Rodents are adaptable animals that have spread all around the globe, famously spreading diseases such as the Black Death in the 14th century. Millions died as a direct result.
Canada is home to three main types of rodent pests – house mice, Norway rats, and roof rats. While some burrow underground, others build nests aboveground; hollow logs, tree roots, or tall grass provide a haven for rodents seeking refuge.
Mice are most prevalent in forested areas, pastures, grassy fields, and farmlands; typically hiding beneath dense foliage such as tall grasses, shrubs, or vines. However, in urban environments, mice typically seek refuge close to humans and abundant sources of food without fear of predators.
Rats usually dig tunnels underground near buildings that provide them with overhead shelter. They become particularly problematic in urban environments when colonizing attics, burrows, concrete foundations, or porches as well as hard-to-access wall voids and wall cavities containing hard wiring for electricity or plumbing services.
The Norway rat is a nocturnal rodent and prefers moist environments; both types prefer nesting higher up. Roof rats prefer living close by. Rodents often seek warmth inside. Temperatures below 15 degrees usually prompt them to retreat indoors.
Rodent Life Cycle
Like mammals, rodents produce up to 12 live offspring after gestating them for approximately 20 days in gestation. Following birth, newborns achieve sexual maturity within several months or so and reach sexual maturity themselves later on in their development.
Wild rodent mating season usually lasts from early summer through to fall; indoor rodent breeding occurs year-round and typically lives no more than 12 months.
Why do I have rodents?
Rodents often infiltrate homes looking for food and warmth; particularly during fall when temperatures begin to decline they seek shelter as temperatures change rapidly. Mice and rats frequently seek refuge in homes, businesses, industrial factories/warehouses/dog houses/sheds/barns, or lawn ornaments.
Rodents typically gain entry through back rooms or storerooms that have their doors left ajar, often through back alleyways or storerooms left open when their doors remain ajar, or by crawling under roofing tiles via rain gutters. Furthermore, they can gain entrance by way of small holes or cracks as small as 1.75 cm wide along siding panels.
Rats and mice feed on virtually anything; some prefer fruits, vegetables, and meat while others can survive solely on seeds and grains. Organic waste found in dumpsters is just as much of an attraction as fresh food sources like fruit.
And almost any source of moisture on your property will attract thirsty rodents, from rats needing water in their environment to mice who find other means for getting it such as in their food source – all are sure to take advantage of any source of readily accessible moisture that provides access to moisture sources like this one.
What should I worry about regarding rodents?
Mice and rats carry and transmit Hantavirus, an extremely rare respiratory disease with fatal consequences to humans if inhaled into their systems; unfortunately, there is no known treatment solution to Hantavirus infection.
Mice can transmit diseases including tularemia, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and murine typhus; rats on the other hand are known to spread bubonic plague, Weil’s disease, toxoplasmosis, and trichinosis.
Rats and mice both contribute to food contamination with their urine, feces, and saliva as well as introduce parasites like fleas lice, or ticks into the homes they inhabit. Rodent remains also pose serious health hazards to humans that should be removed to avoid further symptoms from developing.
Rodents Can Wreck Your Property!
Rodents can cause major structural damage to both homes and businesses by burrowing through walls and chewing through electrical wiring, leading to power outages, sparking electrical fires, and necessitating costly repairs.
Additionally, oils and dirt from mice and rats’ skins may be rubbed off onto walls when they squeeze through small openings into buildings or move along their course through rooms. This discolouration often remains for an extended period as mice or rats move around quickly through narrow corridors or run along walls scurrying from one room to the next.
An infestation can have dire repercussions for business and property managers alike, ruining their reputation and disrupting sales or rental of product/apartment rental agreements – not to mention possibly even crippling operations altogether.
As soon as a rodent arrives on your property, immediate steps must be taken for its elimination. Without intervention by humans or rodent control services, mice could quickly multiply to over 200 offspring within four months without human supervision!
Simple Rodent Control Methods
Snap traps and glue boards offer the easiest means of capturing rodents without resorting to chemicals; however, rats tend to avoid baited traps, while larger rodents may escape without difficulty from unprotected glue boards. Tamper-proof bait stations containing rodenticide bait blocks may also be installed around building exteriors to deter rodents while keeping children and pets from accessing its contents.
But these traps and baits don’t address the source of your rodent problem: sanitation programs, community education initiatives, staff training courses, strategic landscaping plans, and, potentially, structural modifications could all play a part in keeping rats away for good.
For effective long-term rodent control in both homes and businesses, an integrated pest management program administered by professional services may be essential.
How Can I Prevent Rodent Invasion
You should begin by searching for signs. Check wires for chew marks or signs of chewing; walls for holes; or pellet-shaped droppings around your property as these could indicate invaders.
Take proactive actions such as keeping the kitchen neat by clearing away spills and crumbs as soon as they occur, taking away food sources such as bird feeders, regularly cleaning dumpsters and rotating them as necessary, ensuring trash cans are covered tightly, etc.
Regular home maintenance can also play an effective role in protecting against invasion. Be sure to trim back vegetation around the exterior, seal any cracks or holes with caulk or foam sealant, fix leaky soda/ice machines and HVAC units as soon as they appear, install weather strips around doors and windows and clear away standing water outside; always remembering to close doors after leaving them open for long periods will provide rodents an entryway!
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