Rodents - Rats and Mice

Rodents - rats and mice

There is little that is appealing about this pest in the home. The Field (or House) Mouse may sound all cute and country but you'll still want it gone. Other common rodents include the Roof Rat and the Norway Rat. Rats and mice are mammals, distinguished by their front incisor teeth, which do not stop growing, compelling them to constantly gnaw to keep their growth in check. And in the home, there is much for them to gnaw on: food, furniture and books, and they can do serious damage to electric cables. Apart from eating your food, they can also ruin what's left by contaminating it with their urine, faeces and hair.

Finally, the greatest worry, for both humans and animals, comes from the fact that rats and mice are capable of transmitting diseases - everything from salmonella poisoning to dysentery and gastroenteritis. If the conditions are right, rats and mice can quickly reach plague proportions. Female rodents are capable of reproducing at just three months of age, so if rats or mice are suspected, prompt action needs to be taken. Telltale signs include droppings, half-eaten food, gnaw marks, odour and stains from their urine.

Control

A professional pest controller will inspect the house to determine the extent of problem, accurately identify the rodent and put in place an integrated eradication plan. Entry points such as cracks and holes in screens, windows, roof vents, eaves and concrete bases need to be checked and repaired. Entry to drainpipes can be blocked with screens. A common treatment method is to use rodent baits. These contain an anti-coagulant, which cause the rat to die from internal bleeding. To avoid having dead and smelling rats and mice in the house (they won't conveniently go off somewhere else to die), traps and glue boards can be used alongside baits, making later removal of a dead rodent easy. Speak to your pest controller about the different options available (some traps, for example, are more cruel than others), but there is no clean and easy way to rid a place of rodents. None of this will be enough, however, without good sanitation practices. Keep the house and kitchen clean, store food in secure containers and use rubbish bins with tight-fitting lids. Keep outside areas clean too, removing any debris or stacks of wood, and cutting grass regularly.