{"id":55,"date":"2014-02-13T02:59:59","date_gmt":"2014-02-13T02:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/?page_id=55"},"modified":"2021-09-21T10:28:22","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T15:28:22","slug":"rats-mice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/?page_id=55","title":{"rendered":"Rats &#038; Mice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Biology &amp; Diseases<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>CHARACTERISTICS<\/em><\/p>\n<p>We all agree commensal rodents are good for nothing.\u00a0 In fact, the word &#8220;commensal&#8221; means these rodents live off\u00a0humans without returning anything of worth.\u00a0 The Norway rat (<em>Rattus norvegicus<\/em>) and house mouse (<em>Mus musculus<\/em>) are the prevailing rodent species found in Indiana.<\/p>\n<p>The rat&#8217;s tail is shorter than the head and body.\u00a0 The ears are close to the body and do not cover the eyes when bent forward.\u00a0 The eyes are small and the nose and muzzle are blunt.<\/p>\n<p>Rats usually live in underground burrows, but will inhabit wall voids.\u00a0 They feed on garbage, meat scraps, cereal grains, vegetables, and cat and dog food.\u00a0 Rats will dig undigested food out of cat and dog feces and eat it.<\/p>\n<p>Mice tail size equals the length of the body, which averages about 4 inches.\u00a0 The ears are big and nose is pointed.\u00a0 Mice live for about year.<\/p>\n<p>Mice fear rats, so you may have one or the other; not both.\u00a0 Rats will eat mice.<\/p>\n<p><em>INFESTATION SIGNS<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Droppings and urine trails left wherever they travel, especially in corners. Rat droppings look like little footballs. Mouse droppings look like pieces of rice<\/li>\n<li>Dark smears and rub marks on baseboards as they move throughout their territories<\/li>\n<li>Footprints and tail drags in dusty areas<\/li>\n<li>Gnaw marks on wooden surfaces, especially door corners<\/li>\n<li>A distinctive, musky odor<\/li>\n<li>House pets may become agitated because they hear gnawing, digging, running and fighting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>ASSOCIATED DISEASES<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Rats and their fleas are capable of transmitting a variety of human diseases.\u00a0 Mice are also capable of transmitting disease, while also contributing to asthma conditions.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.lung.org\/lung-disease\/asthma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Asthma<\/strong><\/a> is triggered in humans by many things, rodent hair and urine included.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/hantavirus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Hantavirus<\/strong><\/a> is carried and transmitted by the deer mouse through its urine, droppings, and saliva.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/vhf\/lcm\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Human Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis<\/strong><\/a> is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease that causes serious neurological problems.\u00a0 It is primarily carried by the house mouse, but hamsters in contact with wild mice at a pet store can also carry the disease.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/leptospirosis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Leptospirosis<\/strong><\/a> (Weil&#8217;s disease) is contracted through water or food contaminated with the urine of infected rats.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/plague\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Plague<\/strong><\/a>, a disease carried by a bacterium called <em>Yersinia pestis<\/em>, is known to exist in the western United States, South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.\u00a0 Humans are infected by the bite of the Oriental rat flea.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rat-bite-fever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Rat-bite Fever<\/strong><\/a> is rare in the United States.\u00a0 It is caused by the bite of an infected rat.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/salmonella\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Salmonellosis<\/strong><\/a> is a bacterial food-borne illness.\u00a0 It is transmitted when rodents contaminate food or working surfaces where food is prepared.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/ency\/article\/001363.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong> Typhus<\/strong><\/a> is transmitted to humans by infected rat fleas, usually <em>Xenopsylla cheopis<\/em>, the Oriental rat flea.\u00a0 The flea will defecate while sucking blood and contaminate the bite site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<div id=\"mainContainer0\">\n<div id=\"insideContent0\">\n<div><strong>Control<\/strong><\/div>\n<div id=\"leftColumn0\">\n<p>Controlling rats and mice is more than just plugging entry holes, setting traps, and putting out poison bait.\u00a0 The best control is to take away available food, water, and shelter.<\/p>\n<p><em>SANITATION<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The first step is a cleanup program.\u00a0 Rats and mice\u00a0find shelter under old lumber piles and stacked firewood (should be stored 18 inches off the ground), piles of old papers, boxes, bags, broken-down sheds, trash dumps, high weeds and abandoned vehicles.\u00a0 All such areas must be eliminated or corrected.\u00a0 Any control program without environmental improvement will be ineffective.\u00a0 These rodents can rapidly restore their original population levels due to their high birth rate.<\/p>\n<p>Interior sanitation also needs to occur.\u00a0 Once rats\u00a0or mice are in your house, their population levels will increase if there is available food and water.\u00a0 Remember rats will eat about anything.