Rodents and Parasites: Understanding the Health Risks Involved
Rodents are pesky little creatures known to be quite a nuisance. Although they're active all year round, they tend to take shelter indoors during low temperatures. Rodents and the parasites present in them are the root cause of several health hazards. Rats and mice are known to cause life-threatening health issues in the immune system making people sick and in some cases even resulting in the death of those infected by rat bites and bacteria. An area infested with rodents poses dangerous threats to health, possessions and property. They can chew holes through your floors and walls and damage them in an attempt to make a burrowing nests. They're also very skilled at hiding in small places with their ability to squeeze themselves into places as small as an inch.
The Impact of Rodent Infestations on Food and Hygiene:
Rats are known to cause severe harmful diseases like food poisoning, plague, fever, etc. Their teeth don't ever stop growing, due to this, they constantly chew and gnaw on food to keep the growth at bay. It is believed that 20% of the world’s food is contaminated by rodents. They infect our food and pose threats to our health and well-being when they come in contact with us. They usually build their nests in small dark areas between walls and crawl spaces, some even nest underground. Due to always being in these dirty places, they carry all sorts of germs and parasites that put your hygiene and health at risk. You may not even realize a rodent's presence until you notice signs like capsule-sized feces, scratching noises, gnawing marks, etc. For our protection, it’s important to get rid of them as soon as possible because rodents are known to multiply quickly making it more and more challenging to remove them. In addition to this, recent studies found that rodents also negatively impact psychological health due to fear and anxiety resulting in poorer mental health. You may not even realize a rodent's presence until you notice signs like capsule-sized feces, scratching noises, gnawing marks, etc. For our protection, it’s important to get rid of them as soon as possible because rodents are known to multiply quickly making it more and more challenging to remove them.
Common Rodents:
There are several different types of rodents. However, there are only a few likely to take shelter at houses and facilities and cause damage and become infested.
The house mouse: house mice are the smallest of their kind. They can be gray or brown and tend to nest anywhere near a food source. The females can give birth up to 6 times a year.
The street rat: These rats are found worldwide due to their ability to survive off any kind of food they have scattered around the world. They are known to cause property damage, contaminate food and spread diseases.
The roof rat: also known as the black rat, they are known for their climbing abilities. They tend to find shelter and nest somewhere up high, they are also found near seaports.
Signs you have rodents:
For people who haven't had a rodent infestation before, the signs can get ignored or overlooked. But to defend yourself against future infestations or understand current ones it is crucial to understand the signs indicating one:
- Chew marks on materials such as paper, plastic, or wires.
- Stale odors coming from corners of the house.
- Small capsule-sized droppings (feces) and urine stains scattered around the house under the sink or near food packages.
- Holes in walls or floors or shredded paper and fabric for creating nests.
- Hearing scratching sounds and finding scratches on walls.
Rodent Infestation Treatment:
Practicing proper sanitization and cleanliness is key to avoiding a rodent infestation because rodents are attracted to dark dirty places. Even while practicing proper sanitization and safety you may have a rodent problem at your hands. To clear up a less significant infestation on your own, you can start by practicing proper hygiene, keeping the areas around your house clean, sealing off any prominent entrances and using rat poison to get rid of them. However, when it gets out of hand you shouldn't waste any more time before contacting a rodent control service to eliminate them and sanitize your area.
Rodent control services:
A rodent control service might use a variety of ways to get rid of an infestation.
Rodenticides are the most common way used by rodent control companies to eliminate a rodent problem. They are pesticides especially formulated to kill rodents like mice and rats. Rodenticides are given to rats alongside food as bait in an attempt to tempt them into taking it. While different types of rodenticides work in different ways all of them are effective and just as effective as the costly options.
Rat and mice traps. Traps can be a persuasive way of catching rodents. They can be of multiple types such as poison traps, glue traps, snap traps, etc. Experts know how and where to place them accompanied by sealing entrance/exit points with more advanced traps to catch and eliminate them.
Fumigation is a process used to terminate pests larger in number, like termites but also can be used to get rid of rodents. Fumigation needs to be done by a licensed professional because it can be dangerous if not handled properly. Even though it works well, it is quite costly, so most people prefer alternative options.
