A rodent infestation is not a problem that resolves on its own. On the contrary, it tends to get worse with time. It can be difficult to know if you have an infestation, especially in the early stages when it is still small, but you should call for professional rodent removal in Kitchener at the first sign that the pests may be present in your home. Here are the reasons why.

1. Rodents Can Cause Excessive Property Damage

Rodents are relentless at gnawing on things. They have to be. Their front teeth never stop growing, so the rodents have to keep filing them down or they would grow through their bottom lips. Rodents will chew on anything that is available, such as your furniture. At best, this causes cosmetic damage to the furniture; at worst, the mice may render it unusable.

It is not only furniture that mice may gnaw on. They often make nests inside wall voids where the electrical wiring is housed. Mice are known to chew on electrical wiring. This can cause malfunctioning of electrical appliances in your home, which is inconvenient but at least alerts you to the problem right away. Sometimes the mice do not sever the wires but pull all the insulation off with their teeth, which results in a fire hazard.

Mice often move into a home looking to build a nest in which to raise their babies. They gather nesting material that is soft and warm. In the process, they may damage things such as clothing, bed linens, and even the insulation in your home, causing air leaks and leading to higher utility bills. Rodents may also cause property damage by urinating or defecating on your possessions.

2. Rodents Can Expose You To Disease

The excrement of rats and mice can carry microbes such as bacteria and viruses that can spread disease to humans. If you consume these pathogens, or sometimes if you just breathe them in, you could become very ill. Tularemia, salmonellosis, plague, and leptospirosis are all examples of bacterial infections that you can contract from exposure to rodents, whether that be through direct contact or eating contaminated food. Some of these diseases can be serious, but because they are bacterial, it may be possible to treat them with antibiotics.

Viral infections cannot be treated with antibiotics. When it comes to hantaviruses passed from rodents to humans, antiviral medications have not shown to be effective either. Hantaviruses from rodent droppings can cause diseases such as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, both of which attack vital organs. Up to 15% of hemorrhagic fever cases may cause fatalities. For HPS, that figure is closer to 36%.

Rats and mice do not often bite people, but if they do, they can spread diseases through their saliva. There is a bacterial infection that is even known as rat-bite fever after one of the ways it spreads, although infection is also possible through food contaminated by feces. Like all mammals, rodents can be infected with rabies, but they are not known to spread it to humans.

3. Rodents Multiply Quickly

Rats and mice can have a new litter of babies about once a month. Furthermore, the female offspring become sexually mature at about six weeks of age. A single rodent could produce 60 babies per year, and when each of those babies could conceive the next generation within a matter of weeks, the infestation can grow to be unmanageably large within a very short amount of time.

An infestation compounds the other problems associated with rodents. Soon there are hundreds of them damaging your property with their teeth and their excrement, potentially contaminating your food and exposing you to diseases.

Break the Cycle With Rodent Removal in Kitchener from Truly Nolen

Truly Nolen offers comprehensive pest control services. Find out more about how our proven techniques and expert technicians can help with your rodent problem.