Preventions:
- Removal of Shelter.
- Removal of Water and Food.
- Use of Rodenticides.
- Sealing possible entries to a building.

Sealing Possible Entries to a Building
– Rats and Mice can be found in homes, farms, sheds and garages.
They are offensive in many ways:
- They eat and contaminate all types of food.
- They damage and destroy property.
- They carry diseases that are health hazards to both humans and animals—diseases such as typhus fever, Trichinosis, plague, infectious jaundice, Salmonella food infections, and rat mite dermatitis.
Identification of a rat and/or mouse infestation:
The signs of a rat or mouse infestation include droppings, tracks in the moist earth or dusty places, and burrows in the ground. There will be signs of gnawing and runways in the grass or through trash. You also can smell the presence of rats and mice, especially in a poorly ventilated room.
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Roof Rat (Black Rat)
The Roof Rat is the smaller of the pest rats and is of slighter build. It has a more pointed snout, large prominent ears and a longer tail than its body length. It normally lives 9-12 months and may have 4-5 litters per year (each with 6-8 young). The young achieve sexual maturity at 3-4 months.Although Roof Rats are usually described as omnivorous, in practice they seem to consume a high proportion of vegetable and fruit material. Where they have ready access to foods with such a high moisture content, it is likely that they have a much reduced need for free water.
The Roof Rat can live in somewhat similar locations to those preferred by the Norway Rat; but if territories overlap, it is likely that the Roof Rat will be driven out.
Habits – Roof rats live in close association with man. They seldom become established as feral animals as do the Norway rats.
They inhabit grocery stores , warehouses, feed stores, and poultry houses and are very common in cotton gins and associated grain warehouses. They may live near the ground, but usually they frequent the attics, rafters, and crossbeams of the buildings. They make typical runways along pipes, beams or wires, up and down the studding, or along the horizontal ceiling joists, often leaving a dark-colored layer of grease and dirt to mark their travel ways.
Like the Norway rat , the roof rat is largely nocturnal and only where populations are relatively high does one see them frequently in the daytime.
They feed on a wide variety of food items , including grains, meats, and almost any item that has nutritional value.
Roof rats breed throughout the year , with two peaks of production. The gestation period is approximately 21 days, and the number of young per litter averages almost seven. They mature rather rapidly, are weaned when about 3 weeks old, and are able to reproduce when approximately 3 months old.
The roof rat is destructive to property and foodstuffs. Also, it plays an important part in the transmission of such human diseases as endemic typhus, rat bite fever, and bubonic plague.
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Norway Rat (Common Rat)
The Norway Rat is the larger of the pest rats and has a thickset body, blunt snout, small close-set ears and a tail shorter than the length of its body. It normally lives 9-12 months and may have 5-6 litters per year (each with 8-10 young). The young achieve sexual maturity at 3-4 months. Clearly, its reproductive potential is very high.Norway Rats are typically omnivorous in their feeding habits and will eat all human and animal foods and feedstock’s. They do need regular access to liquid water; so in conditions where their food is low in moisture and available water is minimal, liquid bait preparations may be effective.
Norway Rats are very much creatures of habit, and once they have explored a new environment, they establish quite rigid traveling routes. Being neophobic, they may take some days to adjust to new objects such as bait stations and traps.
In cases where the territory of Norway Rats overlaps that with other rodent species, it is entirely likely that the Norway Rat will become the dominant species, often driving others out of the area.
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Common House Mouse
The House Mouse is small and has rather large ears, a pointed snout and a tail at least as long as its body length. House mice living indoors are usually a darkish gray colour, with lighter gray on the belly, while those living mainly outdoors tend to a more sandy or yellow brown colouring – hence the reference to ‘field mice’. They tend to live for about 1 year and may have 6-10 litters per year (each with 5-6 young). The young achieve sexual maturity at about 6 weeks.The House Mouse may live indoors or outdoors
In their general behavior, mice are much more curious and exploratory than rats, so trapping programs for mouse control can often be very effective. They are very good climbers, jumpers and swimmers, although they do not seem to swim very often.
In their feeding habits, mice are generally regarded as being quite omnivorous. A variety of foods (eg. nuts, grains, meat and animal feeds) may all be acceptable on baits or traps, depending on the main diet of the resident population. They are well adapted to low water intake and can live on just the moisture in grain without any supplementary intake of water. Preferably, though, they seem to enjoy dry cereals if free water is available. Mixing of certain baits with water can make them very attractive. Mice feed mostly around dusk and during the night, but if the area is relatively undisturbed, they may feed during the day as well. They seem to prefer to eat small amounts of food at various locations and at frequent intervals. Even though they do not directly consume large amounts of food, damage due to gnawing, nibbling and contamination with urine and feces can be very widespread. In most cases, mice are not as suspicious of new food (baits) as rats.
In rural areas the occasional combination of mild weather, abundant food and shelter, and a reduction of natural enemies may cause mice to multiply to plague proportions, and then to migrate. Massive migrations can cause very significant damage and losses to farms and other buildings.
Rodent Control Methods
Pest control operators called to control rodents infesting a building may choose to use one method, or a combination of methods, depending on the circumstances.Procedures may include the following:
- Sanitation – reducing the food and shelter available for rodent activity.
- Rodent-proofing – altering the building structurally so that rodents cannot gain entry.
- Trapping – using traps to capture rodents.
- Chemical control – baiting with multiple or single dose anticoagulant rodenticides.
Non-chemical control
SanitationIt is quite reasonable to suppose that decreasing the food and shelter available to a given population of rodents is likely to lead to more competition between individuals and, eventually, to a decline in the number of rodent present. This aspect of rodent control often involves a largely educational component, whereby the pest control operator, following a thorough inspection of the premises, may advise the client about hygiene and sanitation in relation to rodent infestation. The operator may advise the use of sound garbage containers with tight fitting lids, a clean-up of rubbish heaps and overgrown weeds around the building, or cleaning of the building immediately after the day’s work is completed, rather than on the following morning.
Each situation will be different, so each should be carefully inspected and assessed and then sound advice given. The operator, while inspecting and questioning, will be constantly looking for conditions of food and shelter that may help to sustain a rodent population. The importance of achieving and maintaining a high standard of hygiene and sanitation, in relation to the control or prevention of rodent infestation, cannot be overemphasized.
House mice feed on practically any type of food
These mice are exceedingly prolific breeders.
Although these mice are destructive
Pest Control for Mouse and Rats
Have your house free from those pesky Mouose and Rats.