Do You Have A Mice Rodent Problem?
Rodents can survive almost anywhere where they can stay warm and food can be found. In the United States alone, rodents cause billions of dollars in damage annually. Did you know that the front incisor teeth of rodents never stop growing? Front teeth that are continuously growing are a trait shared by all rodents.
Facts About Rodents
It has been observed that mice without anything to gnaw on, reveals that the incisors can grow as much as five inches per year. The battle to rid dwellings of rodent infestations can certainly seem to be an uphill battle and if allowed to continue unaddressed, time ultimately favors the rodents. Rat and mice bones have been found in the caves where cavemen lived. Although water is vital to human health, such is not the case with all rodents.
Desert dwelling kangaroo rats, gerbils and prairie dogs never drink water. A chemical process transforms part of their solid food into water. A mouse can and will jump down 12 feet without injury. They can even have a vertical jump as high as 12 inches. They can easily scale rough vertical surfaces and walk along thin ropes and wires. The odor of mice is quite distinct, however, an experienced pest control specialists can tell the difference between rat and mouse odors. A black light can be used to locate the presence of mice. Urine will have a fluorescent glow under the black light.
Facts About Rats
Rats will memorize specific pathways and use the same routes repeatedly. Rats can get in your home through an opening about the size of a quarter. Rats also damage structures, chew wiring and can cause electrical fires. Rat bites are reported by the thousands each year in the U.S. alone and many bites also go unreported. Accidental poisonings of humans and pets frequently occurs due to poorly planned efforts to poison rats. Rats rely predominately on smell, taste, touch, and hearing as opposed to vision. They move around mainly in the dark using their long sensitive whiskers and the guard hairs on their body to guide them. Rats are very cautious, and if their food is in an exposed area where it cannot be quickly consumed, they will often carry or drag it to a safe haven. Rats have an excellent sense of taste that can enable them to detect certain compounds including rat poisons of extremely low concentrations. Rats are omnivorous, eating nearly any type of food, including dead and dying members of their own species.
Don’t Underestimate! Be Aggressive!
Underestimating the number of traps needed seems to be a frequent mistake by trappers. Remember, it is far better to have too many traps set than not enough to capture the entire population. Having less traps can allow the mice to continue reproducing and sooner or later an infestation could be the result. A temporary measure for holes around cables and telephone wires is to stuff them with steel wool prior to repairing them. When a rodent chews on steel wool it will cause internal bleeding and kill them, BUT, I only recommend this as a temporary measure because they can easily crawl in a hole inside your home business or other structure and die after ingesting the steel wool and it is there that they will begin to decompose which could result in unimaginable odors and attracting insects as well.
Gain Control!!!
Choosing between traps and poison for rodent control will depend upon the severity of the problem, the location and the experience of the trapper. My sole preference is the basic SNAP TRAP/ RAT MOUSE TRAP and these traps are often preferred over poison baits for these reasons. SNAP TRAPS are often preferred for controlling mice since they eat less than rats and sometimes do not ingest enough poison to make it effective. Snap traps are highly recommended, extremely effective and should be placed in areas that are frequented by rodents.
These areas can be identified by looking for gnaw marks, rodent tracks, droppings, urine stains, burrows or grease smudges along walls. It is best to bait rat traps and leave them not set until the rodents begin to feed. Rat traps should be anchored in some way. Rats can drag the trap away if only partially but none fatally caught. You can easily lure mice to a feeding area using gum drops, bacon, nuts, oats and dried fruit; however peanut butter is a strong preference for baiting the trap. When trapping mice, make the bait in each trap about the size of two to three match heads. Traps should be baited with fresh material regularly to remain attractive to these filthy pests. There should be many more traps than rodents for trapping to be effective.
It is best to place traps close to each other, every 5 to 10 feet for mice and no more than 20 feet for rats. Move them regularly if no rodents are caught. Be aware though, older rats may avoid a newly placed trap for over a week. For this reason, you may want to leave traps in place for two weeks before relocating them to another place. Success can be enhanced by placing traps with the trigger end against walls where the rodents like to run. This can cause the rodent(s) to run across the trigger in both directions. Snap traps can be reused without special cleaning.
Once mice become a problem they can be extremely hard to get rid of. If in a home for a good period of time, a large amount of mice may be living in your attic, foundation or walls without home owners being aware of their presents or damage that is being done. Also, as said earlier they can live off almost nothing! Not only will A Minnesota Animal Control eliminate your mice problem in your home, they will also ensure they will not come back through proper sealing and guarding of entry points.
