In our Atlanta service area, we see lots of rodent problems. Some are simple. Some are not so simple. But the worst kind of rodent problem is the kind that goes on for months, or even years, without a home or business owner realizing rodents are the cause. Here are some of the ways mice or rats may be affecting you.

• If you don’t feel well, it may be rodents and not the flu. Often, rodent-borne illness is misdiagnosed as the flu or the common cold.
• Mice and rats are good climbers and are able to jump a foot to two feet straight up. When they get into a home, it isn’t hard for them to find their way onto food prep surfaces and, since the mouse climbing on your counters and cutting boards is probably the same mouse that was climbing in your trash, this could lead to sickness.
• When mice and rats get into a home or business and invade food storage areas they can contaminate food. Usually, this will not go unnoticed. It is hard to miss a package that has been chewed on–but it can happen. When it does, contaminated food can cause stomach illness to occur. If the illness isn’t connected to rodents, it can persist.
• Rodents chew holes, and these holes give them access to places you wouldn’t expect, like the inside of your silverware drawer. That drawer may look like it is sealed, but there is often open access to drawers from behind. Rodents take full advantage of this.

If you have a tick, lice, flea, or mite infestation, rodents may be to blame.

• When we get lice, the first thing we think is that our kids picked it up from someone at school. That lice couldn’t have started in “our” home. But, rodents can bring lice into a home on their fur.
• If you have a flea infestation, but no dog, you’re probably scratching your head, along with those flea bites. But rodents crawl all around your home while you’re sleeping, and this can spread flea eggs everywhere.
• If you have a house fire that can’t be traced to faulty wiring or a curling iron left plugged in, it might be rodents. When mice and rats crawl around in your walls, they chew. This can cause a wire to be severed and a fire to occur.

There are more examples we could give, but you probably get the point. The benefit of expert rodent control is simple. When you have an experienced and educated pest professional remove and seal out rodents, you don’t have to wonder if rodents are to blame when something goes wrong.