For rodents like rats and mice, your house is the ideal habitat. They enjoy food, shelter, and water within your living space without exposing themselves to you. Allowing them to hide around your Dallas house will only lead to a more serious rodent issue. Rodents tend to reproduce quickly and even if you just spot a few of them, more of them may just be lurking somewhere near you.
Rats and mice may not be monster-looking, but they can do serious damage to your home and belongings. They tend to chew through things constantly to keep their teeth sharp. As a result, they can gnaw on your electrical wires and possibly start an electrical fire. Also, they can rummage through your food items, contaminating them with their urine and droppings. Sadly, rodents carry different dangerous diseases. Given all the negative consequences of a rodent infestation, you should contact a pest control company to help you eliminate a rodent issue in your home. You can find the best company in town at https://saelapest.com/.
Common Rodents that Invade Homes
As mice and rats carry many diseases, you need to pay attention to signs of them on your property or in your house. Thus, you must be familiar with the common types of rodents that may come infest your living space. These include the following:
- Norway rat. This rodent is bigger than other types. Indeed, an adult Norway rat can weigh around ½ kilo. These rodents are active at night. They are skilled diggers and swimmers. They consume animal and plant matter including meat, fish, weeds, cereal, crustaceans, fruits, and nuts.
- Roof rat. Often, this rodent is found in roof voids and gets around its ability to climb. You can recognize this rat by its black or brown fur and long tail. It eats anything that has nutritional value. If grains, cereals, and fruits are scarce, Roof rats consume insects and meats.
- House mouse. This small rodent is curious and can usually be found near human settlements. It has a varied diet that includes animal feeds, grains, fruits, nuts, and cereals.
How to Tell There is a Rodent Infestation in Your Home
If you think rodents have set up camp in your house, watch out for droppings, smears, and holes on walls, partitions, and floor. While rats make bigger entrances to their nest, house mice gnaw small holes. Also, below are other signs you must look out for:
- Strange sounds. Before you spot obvious signs of rodent activity, you may hear strange scurrying and scuttling around your home or on the roof. If you have fur friends in the house, such strange sounds may excite your dogs or cats.
- Damaged food packaging. Rats love to eat and leave behind messes after they ransack your food supply. They damage food packaging, possibly contaminating its contents.
- Musky odor. In areas that have little ventilation, you may easily notice a strong, musky smell that rats give off. This is the small of their urine.
- Droppings. Rats or mice are present in your house if you notice droppings in your pantry. As you look for clues, remember that mice droppings are smooth and have pointed ends while rat droppings are black, shiny, and elongated.
