If you are hearing the pitter-patter of little feet, it may not be the feet of those you love! Cooler weather causes large numbers of mice and rats to invade homes and buildings. They are looking for new food sources and a drier and warmer place to live and multiply.
There are many tell-tale signs that rats or mice have invaded. You may hear their scampering or gnawing sounds late at night, or you may see evidence of their presence, including their droppings, gnaw marks, or tracks in flour or dusty areas. Along their paths, you may see signs of urine or darkened smudge marks from the oil and dirt in their hair. Other rodent signs, to name a few, include rat burrows, caches of hoarded food, and over-excited pets.
Though both rats and mice are well adapted to living and thriving indoors, they have very different habits. As the neighborhood pest experts, we know our prey! For instance, mice readily investigate new objects in their territory, but rats are cautious. Mice are nibblers, while rats will settle down and take more time to eat larger amounts. Mice can survive long periods without water, while rats normally need water daily. Mice have small territories compared to rats.
If you, or your friends or neighbors, have mice or rats, call us to control them. The sooner we start on the problem (before they have become well established and more numerous), the quicker we can “clean ‘em out!”
