When it comes to rodents, the Sprague Pest Experts have assembled quite a dossier on these disease-carrying, food-spoiling and wire chewing pests. The rodent species that cause the most headaches for commercial clients include the house mouse, Norway rat and roof rat.
While portrayed as cute and cuddly in cartoons, the house mouse is a most unwelcome visitor to commercial accounts including bakeries, grocery and retail stores, especially those carrying pet food, food storage and transportation facilities, healthcare and educational facilities.
The aggressive Norway rat is the most commonly encountered of the pair but don’t underestimate the roof rat’s destructive capabilities. Roof rats often chew through insulation and wires and can threaten a building’s structural integrity.
The Sprague Pest Experts have assembled the following rodent facts for your rodent-education:
House Mouse
- Mice are quick, agile creatures and can travel at speeds up to 12 feet per second.
- Mice feeding habits can differ inside and outside of a structure. Inside they consume human or pet food (they love grains) and outside will consume seeds, vegetation and insects.
- Mice can survive with little water and will conserve its intake when water sources are scarce.
- Mice are “nibblers” and will make up to 200 separate trips from a nest to a food source taking only milligrams each visit.
Norway and Roof Rats
- Active rat burrows have a smooth, well-worn appearance at the entrances due to the high traffic volume.
- Rats do not like sudden changes or new objects introduced into their environment. This behavior is known as “neophobia.”
- Norway rats can range up to 450 feet from nesting sites in search of food.
- Norway rats are very adept swimmers and often use waterways (i.e. sewers) as a means of moving between feeding and harborage sites.