Rodent Control (Rats and Mice)

Rodents are some of the commonest pests, even though they may not be considered as such. Wild Animals Expert Team removes a lot of rodents, both rats and mice, from homes and other spaces in Houston.

Even though they may seem harmless, rats and mice are serious pests. They carry deadly diseases, including leptospirosis, bubonic plague, and hantavirus. They also cause damage from their chewing actives. Apart from being natural deadly pathogens, they also carry external parasites, another health implication of having the critters around.

Rodents can chew on literally anything, and this especially makes them dangerous. To keep their teeth from overgrowing, they need to continuously chew. Thus, they can apply their chewing abilities to get into your home. After they infest your property, they can apply their chewing abilities to wreak serious havoc. For example, they can chew electrical wires and create fire hazards. 

Rats or mice?

Rats and mice are the commonest rodents that infest residential and commercial properties. They share a lot of physical characteristics and cause similar havoc. They also have several distinguishing features that can be used to tell them apart. 

The main difference between rats and mice is the size. Adult rats are bigger than adult mice. House mice have an average length of 1 to 4 inches. Adult rats have a length of 8 inches. Their tails are about 9 inches. 

House mice could be mistaken for young rats. The distinguishing features include the size of the head and the length of the tails, with house mice having larger heads and longer tails, in comparison to their bodies. 

The common rats and mice that we remove in the Houston area are roof rats, house mice, black rats, and brown rats. 

What attracts rodents?

Mice and rats, like other rodents, seek the necessities of life from human environments. They infest residential properties in search of food and shelter. Rodent infestations typically increase during the colder months when the outdoors is particularly harsh to live in. 

Shelter

Rodents live in all sorts of habitats and are hardy creatures. When they infest properties, they stick to secluded areas such as attics and crawl spaces. Any secluded and dark space is a great place for rats and mice to make their home. Some of the spaces they occupy are:

• Behind cabinets 
• Underneath sinks
• Behind refrigerators
• Within drawers
• Within walls

Food

Both types of rodents are omnivores and can feed on a wide range of materials, even items that are not regularly considered food. Although they will resort to feeding on anything available, the subspecies of the rodents have preferences.

House mice and brown rats prefer to eat cereals over all kinds of foods. The food preferences of black rats are foods with high moisture content. 

Since they are omnivorous critters and can adapt to different kinds of environments, it does not take a lot for a property to be susceptible to an infestation. As long as there is an entry point, they will try to infest.

Certain features increase the susceptibility of properties to infestation. General clutter will make the rodents more prone to infest a property. 

At Wild Animals Expert Team, our services include reducing the susceptibility of a property to future infestations. 

Signs of rodent infestation 

Even though they are elusive and will try to avoid any form of contact with their hosts, when rats and mice infest a property, common signs give away the infestation.

Droppings 

They release droppings randomly around the homes that they infest. The droppings of rats are fatter than those of mice. Rat droppings also have a rounded end, while those of mice have pointed ends. 

Urine

The urine of mice and rats can also give away their presence. 

Smudge marks

Both mice and rats leave smudge marks behind, especially at their commonly used entry and exit points. 

Holes 

They create holes from their chewing habits. Because they are typically smaller, they make smaller holes. 

Physical sightings

You may see the critters when they scurry around. You could also hear them within the walls or in any other space they occupied. They are more active at night and could be seen and heard when they search for food. 

If you suspect a rat or mice infestation of your Houston residential or commercial property, reach out to us and we will send a Wild Animals Expert Team professional to you. 

Rodent control and management methods

The control and management of rodents involve different phases, aimed at long-term effects. Our goal at Wild Animals Expert Team is to get the critters out of your property for good. The phases of control and management include: 

• Inspection
• Removal
• Post-removal services

Inspection

In this phase, a Wild Animals Expert Team rodent control expert carries out a total inspection of the infested property. This phase is important for estimating the scope of the problem so that an appropriate strategy will be developed and applied. After the inspection, the appropriate rodent control strategy is designed. 

Removal 

The removal phase of rodent control and management involves removing the critters through any of the effective and suitable methods. At Wild Animals Expert Team, we only apply humane measures in the removal of the critters in the Houston area. Here are the humane measures we apply: 

Trapping 

Live traps are suited for the removal of mice and rats. The traps are baited. After the live critters are caught, they are relocated to a new home, which is far away from where they were caught so that they do not return. 

Lethal traps

Lethal traps are suitable for the removal of rodents. The traps are also humane. They are humane because they kill the critters with minimal torture. Traps like snap traps, for example, are designed with a spring that can deal a lethal blow to the critters and kill them in the shortest period. The placement and baiting of these traps are important in achieving success with these traps. 

Repellents 

Repellents are designed to reduce the activity of the critters in an area. The goal of using these repellents is to make the environment unappealing to the critters. 

We apply a combination of the required methods to fit your needs. 

Post-removal services 

At Wild Animals Expert Team, we also offer post-removal services. These services include the repair of all the identified entry and exit points. We also carry out habitat modification, which is a range of activities to make the indoor and outdoor environments unappealing and inaccessible to the critters. 

Mice and rodents are common pests in the Houston area. At Wild Animals Expert Team, we offer expert services for the removal and control of nuisance critters. We keep your property critter-free using proven methods.