How long do rodents live? What kinds of problems can they cause for households? What do they eat? How do they get into homes? And how can you get rid of them? Have no fear: our Guide to Sarasota Florida Rodents is here to provide answers to those very questions and many more.
WHAT DO MICE AND RATS EAT?
There are a few things that will make a home attractive to rats, and one of them is food. In the wild, rodents like mice and rats are mostly drawn to things like grains, fruits and seeds – in other words, they are attracted to carbs. In more domestic settings, mice and rats will seek out these types of foods, but they become much more indiscriminate; in other words, rodents inside a home approach food as an anything-goes situation. Considering they will gnaw at non-food objects like wiring, don’t think for a second that there is a particular food that mice and rats are not willing to get their lusty paws on.
And what about the mice and cheese stereotype? Sure, they’ll eat it, but according to Pestworld, they’d sooner go for foods like cookies, crackers, candy, grains, and even peanut butter.
HOW LONG DO RODENTS LIVE?
If you are having a rat infestation, how long can you expect it to persist? While rodent life spans differ based on type of rodent and the circumstances that the rodent is living under, in a home setting with warmth and food access, mice can live around 2 years and rats can live over 2 years.
Considering that mice can get pregnant 5-10 times a year and have an average of 6-8 mouse babies per litter and rats can get pregnant up to 7 times a year with 5-12 rat babies a litter, let’s do the math:
One year of a mouse infestation = up to 80 baby mice per female mouse
One year of a rat infestation = up to 84 baby rats per female mouse
Another horrifying fact to consider is that rodents in confined spaces will often live in groups, which means that if just one group of mice/rats with a few females in it moves into your house, you could be looking at literally hundreds of mice/rodents crawling around your home just a few months after the initial infestation.
WHAT MAKES RODENTS DANGEROUS
Mice and rats, as we touched on above, are truly dangerous in 2 important ways:
They can threaten the safety of your home by damaging the actual property.
They can carry and spread diseases.
Mice can transmit diseases through their urine, feces, and saliva. They can also carry bacteria that can cause food poisoning, and can introduce parasites like fleas, mites, and ticks to your house.
This bacteria can be spread by contact with rat saliva, urine or feces. Rats can even spread viral diseases including
On top of ALL of that nastiness, rodents can also use their sharp teeth to chew through flooring, carpet, electric wire, piping, and other building materials, causing damage and sometimes even creating fire hazards.
WHAT ATTRACTS RATS
Rats and mice are primarily looking for 2 things when they retreat from the wilderness into human homes: food and shelter. Keeping a clean home can reduce your chances of attracting rodents, but even that is no guarantee that a mouse or rat won’t weasel its way into your home somehow. Common entry points for rodents include (but are not limited to):
Cracks in the foundation.
Gaps around window frames.
Broken screens on windows or doors.
Gaps around ground-level doors.
Flimsy aluminum soffits.
Plastic vent covers.
Holes found in roof eaves and rooflines.
Openings around plumbing, cables, and gas lines.
SIGNS OF RODENTS
So now we know a bunch of the regular behaviors of rodents and the terrors that can inflict on our health, homes, and hearts. But what are the actual signs that you might have a real rodent issue? A few common signs according to the EPA are:
Rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers or cupboards, and under the sink.
Nesting material such as shredded paper, fabric, or dried plant matter.
Signs of chewing on food packaging.
Holes chewed through walls and floors that create entry points into the home.
Stale smells coming from hidden areas.
If you identify one or more of these signs, don’t hesitate to give Miller’s Wildlife Services a call or text; remember that just a few rodents can soon become a hundred. Don’t wait!
PREVENTING RODENTS
What about prevention? There are a few things that you can do to increase the chances that your home stays rodent-free:
· Routine inspections of your property and seal up any holes, gaps, or cracks as they develop, fix any leaky outdoor pipes, and review any concerns with your pest control technician.
· Be mindful of placing trash outside your house. Ideally, you should wait to take out your trash until your trash-pickup day and use containers with locking lids.
· Compost piles and gardens as well as any fruit trees, should be a distance away from your house and not right up against it for rats to explore.
· All shrubs and tree limb and branches should be at the minimum three feet from any structure.
Even if rodents can’t get into your house, that doesn’t mean your yard- or even your automobile- is totally safe. That’s right, rats can build nests, store food, and even have babies in your engine. So basically, if you’re using a car that’s been sitting around for a while, it might be wise to look under the hood and make sure a rat hasn’t been hanging out inside messing with things.
Now on to the yard, where rodents are attracted to unkempt and overgrown areas and places they can hide like untrimmed bushes, leaf piles, or items in your yard like equipment, kid’s play areas, etc. They can damage these sorts of areas and structures on your property, and in Florida can also mess up fruit trees, gardens, and barns.
GETTING RID OF RODENTS
Think that you have rodents? Take a deep breath, and then contact Miller’s Rodent and Wildlife Solutions. We’ll create a customized plan based on your unique rodent situation, to evict them from your home and make sure that rodents won’t come back. Call or text 941-302-6009 to set up you inspection today
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