While some think that rats and mice are cuddly, cute pets, the dangers of having rodents in your home cannot be understated! Now that the weather is becoming colder, these little critters will look for weaknesses in the exterior of your home and quickly set up camp near a reliable food source. From here, an infestation can quickly spiral out of control, causing all sorts of unforeseen issues and hidden dangers to you, your home, and your family.
Mice have habits such as gnawing on electrical wires, raiding pantries and kitchen cabinets, burrowing into attic insulation, and even shredding paper and cardboard items. With these pervasive problems causing issues that become larger over time, it is important to recognize these dangers to alert local pest control services for rodent control and elimination.
How mice can be a danger to you and your property:
1. Mice can bring disease
Mice have habits that make them the perfect hosts for disease and pathogens that can be extremely damaging to humans. Most of this disease is spread through food contamination and the excrement that they leave as they travel through your walls. Possible diseases that could be contracted are:
- Weil’s disease
- Leptospirosis
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
- Murine Typhus
- Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
- Rabies, Salmonella
- Trichinellosis
- Rickettsialpox
- Tularemia
This list alone should be alarming enough to call in pest control services that specialize in mice removal. Read on to see more of the potential dangers that you can encounter as a result of having mice in your home.
2. Mice can trigger dangerous allergies
Rodents play a major role in triggering dangerous allergies. According to recent studies, the presence of mouse urine triggered an allergic response in at least 35% of homes. Exposures to mouse allergens are a main cause of the development of asthma in both children and adults. These health risks are very real, and you as a homeowner should never attempt to clean up feces yourself; call in an exterminator to administer rodent control.
3. Mice can cause damage to insulation
Mice, like us, are looking for a warm place to nest in the winter. They will burrow into the attic and wall insulation, compromising the heating and cooling ability of your home. Mouse urine and feces can further break down the insulation, rendering it ineffective and causing your heating and cooling bills to spike. If you hear the pitter-patter of little feet in your walls, call in a pest control expert to accurately diagnose and treat your issue.
4. Mice can cause damage to wiring
Lots of home fires can be attributed to faulty or compromised wiring. If your infestation has mice running through your walls, you most likely will eventually have a breakdown of wiring within your walls as well. Wires can overload, short circuit, and cause a fire. Do not attempt to deal with wall invaders yourself; call in an expert to diagnose and repair faulty wiring, keeping you and your family safe from harm.
5. Mice can cause damage to you if they are underfoot
Many a careless fall has resulted from the misplaced foot of an unsuspecting homeowner that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing is quite so stressful as stepping on these little creatures and having an accident as a result of trying to avoid them. Don’t let this happen to you; before you see telltale signs of an infestation, do what you can to prevent them from overrunning your home.
6. Mice can contaminate food storage!
Nothing is quite so dangerous as a contaminated food supply; mice will look for dry food that is easy to access, easy to chew through, and accessible at all times of the day or night. If you have cereal or cracker boxes lying around, it might be a good idea to encase them in Tupperware with a tight-fitting lid to prevent their rooting around. Seal up all leftovers, and do not leave food lying around on kitchen counters. The more you can make things inaccessible, the less likely mice are to take up residence and tamper with your food supply.
If you suspect that you may be the victim of an infestation, call in qualified pest control experts like H2 Pest Control to administer rodent control as soon as possible. You deserve to have a clean, pest-free home. Safeguard yourself, your home, and your health by preventing mice and other rodent infestations from occurring. Call us today for same-day mice control in Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and surrounding Utah locations!