Mice and rats are prolific pests that can get into your home or restaurant. These small mammals are very good at getting into small spaces and finding their way into places where they can stay warm and find food. They’re looking for anywhere they can go in order to survive.
Keeping them out is important, and contacting a good Tulsa Exterminator to help you do that is a key factor in controlling them. Let’s take a good look at mice and rats and how they function. These rodents can get into very small spaces. A house mouse can squeeze through an opening about 1/4 inch wide, while rats can enter through openings around 1/2 inch wide. Oklahoma State University Extension provides information about house mice, entry points, reproduction, and control.
In addition, rodents can be good swimmers, jumpers, and runners. There are many predators that feed upon them, including cats, owls, and other animals. Mice and rats also reproduce quickly. A house mouse pregnancy lasts roughly three weeks, and females can produce multiple litters in a year. Litter size varies, but several young per litter is common. This reproductive ability is one reason a small rodent problem can become a much larger infestation if it isn’t controlled.
While mice and rats can hear and smell well, their vision is less important to navigation than some of their other senses. Their whiskers help them feel nearby surfaces, and rodents often travel along walls and other edges. They also leave urine and droppings along areas where they travel, which can create sanitation and health concerns.
Mice and rats can get into your food supply and chew into plastic bags or containers. Once they do this, they’ll feed on food in kitchens and pantries and can contaminate food and food-contact areas with urine, droppings, hair, and other material. Rodent urine isn’t simply a poison, but contact with rodent urine, droppings, or contaminated materials can expose people to disease organisms. The CDC provides guidance for safely cleaning rodent urine and droppings and disinfecting contaminated areas.
For this reason, food that has been contaminated by mice or rats should be discarded, and contaminated cupboards, countertops, and food-preparation surfaces should be cleaned and disinfected properly. Avoid sweeping or vacuuming dry rodent urine and droppings before they have been wetted with disinfectant, because that can stir contaminated particles into the air.
If you’re having a problem with mice or rats, it’s important to call a Tulsa Exterminator right away to eliminate these pests. TermMax Pest Control specializes in rodent control and can help if you’re having a problem with them. Call us today for quick and effective solutions.
