Mice or rats are found in every country in the world and every city or town. Their population is so high that it is sometimes said that there is at least one rat for every person in the United States. No place is beyond their reach, be it a farm or a factory, a garage or a warehouse, a palace or a hut. The rodents inhabit all types of houses for their basic need of food, water, and shelter.
Since the olden days, they have been known as the most persistent pests that are extremely difficult to eradicate. You must have heard the childhood story of Peter the Piper, where the whole town population was grateful to Peter for eradicating the rodent population.
The rodents are not only agents of destroying your household things but also disseminate many diseases, like bubonic plague, typhus, etc. If rodents infest your house, you should immediately eliminate them. You can find here people who are experts in residential pest control, including the eradication of mice and rats.
How Do Mice Or Rats Harm You
They Contaminate And Waste Food
The mice and rats generally invade your house for food. They can smell food through doors, walls, containers, etc. They are responsible for the wastage of 20% of the food in the US. They not only eat them but also waste and contaminate them.
The Damage To Your Property.
As their incisor teeth grow nonstop, they gnaw anything and everything possible to keep their teeth short and sharp. Thus they chew and nibble your clothes, furniture, storage bags, paper boxes, and PET containers.
Incidents of fire by electrical short-circuiting and sparking are known to occur when rodents chew through an electrical wire. They also rip off the insulation, books, files, packing materials, etc., to collect material for their nest.
They Are Health Hazards.
Mice and rats can spread diseases like Hantavirus when people eat foods contaminated by them through their saliva and feces or urine. Though most people do not come in contact with rodents, their scratches and bites sometimes lead to infection. They also carry pests like lice or teak and may indirectly disseminate diseases.
Signs Warning You Of Infestation Of Mice Or Rats In Your House
1. Tampered Food Packaging
When you find tampered food packets in your kitchen or store room, you should realize that they may be the work of mice or rats. You may think the packet may have been torn while bringing it from the store. However, when you discover more ruptured packets, you can be sure that your house is infested with these rodents.
2. Droppings Or Poops
The droppings of rats and mice are a sure sign of their presence. The droppings look like rice grains but are about half or one-fourth of an inch. These are grayish when fresh and turn dry after some time. When fresh, these are soft, putty-like, but old poops are black and brittle. They are usually found near foods and in attics and drawers.
Though seemingly harmless, they may be the storehouse of many diseases. These feces can disseminate many dangerous diseases like red-bite fever to bubonic plague. One can know the number of rodents present in their house and their age from the number and size of the droppings.
3. Odor
Another sure sign of their presence is the pungent ammonia-like stench in the house. This stench is the odor of rodent urine. If one can unexpectedly sniff an unexplained bad smell in their house and notice unusual, exciting activities of their pets, they should be certain that their house is infested with mice or rats.
4. Marks Of Gnawing
Another sign of their presence is the marks of gnawing. Rats have a habit of gnawing all the time. The signs of gnawing on one’s furniture, electric wires, pipes, cloths, etc., indicate their presence. The mice and rats collect the pieces after tearing items for their nests.
5. Strange Scratching Noises
These rodents are nocturnal, and they are mostly active at night. If one’s house is infested with them, they may hear scratching or scrubbing sounds at night from around walls, furniture, etc. The moment one switches on the lights, these sounds stop. They can pass through openings much smaller than their size, and their body rubs with walls around, creating sound.
6. Unusual Pet Behavior
The pets have strong smelling and hearing power. They can detect the presence of outsiders in a house more efficiently than a human. They are the ones who recognize the presence of these rodents immediately. If one finds unusual behavior of their pets like scratching the walls, smelling the cupboard doors, etc., they can expect the presence of mice and rats in their house.
7. Sighting Live Rats Or Mice
These rodents are nocturnal animals and are smart, and usually avoid humans. But sometimes, sitting still while watching a movie or meditating, one may see them running across the room. And when one sees a live animal, that is a guaranteed sign of its presence. Generally, when the size of their population increases and food is scarce, they can also be seen during the day.
There are many other signs of their presence in one’s house, like holes in furniture, wall, insulations; marks of teeth on many items; accumulation of pieces of papers, leaves, cloths, etc., near some corners or crooks – they make their nests with these materials; and the discovery of their nests, which are ball-like structures made of materials just mentioned.
Conclusion
The infestation of your house with mice or rats is always detrimental to your property and health. They gnaw through your important papers, damage your furniture or spoil and contaminate your foods; they are also agents of spreading dangerous diseases.
Killing or trapping a few of these rodents does not root them out from your house. And they, prolific breeders, can raise a large population quickly. Therefore, the moment you see the signs of such rodents in your house, you should seek help from residential pest control professionals to eradicate them from your house.