Rodent Control Information

House Mouse

The house mouse is small, slender and weighs only about 0.4 to one ounce. It has a pointed snout, large ears with hair, and its fur are anywhere from grey to light brown or dark brown on top, light brown (now white) on the underside, with scales showing on its tail. It can be found throughout Canada.

Rodents spread disease, damage structures and contaminate food and feed. Rodents damage one-fifth of the world’s food crop each year. One pair of rats shed more than one million body hairs each year and a single rat leaves approximately 25000 droppings in a year.

Rodents Transmit Murine typhus fever, rat bite fever, salmonella or bacterial food poisoning, wells disease or leptospirosis and trichinosis, melioidosis, brucellosis, tuberculosis, pasteurellosis, rickettsial diseases, and viral diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease. Norway rats can also carry the rabies virus.

Primarily nocturnal in habit and they are very cautious. They constantly explore their surroundings, particularity at night, and they shy away from new objects and changes. They will eat practically anything, but they prefer fruits, vegetables, fruit, and cereals. Once they find an acceptable/preferred food, they may make a home and even begin to breed. Most of the time if you see one mouse, chances are there are more. Rats tend to eat their fill at one sitting and will return time after time.

 

You have probably heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin who piped all of the rats out of this town in Germany with his enchanting music.  Unfortunately, although this is a lovely fairy tale, it just won’t work for you!  The rat population is on the rise in Ontario.  This may be caused by construction projects, warmer winters, and less frequent garbage collection.  It is important to call a reputable pest control company such as TK Pest Control to professionally deal with this problem.

Rats are destructive!  They can be found chewing holes in your home, gnawing holes in walls, and chewing wiring which can cause damage to costly appliances.  They can also spread diseases such as Hantavirus and Salmonellosis.

Rats are most active at night and prefer to hide.  You may hear scratching noises in the walls or attic.  If rats are in plain sight, it is likely you have an infestation.  Rats can weigh up to 1 pound (0.5 kilograms); have long spindly tails and very sharp front teeth.  Rats are prolific breeders and can have 6–8 litters of 8–12 babies each year.  The offspring begin to breed at 3 months.  You need to get professional help to stop this cycle.

Rats are likely to present if you see evidence of gnawing marks, holes chewed in wood or walls, damaged food packaging or capsule-shaped droppings.  Rats may leave dirt, grease marks and rodent hairs on walls and floorboards.  You may also see their footprints on a dusty surface.  Look for nests or nesting materials in hidden areas and watch for burrows around the yard.  Always wear a dust mask and rubber gloves when cleaning up the droppings.  Do not sweep or vacuum the feces.  The dust can cause illness.  Dampen the area with a bleach and water solution before wiping up.  Wear gloves to dispose of mice or rats and double wrap them before placing in a secure garbage container.

Prevention is the key to controlling rats and mice.  Vermin will get into dirty places.  Cleanliness is essential!

• Store garbage in rodent-proof containers.
• Reduce clutter outdoors. Raise wood piles 1 foot above the ground and away from the house.
• Cut back long grass and weeds.
• Cover vents and soffits with fine metal screening.
• Seal any entry points. Rats can squeeze through space about the size of a quarter.  Mice need a space the size of a dime to gain entry to your home.
• Replace defective weather stripping under doors and be sure garage doors close flush to the ground.
• Patch cracks in the foundation.
• Fill holes around pipes going into your home with steel wool, then seal with a silicone caulking material.
• Secure composters.
• Keep the area under bird feeders clean.
• Eliminate sources of water.
• Clean areas under kitchen appliances.
• Do not leave food on counters. Keep dry food in sealed metal or glass containers.
• Store pet food and bird seed in metal or glass containers.

TK Pest Control, serving the area for over 20 years, will work with you to eliminate rats.  We use locked, enclosed bait stations with professional grade rodenticide bait.  The rats will eat the bait, go in search of water, and die.  Mice are curious, but rats are cautious.  They will avoid anything new until they get used to it so it may take a few days before they will eat the bait.  TK Pest Control only uses products approved by Health Canada.  Our technicians are fully trained, licensed and insured so you can be sure that you are receiving professional services.  Call us today!
 

Raccoons bend corn stalks down to eat the ears. They break open and scoop out watermelons. They can be devastating for poultry farmers and will occasionally attack family pets. Control measures include keeping pet food put away inside a tightly closed metal container, securing garbage can lid, and erecting a 5- to a 6-foot fence or a two-wire electric fence. Repellents may help temporarily. Live trapping in a wire cage trap is usually effective. Consult your local government animal control department for further information. If trapping raccoons, use caution. They may be cute but can be vicious with very sharp teeth and claws.

Common Infectious Diseases of Raccoons

Raccoons are susceptible to a large number of different infectious agents including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Several of these infectious diseases are zoonotic. Veterinarians are faced with the diagnosis and treatment of wildlife including raccoons and need to be able to make the correct diagnosis as well as educate clients on the potential hazards associated with exposure to raccoons.

Leptospirosis is a common bacterial disease in raccoons caused by a number of different species of Leptospira. Trans­mission is thought to occur via urine contamination of feed and water.  Other natural bacterial infections reported in raccoons are listeriosis, yersiniosis, pasteurellosis, and tularemia.

Viral diseases of raccoons include rabies, canine distemper, raccoon parvoviralenteritis, infectious canine hepatitis, and pseudorabies.

Canine distemper virus infection is probably the most common viral disease in raccoons. The clinical signs and gross and histopathologic lesions in raccoons are similar to distemper in dogs. Neurologic signs due to distemper virus infection in raccoons are virtually indistinguishable from rabies induced neurologic disease.

Parvoviral enteritis in raccoons is due to a unique raccoon parvovirus that is most antigenically similar to feline parvovirus. Clinical signs include bloody diarrhea, lethargy, inappetance, and loss of fear of humans. Raccoons do not develop the clinical disease when exposed to canine parvovirus.  The most common method in which raccoons acquire pseudorabies virus infection is via the ingestion of virus-infected pig carcasses.

An important parasitic disease of raccoons is toxoplasmosis, which is a protozoal disease caused by Toxoplasmagondii. Felids are the definitive host for T. gondii, and they excrete potentially infective oocysts in their feces. Toxoplasmosis in raccoons is commonly associated with immunosuppression from canine distemper virus infection. Necrotizing encephalitis and pneumonitis are frequent lesions associated with toxoplasmosis.

Another parasite of importance in raccoons is Baylisascarisprocyonis, which is an intestinal roundworm of raccoons. Baylisascaris is a known cause of cerebral nematodiasis and ocular and visceral larval migrans in domestic and non-domestic animals, and humans. Transmission com­monly occurs through the ingestion of infective eggs, which results in aberrant migration in hosts other than raccoons.
 

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