On many different occasions, we have talked about mice and rats in your home and business. These rodents can cause quite a havoc in all of these places. But what do you do if you have mice or rats in your barn? The barn has a unique set of circumstances that have to be weighed out before you can properly apply pest control. Livestock and food stuff are important considerations when you have to take care of a rodent issue in your barn. It’s important to know all about mice and rats, how they survive and how to eliminate them.
RODENT ISSUES
Both mice and rats are in the rodent family. They are bottom feeders that will feed off just about anything. Being omnivores, they can eat vegetables or meat. In the wild, they commonly will eat berries and dead things that fall to the ground such as carcasses or other carrion. Because of this, mice and rats can both spread many different diseases if their numbers are not kept in check. There are many diseases that have been spread and continue to be spread by mice and rats. Contact your Tulsa pest control company for more information.
One of the most famous was the bubonic plague in the Middle Ages. Bubonic plague still exist today, but mostly in poor rural areas in the southern parts of the United States. The bacteria is transmitted from fleas to rats and therefore also to humans through both of those vectors. With good anabiotic medicines and other control measures, this disease can be eradicated if it’s found early enough. But if we keep the mice and rodent population to a minimum, this will help to keep the bubonic plague and other diseases like it from spreading to animals and loved ones.
RODENTS AND LIVESTOCK FOOD
The difficult part when dealing with rodents in your barn is livestock food Many mice and rats will search out livestock food in order to eat it. They will also find shelter in the barn. Cold weather will push them inside often. But when it comes to the food, it’s important that you put food stuff in containers that only your livestock can use. Keeping them off the ground can help, but both mice and rats are good climbers. Your Broken Arrow exterminator can help you eliminate them even if they climb.
Your second option is to kill these pests. There are two prominent ways in which we eliminate rodents. We either use rodent traps or poisonous baits. Traps can be set and placed inside your barn. But usually traps are one shot one kill. This means that you will have to clean out the trap each time it is fired and reset it with new bait. After a while, mice and rats will smell the death that’s still on the traps and they will no longer be as effective. At this point, you’ll need to replace these traps with new ones.
EFFECTIVE MEASURES AGAINST RODENTS
Bait is also an effective method but also has its draw backs. You don’t wanna leave poison bait out in the open air if you have livestock in your barn. This can cause your livestock to consume the poison and be severely hurt or possibly die from poisoning. It’s important to use mouse boxes that are tough enough to handle the wear and tear of what’s going to happen in your barn. These mouse boxes will contain the bait and yet have entrances that will allow for mice or rats to enter. There are big boxes specifically designed for rats and smaller mouse boxes that are specifically designed for mice. It’s important that you get the right one for the job.
In most cases, once the mice have eaten the bait they will get thirsty want to go outside to get a drink. Often, it is here that they will die. In some cases, mice will die inside the barn, and you will know it because of the smell. But this is not a common occurrence. Rodent baits are made such a way that they can keep from this happening in most cases. Traps have an additional drawback of the fact that your livestock could find themselves getting snapped by a trap that they got curious about. This could cause injury to your livestock. It’s important that you put these traps in the right place to keep them from injuring your livestock. A good Tulsa exterminator will know exactly where to place your traps and baits.
ISSUES TO BE AWARE OF
Another issue that you run into is the droppings of mice and rats. These droppings are poisonous and if they get into food substances, they can contaminate those food sources. These droppings are covered in bacteria and other diseases and can be very dangerous. It’s important to do your best to get rid of these mice and rats as quickly as possible. Cold weather is usually a catalyst that will push mice and rats to find a harborage that’s warm. Your barn may be just the trick for them. So you may see an uptick in mice and rat populations during cold weather. It’s important to be ready for it and keep your traps and baits at the ready. This will help you to keep mice and rats out even in the cold weather.
ELIMINATING RODENTS IN YOUR BARN
If you’re having issue with mice or rats or any other pests for that matter, TermMax Pest Control is the best Broken Arrow pest control company in town. We specialize in all sorts of rodent control and pest related issues. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Claremore, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Prattville, Turley, Jenks, Bixby, Sapulpa, Sand Springs and much more. Call us today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!