Commensal Rodents (Rats and Mice)

Rodents: Human Health and Safety Importance

There are many species of rodents, most of whom seldom present any problems for humans. The order Rodentia includes animals such as rabbits, hares, squirrels, chipmunks, and hamsters.

In fact, only three species of rodents -- the Norway rat, the roof rat, and the house mouse, are common pests of man. Collectively, these three species are known as commensal rodents, literally meaning rodents that eat at the same table as we do.

Rodents present a serious threat to human health and safety. They are involved in the transmission of many serious diseases including murine typhus, bubonic plague, Lyme disease, salmonella, and the Arenaviruses. In addition, their constant gnawing causes structural damage to buildings, creates a risk of fires when rodents gnaw through power cables, and downtime for computer and data networks when they gnaw through communications cables.

Commensal Rodent Species

House Mice

The house mouse is considered one of the most troublesome and economically important pests in the United States. House mice live and thrive under a variety of conditions in and around homes and farms.

House mice consume food meant for humans or pets, contaminate a great deal more with their dropping and filth, cause structural damage, and create a fire hazard through their gnawing.

Norway Rats

In nature, Norway rats (often called brown, wharf, or sewer rats) live in burrows near their sources of food and water. They have adapted, however, to living in and around building occupied by humans, where they present serious health and safety risks.

Fleas carried by Norway rats were implicated in the Great Plagues of the Sixth, Fourteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries A.D.

Roof Rats

Roof rats (often called black rats or tree rats) are tree dwellers by nature, but they have adapted to living in buildings occupied by humans. They most often are found in attics, soffits, engineering spaces, and running along pipes, wires, and ductwork.

Like other commensal rodents, roof rats present a threat to human health and safety through their capacity to transmit diseases and their destructive gnawing. They also present a challenge for exterminators due to their impressive abilities as aerialists.

Control of Rats and Mice

Z-Best Pest Control offers comprehensive rodent control programs that begin with exclusion, or the sealing off holes, cracks and other openings that rodents use to gain access to a building. These include:

• garage doors
• water pipes
• Exterior Doors
• Holes in structure
• Dryer vents

and other entry points.

Exclusion minimizes the need for trapping and chemical control, and provides a more permanent solution to rodent problems.

For help with rat or mouse control in Cincinnati, Dayton, or anywhere in Ohio's Miami Valley, or for any of your pest extermination needs, please contact us for a free, professional consultation.