How Rodents Damage Homes

Mice and rats can cause serious structural damage to offices, apartments, homes, and almost any kind of building by gnawing, building nests, and defecating in the building and the properties in it. Mice and rats can chew virtually anything that they find useful in making their nests.

This can be books, cloth, paper, wood, furniture, foam, foodstuffs, etc. Mice and rats can burrow and gnaw into your upholstered furniture or car seats to create hidden, snug nests. With mice and rats in your home, insulations are not safe at all. Rats and mice can tunnel into insulations inside attics and walls to gather materials that are soft for their nests or to make a home.

They also eat the insulation around electrical wires. This can be dangerous and lead to fire outbreak in a building. Rats and mice also build their nest in some electrical appliances at home, and they chew the wiring and the insulation of the appliance.

This can lead to short-circuiting of the appliance, it can also make it to malfunction, and this can eventually lead to fire outbreak. Rodents don’t have respect for any item, they can chew anything that is chewable that is stored in the basement, cupboard, attic, closet, or garage. They can also gnaw on family heirlooms that are not replaceable, vital documents and valuable paintings.

The more undisturbed or far away an area or item is, the higher the chances of rodents seeing that area or item as a more secure and comfortable home. When mice and rats move around in your home looking for water, food, and materials, they will leave behind fecal droppings and urine trails. These urine and fecal droppings contaminate the foods and surfaces they land on, and this leads to the potential spread of disease. Also, the urine trails are a form of scent trails for other rats and mice to know that that place is a good place to live.

What Mice & Rats Eat At Homes

Mice and rats are not very selective when it comes to what they will eat. They can eat virtually anything ranging from stored food items, furniture, paper, pet foods, etc. If they find food items in paper wrapping or cardboard box, it is even an added advantage for them. They can eat the food inside the paper wrapping or cardboard box and use the packaging to build their nest. If they find their way into your cupboard or pantry, they can contaminate your food items with their hair, droppings, and urine.

Although mice and rats only eat about three grams of food in a day, they destroy and contaminate over ten times the quantity of food that they eat as they leave behind a lot of partially eaten food, nibbles on foodstuff, and droppings. This will make the food items they have tampered with unfit and inedible for human and pet consumption.

Even when there is no food inside, mice and rats will gnaw on wooden items and plastic containers; they can also shred napkins, paper towels, etc. to build their nest. Rodents can also damage your home structure while they are trying to get into your home. They need a hole that can fit them very well for them to get into your home. But if they find a hole that is too small for them, they will chew into your structure until they get their desired hole size.

Here Are Some of the Reasons Why You May Be Experiencing Rodent Infestation

• Poor sanitation: Poor sanitation can be one of the major reasons why you are experiencing rodent infestation in your home along with health issues and some other issues, poor sanitation makes it easy for mice and rats to find their way into your house and get access to your sources of water and food, this will make them bring more rats and mice into your home and build nests. Rodents are more common in spaces that are not hygienic, and you are more likely to find them if you have garbage scattered around your home. Rats and mice are scavengers, and they will invade your home to look for food and a place that is safe where they can raise their young ones.
• Looking for shelter: Rodents always look for a shelter that can serve as a place for nesting for their young. Outside the home, rodents can use piles of leaf, deep mulch, and a pile of dirt as a nesting site. Also, they can chew through the side of your home to get into your home. Since mice and rats can fit into little holes, any little space in your windows, gas lines, plumbing lines, and ceiling can make your home vulnerable to mice and rat invasion.

Call Alliance Pest Services for all your rodent and pest control problems. Learn more about how we protect New Jersey homes from rodents.