Rodents identification
Rats and mice extermination: Rodents have about 4660 species. Common rodents are roof rats, house mouse, Norway rats, field rats and deer mouse. Among rodents, house mouse is the most common rodent found all over the world. Common house mouse weigh about half to one ounce and light brown in color. Mice is 7 to 10 cm long. Mice usual life span is about one year. Common house mice are mammals and belong to the family Rodentia. A new born mice to maturity in 4 to six weeks. A female mouse will start breeding at the age of 40 to 45 days.
In term of size, rats are bigger than mouse. A rat can be brown, white, black and grey in color. Among the rat, roof rats have longer tail, it may be longer than its body. Norway rat is grey brown on the top and white or grey underneath. Rat and mouse are interchangeably mistaken by most of our customers. To make it short, if you found small dropping or a small rodent, you have mouse in your house. If you found squeaking sound in the roof, you most likely have roof rats. However, we would recommend a visit by an exterminator to exactly find out what species of rodents you have. Identification of infestation is crucial part because mice treatment can not get you rid of rats.
Damages caused by Rats and Mice
Rat and mice not only spread disease; they also cause lots of damages. Rat and mice spread about 35 different diseases. Rodents contaminate our food by their saliva or by urinating on it. Some diseases can spread indirectly through ticks, mite and flea which may have fed on infected rodent. The most common disease is hantavirus syndrome. This virus spread mostly through deer mouse. Care must be taken when cleaning rodents dropping as breathing in air may contain this virus. Rat bite fever, plague, Leptospirosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, Salmonellosis and Tularemia are some other diseases caused by rodents
Beside health problem, rat and mice cause lots of structural damages. Rats and mouse gnaw on everything. They are virtually able to cut everything except metals. Usually rats and mice gnaw on the insulation of electrical wiring, thus causing electrical short circuiting or house fire. In some cases, they may gnaw on plastic water pipe causing flooding. Outside they make burrow around the foundations. If the foundations are not rodent proof, their burrow may cause water damage. In most cases rodents enter houses through garage doors. They can get in if the garage door is left open for longer time or if the garage door is uneven. Outside they damage garden crops and ornamental plants.
Rats and mice extermination: Once spotted inside, an exterminator must be called in as soon as possible. An average mice become adult in 4 to 6 weeks. This means their population increase at a very high rate. It has been proven that do it your own techniques or products available in super market are unable to control rodents.