Mice and rats are the most damaging invaders. They can cause significant issues to your property, generating thousands of dollars of additional expenses for home maintenance. Besides the stress due to small animals crawling around your stuff, you’ll end up spending a lot on getting rid of the pests and fixing the problems they’ve created.
From chewing on furniture to breaking the electrical system, your entire home can be at risk when you have mice or rats living on your property. This article explains to you how these rodents can devastate your goods.
Rodents Contaminate Your Food
Rats and mice thrive in places where they have easy access to food. So, they’ll often visit your kitchen, looking for more supplies. From cereals and pet food to dinner leftovers, they don’t refuse anything.
Having rodents running free in your kitchen can contaminate food and put your family’s health at risk. Every time they ride your kitchen counter, mice contaminate surfaces with hair, droppings, and urine.
These rodents can transmit an impressive number of diseases, including Salmonellosis and Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. So, the faster you get rid of them, the better for your family’s comfort.
If you find tracks, droppings, or gnaw marks on food boxes, you should install a mouse trap or call pest control to make sure you minimize the damage. Discard all food that could have been contaminated. Also, make sure you clean well all tools, pans, and surfaces in your kitchen before cooking — wear gloves and use a strong disinfectant to make sure you kill all germs and bacteria.
Mice Can Ruin Your Walls
Mice and rats have strong incisor teeth, continuously growing. That’s why they need to gnaw on items to prevent their teeth from growing too long. They chew on anything from food to drywall.
They can even chew their way inside your home by making a small hole large enough to give them easy access. Little mice make small holes, but if you deal with rats, you’re more likely to find large openings in your walls.
The more you wait to deal with your mouse problem, the higher the chances of finding holes and even tunnels in more places, like floors or internal walls, where they also build their nests using paper, clothes, and fried grass.
When looking to get rid of rodents, you should seal all openings to make sure animals don’t find their way inside your home anymore.
Rodents Can Damage Your Furniture and Clothes
Scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have found that 82 percent of houses in the US have mouse allergens. Whether you live in the countryside or the city, there’s a high chance of hosting a little rodent in your home at some point in your life.
Mice and rats don’t stop chewing when they have their nests. They keep on gnawing on everything they find. This includes your wood furniture, your shoes, and even your clothes — which also use to make their nests more comfortable.
Shredded clothes are often the sign of a mother mouse making a nest for her future babies. So, start looking in dark places close to a water source. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with an entire family of mice running around your home, chewing on every item they find.
Mice Can Start Fires
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, as much as 25 percent of all fires with “unknown causes” could be the result of mice and rats chewing in the wrong places. These rodents gnaw on electrical wires, gas lines, and matches, increasing the risk of a fire starting inside your home.
Nothing is safe in a house where a mouse lives. Their teeth are strong enough to cut the wall and get to your electrical wires. Even if it doesn’t cause a fire, it can still damage your electrical equipment.
Mice Don’t Leave Alone
Mice and rats live in colonies. After the first mouse arrives, your property can become home for an entire family of rodents. Plus, a female house mouse can give birth to 150 babies in one year!
That’s a lot of mice to deal with. A mouse in your home isn’t something you can ignore. If you have any doubts about dealing with an infestation, you should contact pest control to teach you how to get rid of mice.
In most cases, prevention is the best method to deal with such an issue. Seal all holes and cracks to make sure no small rodent can’t find its way inside. If you live in an area where mice are common, you can use repellents to keep rodents away. Clover and peppermint are two scents that people generally use to keep mice away. Choose your weapons carefully to make sure you don’t harm your pets or your children while chasing rodents.
A cat is another easy method to counter mice and rats. Its scent is strong enough to scare rodents away from your home. If you have the possibility, you can also attract owls close to your home. They’re natural predators that can help you deal with the mouse population in your yard.
