All About Rats and Mice
Rats and mice are year round pests. They can be incredibly frustrating to understand and control. But they can be both understood and controlled. Following are a number of articles on rats and mice to help you in your efforts.
1. Questions and Answers about Rats
How do you know if you have rats? How do you know if it is a rat or a mouse? Why are just one or two rats a problem? What do rats eat? Find answers to such questions and learn about the two most common rats that invade homes and buildings in the U.S.
2. The Problem with Rats
Rats can spread disease through biting or contact with their fecal matter, or droppings. They can cause damage through their gnawing and feeding on crops. Learn how to identify the two most common rats, signs of their presence, and how to prevent them from making your home their home.
3. The Difference Between Rats and Mice
Besides the differences in their physical characteristics, rats and mice are significantly different in many other ways. Because rodent control efforts will be most successful when based on an understanding of the pest itself, it is important to know the differences between these two rodents. For example, rats are very cautious while mice are curious critters. What does this mean for control?
4. Winter Bugs, Rats and Mice
There’s no doubt that summer is prime pest season. Insects are abundant; flies and mosquitoes buzz freely in through opening doors and windows; and wildlife, including rats and mice, actively roam around grassy lawns and open fields. But, as too many too often learn, such pests don’t go completely inactive in the winter. In fact, when it is cold and wet or snowy outside, rats and mice are even more likely to seek the warmth and shelter of the indoors.
5. How to Know if You Still Have Mice or Rats
You had a problem with mice or rats in your home, but you think that you – or the pest management professional you called in – got rid of all the rodents. But how do you know for sure? Are those droppings you found under the cabinets old or new? Does that gnawing you just found mean that you have more mice or rats? Or is it from the old infestation? Find out how to tell.
6. Questions and Answers about Mice
How do you know if you have mice? How long do they live? Where should you place traps, and what do you do if they are not catching the mice? Find out the answers to these and many more questions about mice and mouse control.
7. The House Mouse
A wily, curious creature, the house mouse is the most common of home-invading mice. A mouse in your house is more than an just an unwanted pest, it can also be a health threat to all who live there. Unfortunately, because mice are small, nocturnal, and nest in out-of-the-way places, you may not even know you have a problem until it is a major problem. Learn more about mice and how to control them.
8. 10 Tips to keep pests out
The best offense against pests is a strong defense. If you are like almost half the households questioned in a University of Kentucky survey, a single cockroach in your home would cause you to pull out a can of bug spray or call a pest control professional. Instead of waiting to go on the defense against an insect, rodent or bird that has entered your home, take the offense by implementing 10 steps to keeping pests out.
9. Pest Control for the Homeowner
Rodents are just one pest that can invade the home. A pest is defined by the EPA as “living organisms that occur where they are not wanted or that cause damage to crops or humans or other animals.” This can be animal – insects, mice, rats, wildlife; plant – weeds; or organisms and microorganisms – bacteria and viruses. Learn the basics of do-it-yourself animal pest control – the why and the how.
10. Top 12 Considerations in Hiring a Pest Control Professional
Sometimes it is better to hire a pest control professional than to try to do it yourself. This is particularly true if the pest problem is ongoing, if the infestation has become large, or if the products needed for control are only authorized for use by certified professionals. When you do need to hire a professional, here are 12 top considerations to keep in mind.
