and agriculture.
- Rodents carry diseases and pose a health hazard to humans.
- Rodent populations grow rapidly; control should start before infestations become severe.
Control Methods
Neighborhoods
Unified efforts among neighbors can effectively prevent infestations. In apartment buildings and neighborhoods, coordination of prevention measures may include cleaning efforts and landscape alterations.
Individual Houses
Homes can be rodent-proofed by identifying and sealing possible entry points.
Problems with DIY
Homemade solutions like repellents (e.g., mothballs, essential oils) are ineffective against full-blown rodent infestations.
What Can You Do To Prevent Rodent Infestations?
Implementing prevention methods early is crucial to maintaining a rodent-free home. Rodents reproduce rapidly, and small populations can become full-blown infestations quickly.
Food Storage
- Keep food sources away from rodents by storing grains, cereals, fruits, and vegetables in sealed metal or glass containers.
- Never leave waste in sinks or on counters.
Cardboard
- Seal or recycle cardboard objects to prevent rodents from using them in their nests.
Seal Openings
- Identify and seal all possible entry points to prevent rodent access.
For effective rodent control and prevention, contact a pest control professional.
