Rodents
RODENTS - Also known as murine rodents and domestic rodents. The three common types of rodents that live in close association with humans are the Norway rat, the roof rat, and the house mouse. This close association causes major problems. They vector such diseases as plague, murine typhus, salmonellosis, and rat-bite fever. They also destroy and contaminate food by not only consuming it but they commonly excrete feces and urine as they feed. They can kill poultry and other domestic animals, and they destroy property by their gnawing and burrowing.
BIOLOGY- They belong to the order Rodentia.
The Norway Rat is predominantly a burrowing rodent though it can climb when needed, and is the largest of the domestic rats. It is sexually mature in about a year, can have 3-6 litters per year with 8-12 in each litter, and lives about a year. It will range about 125 feet from its nest for food and water. Its weight is 10-17 ounces with a heavy thick body, about 12-18 inches in length, tail is shorter than its head plus body, has small ears and blunt nose, and has capsule shaped droppings about ¾ inch long with blunt ends.
The Roof Rat is mid size and an agile climber with its harborage being above ground level such as inside attics, between walls, trees, and dense vine growth. It is sexually mature in 3-5 months, can have 4-6 litters per year with about 6-8 in each litter, and it lives about a year. It will range about 125 feet to find food and water. Its weight is 4-12 ounces with a slender body, length is 14-18 inches, tail is longer than head plus body, has a pointed nose and large prominent ears, and has pointed ½ inch long droppings.
The House Mouse is the smallest of the domestic rodents and is also a good climber. It is sexually mature in about 1 1/2 months, and can have 8 litters a year with about 5-6 in each litter. It weighs ½ - ¾ ounce, length is 6-7.5 inches, tail is same as or a little longer than head plus body, has large prominent ears, and has pointed ¼ inch droppings that some people mistake for the large roach droppings such as American roaches, but the roach droppings are rougher in texture.
CONTROL - To really control rodents sanitation is a key factor. Inspecting, sealing them out, putting away the food and water they are coming in for, getting rid of their harborage areas so they are more easily seen which they do not like, all helps to either prevent them or it helps your control measures. One of the biggest factors that hinder control measures is not putting out enough of it, whether you use baits or traps; you need to put out enough due to their shyness towards new things. Inspect and find their entry ways and seal them up using copper mesh and concrete or expanding foam with the mesh pushed in it as it dries. The copper mesh cuts up their mouth so they wont gnaw through it. Find where they like to run and eat by looking for their droppings, the more droppings in a given spot indicates these areas. These are good places for traps and poison baits. Traps include multiple catch traps such as the Victor Tin Cat and the KNESS Ketch-All Wind-Up Trap, as well as the single catch traps such as snap traps and of course glue boards. Baits include Contrac Place Pacs, All Weather Blox, and All Weather Cake. Please remember to use bait boxes/stations such as the Protecta LP Rat Station, Protecta Sidekick, and the Protecta RTU to protect the baits and keep the baits away from children or pets and any other non target animals if necessary.
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