Rodents
House Mice: The most common rodent pests in most areas of the world, house mice are amazingly resilient rodents. House mice can breed fast and at any time of the year, and they can adapt to changing conditions quickly. House mice prefer to live in buildings, but they can also survive outdoors. Although they don’t pose a serious threat, droplets of urine from house mice can cause allergies in children, and house mice can attract lice, ticks, mites, and fleas into your home. Therefore, house mice control is important. For house mice prevention, make sure all holes leading into your house are sealed (or are no less than the diameter of a pencil) and install gutters that will channel water away from your home. For additional house mice information and specific tips on house mice prevention and house mice control, look for a steady source of food supply. They, as well as parasites which live on them, contaminate food with droppings, urine and hair. Able to squeeze through incredibly small openings, these tiny animals - often weighing less than an ounce - can enter a house through basement windows, small holes in the foundation, vents in the basement or attic, and gaps in weather-stripping. Blocking or screening these openings and using a mousetrap with tasty morsels of peanut butter, bacon, gumdrops or cookies usually is sufficient
RATS: pose a larger problem, especially in areas where poor sanitation and accumulation of garbage provide ideal conditions for them to breed. Ranging from six inches to a foot long, they nest in basements, attics, sewers, subflooring, open garbage cans and piles of trash. Active mainly at night, rats contaminate food with disease germs and filth that can cause acute food poisoning. Worse, they will bite people - particularly small children who have been left in bed with milk, juice of other food.
Controlling rats requires sealing all openings around the house with sheet metal, iron grills, hardware cloth, cement mortar, or similar substances they cannot gnaw through. Elimination of food sources requires constant community cooperation to see that garbage is stored in sealed containers and collected often. Furthermore, attractive nesting areas, such as firewood stacked against the house, must be removed. Where rat infestations are confined to a single area (a garage attic for example) large traps may be adequate to rid the vicinity of these rodents. In some cases, potent poisoned baits called rodenticides are needed. These must be used with the utmost care to prevent harm to humans and household pets.
Let’s face it – when most of us first come in contact with a rodent, the last thing we want to do is stare at the rodent long enough to determine what kind it is, much less study the habits of the rodent. So it’s important to hire a qualified rodent control professional to help determine the kinds of rodents you may have in your home, as well as what you can do to get rid of them.
Deer Mice: Found mostly in rural areas, deer mice prefer the outdoors and rarely invade homes. Deer mice usually set up their homes in outdoor sheltered areas, such as piles of debris and hollow tree logs. If they do venture inside, deer mice prefer undisturbed areas such as attics. The biggest threat associated with deer mice is their ability to spread the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, a disease transmitted through contact with mouse carcasses or urine droplets from infected deer mice. This disease is potentially fatal, so deer mice control is important. To keep deer mice in the outdoors where they belong, make sure all holes leading into your house are sealed (or no less than the diameter of a pencil) and install gutters that will channel water away from your home. And if you have to work in an area populated by deer mice, be sure to wear heavy gloves and protective breathing gear to shield yourself from the Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. For additional deer mice information and specific tips on deer mice prevention and deer mice control,
Roof Rats:The large, long 16" roof rat got its name from its love of high parts of buildings (although it also likes the underside of structures). Roof rats are color blind and they have poor vision overall, but they make up for their weak sight with strong senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste. Roof rats can squeeze into a building through a space only a half an inch wide and start causing rodent damage. Roof rats received a particularly bad name in history after they helped spread the deadly bubonic plague. Today, roof rats support many ectoparasites and they urinate on food; therefore, roof rat control is important. For roof rat prevention, seal up any holes in your home larger than a quarter and remove any sources of harborage and moisture. For additional roof rat information and specific tips on roof rat prevention and roof rat control,