Rodent | Termacide Pest & Ter

Rodent

Scientific Name: Order Rodentia

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.

Rats and mice, in general, are found around all areas where humans dwell. Both rats and mice eat any kind of food people eat. They also contaminate 10 times as much food as they eat with urine, hair and droppings. They can carry many types of diseases including bubonic plaque, spirochetal jaundice, leptospirosis, rabies, ratbite fever, bacterial food poisoning just to name a few. Rats and mice also can cause fires by gnawing electrical wires in ceilings and other areas. The most common rodents around living areas are the Norway rat and house mouse.

Roof Rat: Rattus Rattus

Appearance: Black or brown, seven to 10 inches long, with a long tail and large ears and eyes, with a pointed nose; body is smaller and sleeker than Norway rat; fur is smooth.

Habits: Nests inside and under buildings, or in piles of rubbish or wood; excellent climber; can often be found in the upper parts of structures.

Diet: Omnivorous, but show a preference for grains, fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Reproduction: Becomes sexually mature at four months; four to six litters per year; four to eight young per litter; live up to one year.

Other Information: Very agile; can squeeze through openings only 1/2 inch wide; carry many serious diseases.

Rat control is important to avoid a number of serious diseases, which rats are known to transmit. The Center for Disease Control lists nearly a dozen diseases directly linked to rats.

Rats can be very persistent and if they manage to gain access into your home or business they can spread these diseases, cause considerable damage and contaminate food.

Rats can damage your home’s insulation.
They can chew through floor joists and walls.
They can cause fires by chewing on electrical cables.
Rats can undermine hill sides, retaining walls and other similar structures through their burrowing activity.

Even rats in the yard and outside can also present tremendous risk, particularly since those areas are visited by children and pets.

There's nothing fun about finding rats around your home or property. Rats have been plaguing humans for centuries, famous for their continuously-growing sharp teeth, their desire for human food, their tendency to get into homes and buildings and create nests and their health problems - rats are the essence of a pest.

House Mouse: Mus Musculus
Appearance: Small and slender, three to four inches long, with large ears, small eyes and pointed nose; light brown or light gray; droppings are rod-shaped.

Habits: Nest within structures and burrow; establish a "territory" near food sources, generally 10 to 30 feet from nest; inquisitive, but very wary; excellent climbers.

Diet: Omnivorous, prefer cereal grains.

Reproduction: Prolific breeders at two months; can have litters as often as every 40 or 50 days, with four to seven young per litter; live up to one year.

Other Information: Feed 15 to 20 times per day; can squeeze through a hole one-fourth inch wide; carry many serious diseases.

Mice were introduced to Caribbean by the first European settlers and they have been a problem ever since.

They can multiply quickly and will do significant damage to your home, business and furniture through their gnawing activities. They will also contaminate food and other materials through the droppings they leave behind. Their droppings have even been implicated as potential asthma triggers in children.

Not only are mice destructive they have also been known to cause house fires after chewing through electrical cables. You've probably seen them before. They are tiny, some might even think they’re cute, but if you find one in your home they could be a real problem. Mice are one of the most common pests in the world and are found just about everywhere. They’re rodents, and can be very destructive when they infest your property. Prodigious breeders, a couple of mice can quickly turn into dozens., It won’t take long for mice to scurrying behind the fridge, walls, around the baseboards and getting into the furniture. Mice can chew their way through fabric and get into cupboards and drawers to find food. In short, they are a nuisance. Mice damage property, leave a mess wherever they decide to nest, and are even known to spread diseases such as the hantavirus and salmonella (food poisoning). They also carry fleas and ticks that can spread diseases like Lyme Disease, Colorado Tick Fever and more.

What Do Rodents Look Like?

Characteristics
Rodents are warm-blooded mammals that, like humans, can be found throughout the world. They have oversized front teeth for gnawing and check teeth, which are adapted for chewing. Rodents chew on a variety of items available to them and cause great damage in and around homes.

Where Do Rodents Live?

Rodents thrive across the world in almost any habitat with access to food and water. Because of their small size, they can be difficult to keep out of a home. Rats can get indoors through holes the size of a quarter, while mice can use gaps the size of a dime to come inside.

Are Rodents Cause for Concern?

Rodents & Disease

In addition to being tough to control, rodents may carry diseases and taint food with waste, fur, and saliva. In fact, mice can contaminate about 10 times the amount of food they eat. The CDC links some rodents to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a disease fatal in about 36 percent of all reported U.S. cases.

The pests are also hosts for fleas, which can spread plague and diseases like lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. This illness mostly affects those with weakened immune systems and may result in headaches, fever, and meningitis. It can also cause complications during pregnancy.

It is not advisable to handle any wild rodent. They are equipped with large teeth and are capable of transmitting a variety of bacteria, viruses and diseases through their saliva, feces and urine.

If you locate a rodent within your home, it is best to contact a pest management professional for removal and identification. The presence of one rodent within a home could signal an infestation.

Keep all children and pets away from the rodent. If cornered, the rodent will bite to defend itself.

Life Cycle

Rodent Life Cycle Chart

Rodents tend to be rapid breeders. Some species breed year-round, and populations are maintained through constant reproduction.

Rats and mice are both extremely destructive within agricultural communities. A number of species feed on seeds and grains. The feces and urine of some rodents may contaminate surfaces with which they come into contact.

What Can I Do to Prevent Rodent Infestations?

Prevention methods should be implemented early in order to maintain a rodent-free home. Rodents reproduce rapidly, and small populations become full-blown infestations in very little time.

Food storage
Keep any possible food sources away from rodents. Small crumbs and garbage are popular sources of infestation, as are dry goods such as grains and cereals. These should be kept in sealed metal or glass containers to prevent contamination. Fruits and vegetables should also be stored properly, and resulting waste should never be left in sinks or on counters.

Cardboard

Cardboard objects prove attractive to rodents, as they tend to chew them up for use in their nests.

Seal openings
Because of the rodents’ body plan, they are capable of squeezing through spaces that appear to be much too small for them. All such holes should be sealed to prevent entry and reentry of rodents.