Rodents are one of the most annoying pests. Not only can rodents carry diseases and cause illnesses, but they can also destroy your home, cause lasting damages, and continuously cause your food to be contaminated.
Common Rodent Types Found in the Home
Various species of rodents can be found in your home. These species can not only be annoying, but they can cause damages to the house and property. These are the most common rodents found in the home and all of the information you need to know about them. At University Termite and Pest Control, we are experienced at ridding homes of all types of pests, including rodents.
House Mice
House mice are the most common mouse that you will have in your home in the United States. These mice like to nest in dark and secluded areas within structures. They are good climbers and can jump up to 12 inches from the ground. They are often responsible for property damage, including fires inside of homes after they chew through wires. They can spread the plague through fleas, tapeworms, and salmonella. They like to hide in clutter, so keeping your house picked up and clutter-free is your best defense. You should also make sure that all food is sealed. They only need a hole the size of a dime to sneak into your home.
Deer Mice
Deer mice are commonly found throughout the United States. They prefer rural areas where there are tree hollows, log piles, and fence posts to nest. They are not a common house pest, but in the winter months, they sometimes wander indoors. They are known to carry hantavirus, which makes them a threat to the health of humans. The virus is spread through breathing in dust particles that have come into contact with the feces, saliva, or urine of an infected deer mouse. The best way to prevent these mice from coming indoors is to keep pet food and birdseed well sealed in plastic containers. You can identify a deer mouse by looking at their tails. The tails are always half brown and half white.
Roof Rats
Roof Rats are not as common in the United States, but they are found in the southern third. They are believed to have originated in Southeast Asia. They live in colonies and like to nest in high spaces within trees or structures. They have been blamed for the bubonic plague and spread salmonellosis, rat-bite fever, typhus, trichinosis, and jaundice. Keeping your yard free from fallen fruit and garbage is necessary to prevent infestation. These rats have also been called ship rats and black rats and are known for their superior swimming ability.
Sewer Rats
Sewer Rats typically weigh around 1 lb. These are the widest variety of rats. They are commonly found at home after they have climbed up the sewer lines and into the house through the toilet, bathtub, and shower drain. These rats are often used to living close to humans. They eat pretty much any food, but their favorites include fish, fruits, cereal, and meats. Ensure that regular food is always put away and that you are not leaving food out where rats can smell it and get into it.
Norway Rats
Norway Rats are also found throughout the United States. These rats like to creep out at night and are commonly found hiding under concrete slabs or burrowed beneath garbage piles. They love to nest in homes that are not widely inhabited by humans, like attics and basements. They can cause a lot of damage to the house. Norway Rats can chew through plastic and lead pipes and carry jaundice, cowpox virus, rat-bite fever, plague, trichinosis, and salmonellosis. They introduce both mite and fleas into the home. Regularly inspect your home to ensure that you do not have an infestation. It only takes a hole the size of a quarter for these rats to find their way inside.
Pack Rats
Pack Rats are a common problem in homes that have an excess of clutter and debris. Keeping your home clutter-free is essential to ridding your home of pack rats. These rats like to climb into tight spaces and nest where there are protected from predators. If you have old cacti in your yard that have died and collapsed, it is likely because of pack rats. They like to take small items like buttons and coins, but always leave something in return. This is unique to this species of rats. Most of the time, pack rats are seen after a move where humans begin settling into a territory where pack rats have lived.
Extermination of Rats and Mice
All of the pest management professionals at University Termite and Pest Control have been trained to manage and treat the home to keep it free from rats and mice. Our chemicals are safe for your pets and family while effectively ridding your home of these pests. Some chemical allergies could be irritated, so be sure that you let us know if anyone in your household has allergies or sensitivities to these chemicals.
How Exterminators Rid Your Home of Rodents
Sadly, if you are not sealing the holes and taking care of the trash and clutter problems, the home rodents will come back. The fixes that you get with these pests are typically temporary and usually point to a bigger problem with holes or cracks somewhere in the home that allows these pests to come inside. Here are the steps that University Termite and Pest Control take to ensure that you will be rodent-free.
- We inspect the home for signs of rodents and share with you what we find about where the rodents are coming indoors.
- We use human and pet safe poison to kill rodents.
- We offer unusual traps and tools that help repel rodents as well.
- We will let you know the sources of clutter and garbage that are attracting the rodents.
Being rodent-free is a desire of most homeowners and renters. By calling University Termite and Pest Control, you will be able to live without rodents easily.
