Unfortunately, rodent infestations are a little too common in Las Vegas. As often as it happens, homeowners may be tempted to try and get rid of rodents on their own, but do-it-yourself pest control can do more harm than good – especially if you're dealing with dangerous rodents.
Here's what Las Vegas homeowners should know about identifying the most common types of rodents, how they spread disease and become destructive, how they get into your home, and how pest control in Las Vegas can help you get rid of them.
Some of the most common rodents you may encounter in your Las Vegas home include:
House Mice
Usually growing up to four inches long (not including their tail), the average house mouse has a long tail, beady eyes, and large ears. Their coloring can range from brown-gray to dark gray, and most house mice have cream-colored underbellies.
Roof Rats
While their bodies can grow up to eight inches in length, roof rats have tails that are just as long and can make them around sixteen inches in total. You may also hear roof rats called black rats or ship rats, and they typically have dark coloring with lighter underbellies.
Their name, roof rats, comes from the way they climb through trees and hop onto homes. This rodent's lean, agile form means they're an excellent climber, and their favorite way to enter homes is through loose shingles in your roof or even an open chimney.
Norway Rats
Norway rats, or brown rats, aren't quite as agile as roof rats, so it's unlikely that you'll find these rodents climbing anything. These rats are much stockier and usually grow a little bigger than roof rats. Their bodies may grow to nine inches, but their long tails can easily add another six to eight inches to their total length.
Since they aren't great climbers, Norway rats prefer to dig tunnels and burrows and enter your home through the ground floor.
At first glance, rodents like the ones listed above may seem like a minor inconvenience, but these pests are more than just a nuisance. They can be incredibly dangerous for you and your family. Not only are Nevada rodents a health hazard, but they can also be destructive.
They Are Carriers of Disease
Perhaps one of the biggest dangers of rodents is how easily they can spread disease to you and your family. Some of the most dangerous and most common diseases that rats and mice are associated with include:
These pathogens typically get spread through a rodent's urine and feces, but if rodents break into your food supply, they can also contaminate these items with bacteria.
They Might Try To Attack
While mice and rats usually try to escape if they come in contact with people, any rodent has the potential to lash out and attack if they feel threatened. Not only can enough bites and scratches warrant medical attention, but this is also another way that an infected rodent could transmit disease to you, a family member, or a pet.
They Can Be Destructive
While looking for ways to build a nest or break into your home, rodents aren't shy about causing property damage if they have to. Both mice and rats have sharp, powerful teeth capable of chewing through many materials – including wood, plastic, drywall, and even vinyl.
These critters can chew holes through the side of your house or even cause an electrical fire if they chew through the wrong wires.
They Can Carry Parasites
Sometimes, rodent infestations aren't the only pest you'll be dealing with. If the rats or mice come into your home with fleas, ticks, or mites, these parasites could spread to your family or pets.
Once they've gotten a foothold in your home, different rodents are far from easy to eliminate. But how do they get into your home, and why?
Some pests may end up in your home accidentally, but this is almost never the case with rodents. Both rats and mice have a long history of depending on humans to provide them with what they need: food, water, and warm shelter.
Rodents are conditioned to think that being around humans means survival, and as long as they've got access to these things in your home, they won't want to leave anytime soon. Even if you keep your home clean and tidy, rodents may still infest because they need shelter.
How do rodents get inside so easily? It's because they only need a tiny opening to crawl through, and if your home doesn't already have one, their teeth are strong enough to make one. Rats, especially roof rats, also don't mind climbing into your home either. They can use trees to scale the side of your home and then enter through chimneys or roofs. Norway rats don't like to climb, but they'll chew through the ground floor of your home and burrow inside. House mice only need a gap the size of a pen to get into your home. Rats need a little more space, but they can usually fit through holes the size of a quarter.
Since rodents have such strong teeth, it's not a problem for them to chew through common materials like vinyl, plastic, wood, and more. Unless you're using rodent-proof materials on cracks and crevices, these could become entrances for mice and rats.
Once they've gotten into your home, tiny rodents aren't easy to get rid of, and here's why.
They Reproduce Quickly
Both rats and mice reproduce rapidly. A female mouse or rat can produce close to up to sixty new pups per year, and these females are able to mate almost immediately after they've given birth. For homeowners, this means you're almost never dealing with just a few pesky rodents.
Even if the infestation starts with only a couple of mice or rats, it won't stay that way for long, and you'll have a full-blown infestation on your hands. While you are actively trying to battle an infestation on your own, the surviving rodents are still constantly reproducing.
Intelligent Creatures
Having rodents in your home is far different than dealing with ants or cockroaches. These pests are incredibly clever and will use all their brainpower to evade detection. Rats and mice can quickly adapt to new environments, and they're not as easy to fool as you might think. Traps, baits, and other DIY solutions often fail because the rodents in your home catch on too quickly.
Excellent Hiders
Both rats and mice prefer to spend their time in tight, dark spaces where they don't have to worry about being found. Because of this, infestations often go unnoticed until they've spiraled out of control.
It's not unusual for rats and mice to hide in attics, crawl spaces, basements, and even wall voids. This is also why a lot of homeowners describe hearing scratching noises in the middle of the night – it's the rodents scurrying through wall voids and other tight spaces in your home.
Extremely Agile
Rodents don't need an open door to get inside your home. Not only can some rats climb onto your roof and get into your home through the attic, but even the tiniest cracks and crevices can serve as an entrance to your house. As mentioned before, an adult house mouse only needs a pen-sized hole to get inside, while rats only need space that's ½-inch wide.
In some cases, rodents may even chew through smaller holes until they're big enough to fit through.
When they first discover a rodent infestation, many homeowners may try to solve the problem on their own with traps and other products – but these treatments are rarely effective. Rodents are clever and reproduce quickly, so even if you kill some of the infestation, the survivors will usually relocate to a better hiding spot. In the meantime, the infestation will continue to be destructive and a health hazard.
For these reasons, the safest, most effective way to deal with rodents is by calling professionals, like those of us at Vantage Pest Control. Offering both residential and commercial services, our experts understand how dangerous rodents can be for your home – and our job isn't done until your property is rodent-free.
If you suspect that you've got a rodent problem in your home or business, you shouldn't wait – contact us at Vantage Pest Control for more information about our rodent control services.
