30 Dec Common Types of Rodents That Invade Residential Homes
Imagine this: you’re relaxing at home, ready to sit down and watch a movie. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a dark blur dash across the room. What could that have been? You don’t have any pets and you keep your home relatively clean. If it’s a pest, what kind of pest could it be?
Chances are high that the dark blur you saw race across the room was a rodent. Rodents are incredibly common household pests and some species can shimmy their way into even the tightest of spaces. Animals like mice and rats like to make their way into residential homes for a variety of reasons ranging from open food sources to a warm place to sleep.
In this article, we’ll explain what exactly rodents are and which ones are most likely to make their way into your home. We’ll also explain what you can do to get rid of them.
What Are These Animals?
Rodents are warm-blooded mammals that are characterized by the upper and lower pairs of their ever-growing, rootless incisor teeth. There are thousands of rodent species in the animal kingdom, but just a few of those species like to make their way into human homes. These two species are just what you’d expect: rats and mice.
Rats and mice are considered commensal rodents. This just means that they live near humans and have developed a sense of need for human habitat to find their food and other necessities for living.
In our area, three types of rodents are most commonly found in residential homes:
● House Mice: these mice are fairly small and usually only grow up to 5.5-7 inches as an adult. Their bodies are typically a grey or brown color and will normally have a tan or white outer belly.
● Norway Rats: these rats are characterized as “heavy rats” and grow up to 7-9.5 inches as an adult. On top of that, their long tails add an extra 6-8 inches to their full length. They’re most commonly brown with a peppered black look and have a grey or white belly.
● Roof Rats: these rats are much lighter than their Norway cousins as they’re more adept to climb houses and scurry along rooftops. They’ll grow to around 6-8 inches as an adult and also have a long, scaly tail that can add another 6-8 inches in total length. They’re most often black or dark brown with a lighter color on their belly.
How to Get Rid of Them
Generally, you’ll need to call in a professional to ensure you eradicate the entire issue. You can certainly try the extermination process yourself, but without professional expertise, it’s difficult to know if you’ve permanently solved the problem.
At Proctor Pest Control, we use efficient and effective methods to ensure the rodents in your home are gone for good. We’ll also discuss preventative measures you can take and perform preventative pest control if you so choose.