Preventing Rodent Infestations

Rodents like mice and rats are more than just unwelcome guests—they bring serious health risks, structural damage, and even secondary infestations like fleas. If you’ve noticed signs of a rodent infestation in your home, taking swift action is essential. The longer rodents remain, the more challenging they become to remove.

Are There Rodents in Your Home?

Mice and rats are excellent at staying hidden, but they always leave behind telltale signs. Here’s what to watch for:

Mouse Infestations

Mice are small but incredibly persistent pests that can squeeze through gaps as small as 1/4 inch. They are notorious for their rapid reproduction and ability to survive in hidden spaces within your home. Signs of a mouse infestation include:

• Droppings: Mice produce between 50 and 75 droppings per day. These are small, dark, and have tapered ends, often found near food sources, under sinks, and along walls.
• Gnaw Marks: Mice have sharp teeth that constantly grow, leading them to chew on wood, wires, plastic, and even foam insulation.
• Nesting Evidence: Shredded paper, insulation, and other soft materials collected in wall voids, storage boxes, or other hidden areas indicate mouse nesting activity.
• Scratching Noises: Mice are nocturnal and tend to be most active at night. If you hear scratching within your walls, especially near attics or basements, mice may be the cause.
• Musty Odor: A strong ammonia-like smell from mouse urine is often present in severe infestations.

Mice also spread diseases such as hantavirus and salmonella, making it critical to address infestations quickly.

Rat Infestations

Rats are larger than mice and can be even more destructive. The two most common types of rats that invade homes are the Norway rat and the roof rat. Each has different behaviors and nesting preferences:

• Norway Rats: These rats are burrowers and prefer to nest in basements, crawlspaces, and low areas of the home.
• Roof Rats: As their name suggests, they tend to nest in attics, rafters, and higher levels of buildings.

Signs of a rat infestation include:

• Large Droppings: Rats produce 30 to 50 droppings per day, which are larger than mouse droppings (1/2 to 3/4 inches long). Norway rat droppings have rounded ends, while roof rat droppings are pointed.
• Gnawing Damage: Rats have powerful jaws and can chew through wood, plastic, and even some metals. Electrical wiring damage from rats increases the risk of house fires.
• Grease Marks: Rats have oily fur, and they leave dark, greasy smudge marks along their frequent travel paths.
• Burrowing and Nesting: Norway rats dig burrows around foundations, sheds, and gardens. Roof rats create nests in attics, insulation, and walls.
• Nocturnal Activity: Rats are primarily active at night and may be heard rustling in walls or ceilings.

Rats are known carriers of diseases such as leptospirosis, hantavirus, and even plague in rare cases. Their presence in a home poses serious health and safety risks.

Rodent Prevention Methods

Preventing rodents from entering your home requires more than just setting traps. Professional exclusion services focus on sealing all potential entry points and making your home less inviting to these pests. Our expert techniques include:

• Comprehensive Inspections: Identifying rodent entry points such as gaps around electrical lines, plumbing, and foundation cracks.
• Exclusion Materials: Using lath screen, copper mesh, and rodent-proof door sweeps to block access.
• Baiting and Trapping: Deploying secure bait stations and mechanical traps in key locations.
• Structural Repairs: Sealing entry points and repairing damaged areas to ensure long-term rodent control.

Rodent infestations rarely resolve on their own. Without proper exclusion, mice and rats will return, making professional intervention essential.

Do Rats Carry Fleas?

Many homeowners don’t realize that rodents often carry fleas, making them a major source of flea infestations inside homes. But why do rodents carry fleas in the first place? Fleas rely on warm-blooded hosts for survival, feeding on their blood to complete their life cycle. Since rodents like mice and rats live in close-knit groups and often burrow into warm, enclosed spaces, they create the perfect conditions for flea populations to thrive.

Rodents frequently pick up fleas from the outdoors, where they encounter flea-infested wildlife such as raccoons, squirrels, and stray animals. Once inside your home, these fleas jump off and spread, laying eggs in carpets, bedding, and furniture. Here’s how the infestation grows:

• Rodents act as hosts for fleas, which then drop eggs throughout your home as they move around.
• Flea larvae develop in hidden areas, such as pet bedding, upholstered furniture, and floor crevices, where they feed on organic debris.
• Fleas remain dormant for months in the pupal stage, waiting for vibrations (such as foot traffic) to trigger their emergence.
• Once adult fleas find a host, they reproduce rapidly, leading to widespread infestation.

In addition to causing itchy bites and discomfort, fleas can transmit diseases, making prompt treatment necessary. Since rodents are a common source of flea infestations, eliminating them is a critical first step in effective flea control. 

What Diseases Do Rodents Carry?

Beyond fleas, mice and rats carry multiple diseases that can affect humans, including:

• Hantavirus: Contracted through inhaling particles from rodent urine or droppings.
• Leptospirosis: A bacterial infection spread through contaminated water or food.
• Salmonella: Rodents can contaminate surfaces and food with harmful bacteria.
• Plague: Though rare, fleas from infected rodents can transmit this deadly disease.

Rodents pose serious health risks, making exclusion and professional rodent control essential for protecting your household.

Professional Rodent Control Options

At B&T Pest Control, we provide customized rodent control and flea treatment solutions tailored to homes in Eastern NC. Our services include:

• Rodent Inspections: Identifying infestation levels and entry points.
• Exclusion and Prevention: Sealing access points to prevent re-entry.
• Rodent Baiting and Trapping: Using secure, professional-grade bait stations and traps.
• Flea Control Treatments: Eliminating fleas both inside your home and in your yard to prevent reinfestation.

For homeowners seeking long-term protection, we offer comprehensive pest control programs:

• Basic Pest Control: Covers household insects like ants and roaches with quarterly treatments.
• Signature PestGuard: Includes flea and tick prevention with bi-monthly treatments.
• PestGuard Plus: Offers full pest protection, including termite monitoring and treatment.

Don’t let rodents or fleas take over your home. Contact B&T Pest Control today to schedule rodent control in Jacksonville and surrounding areas and safeguard your home with our expert pest prevention services.