Rat & Mice Removal & Control Sarasota Bradenton
Rats & Mice
Food And Feeding Habits
Rats are fairly opportunistic feeders. They will feed on an array of items from carcasses to fallen fruit. Human environments provide them an abundance of resources. Particular species of rat may have tendency for certain foods. Norway rats often prefer foods high in protein such as meat scraps or pet food. Roof rats usually prefer fruit, which is why people often refer to them as fruit rats. They may be attracted to areas with fruit tress.
When living near humans, the availability of foods will drive a rodent's habits. They often will travel outdoors and indoors searching for nutrition. They can take advantage of many food sources such as garbage cans, open containers of food, pet food bowls, and they will even cannibalize their own dead. Homeowners should try to eliminate or minimize the abundance of rodent food sources as well as contacting a pest control professional.
Den Sites
Rats tend to nest in walls, chimneys, vents, attics, under eaves, crawlspaces, and a myriad of other places. Homes are attractive to wild rats because they provide food, heat, and a safe place to nest away from their natural predators on the outside. Outdoor nests are often located in woodpiles, leaf piles, overgrown arrears, and in gardens and fields. Rats are notorious for their climbing ability; they climb up electrical wires, vines, trees, and bricks, to find a good nesting spot. Rats are great contortionists, and will chose a nesting spot in areas you wouldn't think of. Once rats chose a location for there new home, they year round or return. Female rats of the same family (Sisters, Mothers) have been known to share nesting spaces with each other, communally feeding and raising each other's offspring. The mother rat is only pregnant for three weeks, after which time she will produce a litter of 6 to 12 babies. This can happen up to six times a year. The offspring are independent in a month and ready to reproduce in three or four months. They often choose to mate and reproduce in the same location as their birth.
Nuisance Concerns
Most people complain first about the noises that they hear in the walls and attic, the scampering and running and scratching. They chew on wires (Which could cause a fire) they chew into ac ducts, wood, items stored in the attic, almost anything they can get their teeth on. They eat your food and contaminate far more than they eat, often spreading diseases that pets and humans can contract. They leave droppings in the attic and everywhere they roam, and these droppings are also disease ridden. They spread filth and pestilence, and many diseases are contracted via rats. Some examples of rat diseases that can be spread by rodents are Salmonellosis (acute food poisoning), Rickettsia Pox, Hantavirus (Droppings), Tapeworm, infectious jaundice, and tularemia. I highly recommend attic decontamination services if you've had rats living in your attic.
Health Concerns
Rat droppings and disease risks - Rat droppings are small and could be easily mistaken for the regular debris that finds its way onto the floors of our homes. Many homeowners aren't tipped off to the fact that they share their residence with a mouse until more than one nugget of feces is found, often near food. Rat droppings are more than an indication that your home's defenses have been breached; droppings mean that there is a potential for illness, no matter how miniscule. Rodent feces carry a virus known as Hantavirus. This disease manifests itself in people with symptoms similar to those of the common cold or flu. Most people who contract this disease will need hospitalization and oxygen therapy. Hantavirus has a high mortality rate. The best method of preventing this disease is proper rodent control. If a mouse does manage to get inside of your home, use appropriate caution when cleaning up any discovered waste matter. Gloves and a mask are the basic necessities, though eye cover is also recommended. This may seem extreme for picking up the occasional rat poop, but improper safety measure on the part of the homeowner may result in expensive hospital bills later on. Mouse droppings should be picked up, not swept up. Avoid doing any activity that may circulate fecal particles through the air.
