Dangers of a Rat or Mouse Infestation

Nobody wants rats and mice scurrying around their home or business. They’re unsanitary and many people are even afraid of them. Sure, they’re unpleasant housemates – and for businesses like restaurants, they’re extremely bad for their reputation – but is a rodent infestation actively dangerous?

Rodents can in fact be very dangerous if left to their own devices. The Eden Advanced Pest Technologies team is familiar with all these dangers, and we know how to help you keep them under control. The first step is to know what you’re up against. That’s why we’re here to tell you about the dangers that a mouse or rat infestation can bring.

Health Risks Associated with Rodents

Rodents – and the parasites they carry – are notorious for spreading diseases. Rodents themselves carry bacteria that can contaminate food, causing food poisoning and salmonella. Droppings, especially those of the deer mouse, can carry hantavirus, an uncommon but very serious illness that people can contract when they handle those droppings. That’s why it’s so important to have proper protection when cleaning up rodent droppings. This includes an approved mask with a filter and rubber gloves.

More so than the rodents themselves, though, are the parasites – fleas and ticks – that rodents carry on their bodies. These are much more significant vectors of disease.

Diseases Carried by Rodent Parasites

Rodents carry a number of parasites, and those parasites in turn carry diseases. We’ll focus on fleas and ticks for the purposes of this article; even though rodents can also carry internal parasites like worms, these parasites usually won’t transfer to humans (watch out for your pets, though; they can contract worms if they eat an infected mouse!)

Ticks common to the West Coast can transmit several diseases to people, including the following:

• Lyme disease
• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Colorado tick fever

Fleas are most notorious for carrying the plague – most famously during the Black Death in the 1300s – and while the same pathogen is still around today, it’s much less dangerous with modern antibiotics. Other flea-borne diseases include cat scratch disease and murine typhus.

Other Dangers of Rodent Infestation

Did you know that rodent teeth never stop growing? To stop their teeth from growing out of control, they have to gnaw on something almost constantly. Their teeth are hard, too – coming in at a 5.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, they’re harder than human teeth, copper, iron, and even some types of steel.

As you might guess, drywall is no match for these teeth. If a rat or mouse infestation is left to grow unchecked, serious structural damage can occur. If rodents happen to chew through wiring in the walls, they can even start a fire. Rodents could be responsible for up to 25% of house fires without a known cause.

Count on Eden Advanced Pest Technologies for Rodent Control in Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID

Rodent infestations are a huge problem for home and business owners alike, and the Eden Advanced Pest Technologies team knows how best to handle these problems. Regardless of the scale of your rodent problem, our team will be there to help when you need us. With our 24 years of experience handling infestations in and around Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID, you can count on us to keep your home or business safe from rodent-related threats.

Give us a call to get started with a free estimate!