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Have you had the experience of leaving your house without your wallet? You go to the grocery store, load up your cart and get to the checkout, and you realize you don't have your wallet. Embarrassed, you leave your items in the cart and return to your car. As you drive home, you are extra cautious because you know you don't have any identification, and if you were to get pulled over, it could be a terrifying experience.
The ability to identify something or someone is important and necessary. Nurses scan ID bracelets in the hospital each time they dispense medication, police officers check identifications, and identification is required to make certain purchases or attend various venues. When it comes to what is scratching inside your walls or underneath your feet, you need to identify the cause.
If you suspect rodents are in your house, the first step is to contact the Roseville pest control experts at Neighborly Pest Management. Our family-owned and local company has removed rodents from homes since 1978. Our longevity in the pest control industry demonstrates that we are your best defense against unwanted pests.
The next step is to learn about what is causing problems in your house so you can make a proper identification. Since you likely clicked on this article because you suspect rodents are in your Roseville house, we will discuss how to identify common rodents and the damage they cause and give you some tips to prevent future infestations. So please keep reading.
How To Identify Common Types Of Rodents In Roseville
Before we ID common rodents in our area, we will go back to the basics and discuss what makes a rodent a rodent. Rodents are mammals, which means the females secrete milk, they have fur, the young are born alive and not hatched from eggs, and they are warm-blooded. Additionally, rodents have four legs, two eyes, ears, and a tail but do not have antennae or wings.
How do you know if a mammal is a rodent but not a dog, cat, or horse? After all, those animals and many others fit the general description of rodents. In addition to these characteristics, the distinguishing feature is a pair of large, rootless ever-growing upper and lower incisor teeth. These teeth have a soft, dentine backside and enamel on the front. Rodents use their teeth to chew through roots, walls, and dirt. Although space will not permit us to share every rodent, common rodents in the United States are in this list of rodents in alphabetical order:
- Beavers
- Gophers
- Groundhogs
- Guinea pigs
- Hamsters
- Mice
- Prairie dogs
- Porcupines
- Rats
- Squirrels
Most of these animals are wildlife rodents that avoid humans and rarely invade houses. However, a couple on this list are commensal rodents. Commensal means "sharing one's table"; two mammals on this list prefer to live around humans; rats and mice.
Since mice and rats are problematic for homeowners, let's dive into the particular ones infesting Roseville houses. Regarding rats, two species invade homes in this area Norway rats and roof rats. Although they didn't come from Norway, the misidentification has stuck with this rat from Asia. Norway rats have a pudgy 16-inch body (including the tail) covered with brown, coarse fur interspersed with black hairs. These rats often live on the ground floor and basements underneath debris piles in undisturbed areas. Although they can be as heavy as one pound, they can squeeze through a dime-size opening.
As the name suggests, roof rats prefer attics and upper levels of Roseville homes. Although not as heavy or broad as Norway rats, these slender rats are the same length and have the same body coloring, except the underside may be black in addition to white or grey like Norway rats. Roof rats, also identified as black rats or ship rats, enter homes through nickel-size openings around pipes entering the house, provided they don't create access by gnawing through aluminum siding or wood.
Compared to rats, house mice are dainty furry creatures. They have a dusty dark grey or light brown body with a cream-colored belly. House mice are smaller than rats. When these critters invade a house, they find shelter in dark, secluded areas where they construct nests from insulation, paper, fabrics, and other materials they find.
Get rid of rodents by partnering with Neighborly Pest Management. When we inspect your Roseville property, we can identify the rodent type infesting your house.
How Rodents Create Damage And Spread Disease
Life is complicated, and everyone has problems, including rodents. The issue rodents must contend with is their ever-growing incisor teeth. For example, a rat's incisor teeth will grow four inches annually. If a rodent fails to trim its teeth, the teeth will enlarge to the point that the rodent cannot eat and will starve. So, when you see squirrels chewing on nuts in the yard, it is not just about getting food; they are also trimming their teeth.
Rodents gnaw on anything. When rats and mice are inside a house, they chew on furniture, plastic and glass storage containers, aluminum siding, wood, and wiring. Rats will create two to three-inch holes in walls and floors to provide easier access to food sources and the nest.
In addition to harming the aesthetics of wood furniture and the home, the gnawing habits of rodents can put a family at significant risk. Rodents often create nests in wall voids, near appliance motors, and underneath the insulation. The problem with these locations is that they have electrical and internet wires and circuit boards. When rodents chew the protective wire coating away, exposing bare wires to each other, sparks may cause fires. Rodents may be the culprit when abandoned homes catch fire or, if for no apparent reason, electrical fires break out.
As if losing your house to fire is not bad enough, rodents spread disease. Due to their foraging habits in unsanitary areas, they attract bacteria onto their oily fur and feet from disease-ridden surfaces. When they move through a house in the dark, they transfer pathogens as they bump against objects and traverse across surfaces. Rats and mice also spread disease when they defecate, urinate, and chew. Rodents distribute bacteria and viruses responsible for at least 35 infections, which include leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, tularemia, and salmonellosis.
In addition to disease-causing organisms in their fur, rodents may carry fleas, ticks, mice, and lice. Fleas and ticks spread their diseases when they bite hosts to get a blood meal. In addition to bacteria and viruses, they spread parasitic worms to people and animals.
Neighborly Pest Management removes these California rodents from your Roseville house and protects your family against diseases and your home from damage.
The Best Way To Get Rid Of A Rodent Problem
We've been saying that Neighborly Pest Management provides rodent control in Roseville, but we haven't told you how. Our friendly, knowledgeable team listens to your concerns and gathers information when you contact us. Next, we send a highly-trained service technician to thoroughly investigate your property for attractants, entry points, and signs of rodents. We will then provide an accurate quote and schedule a service based on the data we gather from you and the inspection.
Our rodent control uses traps strategically placed in locations based on the rodent species and their habits. We return weekly to inspect the traps or sooner if they were triggered. We will continue to visit over the next few weeks until we remove the rodents. Another part of our process includes exclusion services to prevent rodents from entering your house in the future. We will outline the options and plans when you contact us for pest and rodent control near you.
Tips And Tricks To Prevent Rodents Around Your Property
Before rodents infest a house, they first invade the property. So, to prevent house rodents from entering your home, you should take these preemptive measures to keep them off your property:
- Keep garbage containers closed.
- Place compost in sealable containers.
- Remove rotting fruit and animal feces.
- Provide drainage to ditches and low-lying areas.
- Remove outdoor pet foods from feeders at night.
- Cover the attic and crawl space vents with 1/4-inch wire mesh.
- Install a spark arrester plug on the chimney.
- Trim tree branches and shrubs away from the house.
- Seal gaps around incoming pipes and wires with steel wool.
- Store firewood 20 feet away from the structure and elevate it.
- Replace loose mortar and weatherstripping around windows and basement foundation.
- Repair damaged window and door screens.
- Fix leaking pipes and drains.
- Provide ventilation to the crawl space and basement.
Maintaining a clean, dry exterior and interior will deter rodents from staying on your Roseville property.
When a service technician from Neighborly Pest Management inspects your Roseville home, we can provide additional ideas specific to your location. Don't put your family or home at risk. Contact us today to learn more about our rodent removal services and warranties and to get a free quote.
