Mice are one of the most common commensal rodents found in Colorado. By the time you start to see, hear, feel or smell a mice population in the home, it is typically a sign that they have been there for some time, and the chances are good there are more in the walls and attic than you might think. It is importance at this time to have a licensed pest control specialist help you with this problem. Not only do you want to reduce the population of these rodents around the structure, but you also want to develop a plan on how to get them out, keep them out, and sanitize potential hot zones for Hantavirus and other pathogens these mice can carry.
CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE A FREE IN-HOME INSPECTION TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GETTING MICE OUT, AND KEEPING THEM OUT OF YOUR STRUCTURE (720) 394-6335
GETTING MICE OUT AND KEEPING THEM OUT
Blue Tick Pest Control will develop an integrated Pest Management approach to rid your home of rodents. This integrated approach will consist of chemical interventions as well as environmental changes to help draw the critters out, (so they don’t die in your walls) and keep them out, using best practice techniques and exclusion measures. Because mice are small, they only need ¼” gaps to pass through. Many times, we see these gaps at specific locations which include:
- CORNERS
- VENTS AND PIPES
- EAVES AND EAVE RETURNS ON ROOF
- FLASHING ON ROOF LINE
- GARAGE
- FOUNDATIONAL
- AREAS WHERE STONE MEETS SIDING/SOFFIT LINE
With 60 years of combined experience, our technicians have learned to think like a mouse, and therefore have greater success when sealing homes with mice activity present. Blue Tick Pest Control always looks first and foremost as to how we can do this in a way that poses the least amount of potential interruption and harm with regards to your family, as well as other, secondary, non-intended targets (e.g., children, grandchildren, dogs, cats, owls, and hawks etc.…)
I HAVE A CLEAN HOUSE, WHY DO I HAVE MICE?
Welcome to Colorado! House mice can colonize at an astonishing rate. They typically have a two-track mind as they only have two necessities in order to survive: Food and Shelter. Mice get enough water/liquid from their diet, so water is not a necessity for them like it is for other rodents or vertebrates. The vast majority of mice enter your home only looking for shelter. Although mice have very poor eye-site, their noses and sense of smell is extremely developed, so much so that they can smell air coming from openings they pass by, thus, informing them they can make entry. This is how they find their way in, and usually how they find their way out. Mice are not bred to eat trash, old food or pancake mix from your cupboards, but rather to forage for grains grasses and flowers. In fact, typically when a mouse finds its way into the living area of your home, it has made a wrong turn, but it will take that opportunity to eat what is available. Although multiple diseases and issues can arise from sharing your food with mice, it is not the end of the world, or a sign that you should start packing your bags. It is a sign however that you are in need of a licensed and trained professional to help mitigate your problem by developing an action plan and taking your house back from these rodents before it becomes a bigger and more difficult process.
Fun Fact: Mice have collapsible rib cages and can “flatten” themselves to sometimes less than ¼” in order to get away, or to get in, to areas where they can be safe.
DISEASES CAUSED BY RODENTS IN THE HOME
Commensal rodents can cause a variety of diseases through both direct and indirect exposure or sharing of common areas. Below is a list of the major diseases and how they are transmitted by rodents.
Direct:
- HANTAVIRUS PULONARY SYNDROME-
- breathing in dust contaminated with urine or droppings
- Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
- Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
- Breathing in dust contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
- Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
- Lassa Fever
- Breathing in dust contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
- Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
- Eating food that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
- Leptospirosis
- Eating food or drinking water contaminated with urine from infected animals
- Contact through the skin or mucous membrane with water or soil that is contaminated
- Plague
- Bite from an infected animal
- Direct contact with infected animal
- Salmonellosis
- Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces
RATS:
DOES COLORADO HAVE RATS?
There are two types of rats found in Colorado. The Norway Rat and the Wood Rat (also known as the Pack Rat). Although different in many ways including size, color, colonizing habits and sometimes environmental differences, the few things they have in common make them treatable in the same ways.
CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE A FREE IN-HOME INSPECTION TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GETTING RATS AND OTHER RODENTS OUT OF YOUR HOME OR OTHER STRUCTURE, AND KEEPING THEM OUT (720) 394-6335
NORWAY RATS
Norway rats, also known as sewer rats (because they can be found in sewers and underground subway stations) have a bald tail and can be anywhere between 1-8 oz and are omnivores (unlike mice which are herbivores). Norway Rats eat insects, dead flesh of all types, grains, cereals and even other rats if they have expired. Unlike the house mouse, Norway Rats need ½ oz-1oz of water a day if they are eating dry foods. Often Norway Rats will populate areas around dumpsters and simply search out homes for shelter. Like the mouse, rats do not see well, so their sense of smell is paramount for their survival.
WOOD RATS/PACK RATS
Wood Rats (aka Pack Rats) can also be very large in nature and many say they are actually cute. Wood Rats typically live in areas of open space (e.g., wooded area, fields, wetlands, and of course, houses that border these areas). Wood Rats have bushy tails and need much larger entry holes than mice. Their droppings look like mice droppings, but 5x-10x the size. Wood Rats also differ from the Norway Rat in their colonizing habits. Wood Rats are typically fairly solitary, meaning typically do not colonize to the extent of a Norway Rat who can overpopulate very quickly in an area when not controlled by a professional pest management specialist. They can however carry a variety of ticks and fleas that can cause indirect disease in humans.
HOW TO TELL IF I HAVE RATS IN MY ATTIC
If you are hearing gnawing and thumping in your attic, it could be rats. Rats will often leave visible signs in the insulation of their presence. These signs include trails (like a game trail in the snow) from walking on top of the insulation, as well as droppings and burrow holes from them burrowing into the insulation to nest. Because insulation is a great sound barrier, people don’t often hear these rodents in their ceiling until they have burrowed down to the sheet rock. If you are hearing these noises, call 303-555-5555 now for a free inspection from a rodent control specialist to see what’s in your attic.
