Rodents: One of the peskiest of pests
They’re not that big, but rats and mice can cause huge and costly problems, not only because they spread disease, but due to their sharp teeth that can chew through just about anything, causing significant damage. This includes aluminium, lead, cardboard, wood, mortar and plastic and they have no problem chewing through electrical cables and other wiring, which can blow fuses and start fires.
Rodents urinate and defecate often and contaminate all the surfaces they run across, which can include kitchen counters, food containers and food. They can transmit a range of bacteria, viruses and diseases, and disease-carrying parasites, such as fleas. They have highly developed senses of smell and taste and can hunt out food sources with ease, which they forage for at night.
They also breed rapidly and are attracted to warm, dry sites to build nests, making human habitats very attractive to them. They colonise in attics, basements, burrows, under concrete, porches and balconies, in wall voids and other hard-to-reach places.
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How to Reduce The Risk of Infestation
Rodents are challenging to control, requiring a specialised process as they tend to be complicated, sly and very wary of things new to their environment, such as traps and bait. Pure Services know how to outwit these elusive creatures and can rid your premises of rodents. Once they’ve departed, here’s how to keep them away:
- Cleanliness is crucial in the fight against rodents and to maintain your home or business after they have been eliminated. Piles of rubbish, old machinery, timber, weeds and general litter should be removed. Rubbish must be kept in rodent-proof bins with tight, fitted lids.
- Develop a well-organised cleaning and maintenance plan.
- Food needs to be stored in rodent-proof containers and floors/surfaces kept free of food scraps and crumbs.
- Preventing entry is the most effective method of deterring rodents so this means blocking any gaps, holes and crevices that might be used for them to enter buildings.
- Rodents can climb trees so you may need to prune or remove trees that allow them access to buildings.
- Ask neighbours to help control rodents if you think their properties are infested too.