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Rats and mice cause a significant amount of damage to Houston homes and businesses every year, making rodents a persistent problem for Houston residents. These rodents can creep in and gnaw away at your woodwork, your insulation, and even your electrical cables. Rats and mice can also carry a number of unpleasant diseases.
In a recent report, Houston ranked second among all cities in America for the likelihood that its residents would have a rodent problem in their homes. It's no surprise, since Houston is pretty much a paradise for rodents. Houston has a fabulous restaurant scene, but the dumpsters setting outside those restaurants are an open buffet for rats. Rats are also great swimmers, so Houston's bayous are like free rat public transportation. Houston also has one of the most extensive urban tree canopy networks of any American city, giving rats and mice another convenient way to jump from roof to roof and home to home.
Rats are rodents, and like all rodents, their teeth continually grow. This means that they have to constantly control this growth by chewing and gnawing at pretty much anything. Rats will chew on wood, on insulation, on roof shingles, on almost any part of your house. They'll keep chewing until they chew through a wall and then they'll chew some more.
Rats are also known for spreading disease. Rats can contract and spread many of the same diseases as humans, that's why they're used as lab rats, after all. But probably the best-remembered rat-transmitted disease was the Black Death. Rats carrying infected fleas spread the Bubonic plague across Europe in the 14th century, killing as much as 60% of the population.
Bubonic Plague is less of a problem in Houston these days, but rats still carry fleas, and the feels are still a problem. Rats scurrying around under your house or around your attic can spread fleas to your pets, and soon you have two pest problems.
There are two common types of rats in Houston:
Both species of rats have the nasty habit of saying it with urine - leaving wet, smelly spots sprayed out to mark their territory.
For small animals, mice can do a significant amount of damage. Mice build nests, and that means gnawing up paper, insulation, boxes, clothing, and many other things that people commonly leave in attics, basements, and closets. Mice have also been known to chew the insulation in ovens, and will often set up a home in the kitchen underneath the stove. While mice love these comfortable little homes they make for themselves, they can chew their way through a good part of your home while making themselves cozy.
Houston has lots of mice. Mice can breed incredibly fast, and in many ways Houston provides an ideal breeding ground. It's easy for a single, undiscovered breeding pair of mice to set up a nest in a dark corner of your home and in a few weeks turn themselves into an infestation.
Using store-bought baits to kill mice usually creates even more of a nuisance for homeowners. Not only do these poisons present a danger to pets, but when you poison a mouse you never know where it's going to die. A mouse that climbs in to a wall to die can create a surprisingly big and long-lasting stink.
Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control offers complete rat control and mouse control services anywhere in Houston. If you see in a mouse or a rat in your home, or any signs of these rodents around the house, give Bulls Eye Pest and Termite Control at 713-222-PEST.
