Rats and mice may be small creatures, but the damage they can do to a house is enormous. In fact, it’s estimated that rodent infestations cause around twenty billion dollars’ worth of damage to businesses, homes, and agriculture in the United States every year. What does that look like for an individual house? Here is just how much damage a rodent can cause in your home if left unattended.
Structural Stability
Mice and rats, the most common rodent pests, are opportunists when it comes to finding a home. They don’t pay attention to anything other than whether the chosen spot will make a nice nest. Rodents most commonly set up camp in insulated areas and small spaces, like in closets, inside the walls, and in the attic. As these critters make themselves comfortable, they may chew, burrow, dig, and scratch into the home. This can lead to structural damage that could be costly to repair if not caught soon enough.
Property Damage
As undiscriminating as rodents are when they find a place to live, they’re even more so when it comes to exploring their environment, and they do it through chewing. Mice and rats don’t necessarily chew through things they want to eat; instead, they’re getting a feel for their surroundings. Unfortunately, they often take up residence in areas where we store essential, expensive, or irreplaceable items, like the attic and basement. If you keep heirlooms, photos, important documents, or art, make sure to put them in a strong box or bin that closes tightly or even locks. This will prevent rodents from damaging these items.
Electrical Damage
As mentioned above, rats and mice will chew on pretty much anything. This is primarily how they explore their surroundings, but they also need to file down their ever-growing teeth. It is not uncommon for rodents to chew on electrical cables within the walls, stripping the protective covering from live wires. Exposed wires are a definite fire hazard, so if you suspect a rodent infestation, you may want to have a look at them. It’s estimated that up to one-fifth of housefires caused by an unknown source are actually started from electrical damage due to rodents.
Family Health
The white mice in the pet stores may look cute, but they’re nothing like the wild rodents that may set up camp in your home. Mice and rats do not have control over their urine or feces, so they will leave droppings anywhere they go – the pantry, the bathroom, in the closet. If left unchecked, diseases and illnesses could enter your home this way. In addition, rodent scratches and bites could mean an emergency trip to the doctor for a rabies shot.
Contact Creature Catchers for Rodent Removal
Finding out that you have some unwelcome rodent guests living in your home is a potentially dangerous inconvenience. Luckily, the professionals at Creature Catchers can provide safe and humane rodent and animal removal, so your household can get back to normal and rest easy. Give us a call today at 781-885-7635 for immediate rodent removal.