\u00a0 If there is a cockroach problem, rats or mice can feed on the insects.\u00a0 Clean up food crumbs and fix water leaks.<\/p>\n<p><em>RODENTPROOFING<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This means stopping the movement of rats and mice into buildings or other areas where they are not wanted.\u00a0 Rats can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter; mice can move through a hole the size of a dime.\u00a0 Favorite entranceways are poorly fitting doors and windows, holes around lead-in pipes and\u00a0wires, dryer vents, joints between building foundations and walls, cracked siding, and unscreened doorways.\u00a0 All such openings should be closed using sheet metal, hardware cloth or cement.\u00a0 Doors and windows should be adjusted to close tightly.\u00a0 It is also important to have tight-fitting covers on floor drains.<\/p>\n<p><em>POPULATION REDUCTION<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There are\u00a0five methods generally used for population reduction:\u00a0 trapping, glue boards, burrow fumigation, tracking powders, and oral toxicants.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Trapping is a practical way of removing rats and mice, especially where poisons might be hazardous and where odors from dead animals would be objectionable.\u00a0 The most effective and versatile trap is the wooden-based snap trap.<\/li>\n<li>Glue boards involve the use of a non-toxic sticky substance on heavy squares of cardboard.\u00a0 They are placed in active runways.\u00a0 When the animals become trapped, they are killed and the board is thrown in the trash.\u00a0 These are well-suited for restaurants and food-handling establishments.<\/li>\n<li>There are several chemicals federally-registered for use as fumigants against commensal rodents.\u00a0 They should never be used where there is danger of people or non-target animals coming in contact with the gas.\u00a0 For that reason, most fumigants can only be used by professional pest control operators.<\/li>\n<li>A tracking powder is effective when food is plentiful.\u00a0 They work by having the\u00a0rodent come into contact with it; then the rat or mouse cleans itself; and, the rodent ingests the poison.\u00a0 Tracking powders should never be used in areas where there is any danger of the powder coming in contact with food or surfaces where food is prepared.<\/li>\n<li>There are two general types of oral poisons:\u00a0 single and multiple doses.\u00a0 Killing success with single dose poisons depends on the animal consuming a lethal amount at one meal.\u00a0 Multiple dose poisons have a lower concentration of toxicant.\u00a0 They rely on several days of consecutive feeding.\u00a0 No toxic bait is 100% effective.\u00a0 Trapping is necessary for every last rodent to be removed.\u00a0 Also, placement of bait inside a structure can cause several problems.\u00a0 Children or pets may eat the bait and have adverse reactions.\u00a0 Rats and mice that eat the bait may die in a wall void or other unreachable areas and produce a decomposing odor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Cleaning Up Rodent Droppings and Urine<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If there is a large amount of droppings and urine to clean up, take great care because rodent-borne disease could be present.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Open windows for ventilation.<\/li>\n<li>Wear gloves.<\/li>\n<li>If a large amount of droppings and urine are present, wear an N-95 respirator mask.<\/li>\n<li>Spray the droppings and urine with a disinfectant or bleach solution (1 part bleach per 10 parts water).<\/li>\n<li>Wipe with paper towels.\u00a0 Throw the towels into the trash.<\/li>\n<li>Spray the disinfectant or bleach solution on to the surface and wipe or mop.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rodents\/cleaning\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CDC Guidelines on Cleaning<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Helpful Information:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rodents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Seal Up! Trap Up! Clean Up!<\/a> (CDC)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.in.gov\/isdh\/23256.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Rats and Mice<\/a> (ISDH)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www1.nyc.gov\/site\/doh\/data\/health-tools\/rats-how-to-inspect-prevent-respond.page\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Preventing Rats on Your Property<\/a>\u00a0(NYC DOH)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.oisc.purdue.edu\/pesticide\/7a.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Category 7a Information<\/a> (Indiana Office of State Chemist)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.stoppests.org\/stoppests\/assets\/File\/Stop_Pests_Mice9F.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mouse Poster<\/a> (Stop Pests\/NE IPM Center)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/rodentsrevealed.pestworld.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rodents Revealed &#8211; Videos<\/a> (National Pest Management Association)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Biology &amp; Diseases CHARACTERISTICS We all agree commensal rodents are good for nothing.\u00a0 In fact, the word &#8220;commensal&#8221; means these rodents live off\u00a0humans without returning anything of worth.\u00a0 The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) and house mouse (Mus musculus) are the prevailing rodent species found in Indiana. The rat&#8217;s tail is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-55","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":292,"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions\/292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.indianavector.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}