Rodents have become serious pests to humans in Melbourne’s Northern and Eastern Suburbs. Unfortunately, their presence around our homes cannot be avoided and the best outcome that can be achieved is to limit their presence and ability to make their way into our home as a potential nesting ground and/or food source.
There are 3 primary rodents that have established themselves as pests in our urban environments:
- Norway rat
- Roof rat
- House mouse
Why then should we be concerned with the presence of rodents in our homes, other than scaring family members, causing dogs to get agitated or providing a night-time hunting pastime for the local cats?
Rodents can be destructive when left unchecked. Their name comes from the latin word rodere, which means “to gnaw”. Rodents gnaw their way in and around a house causing damage to timber support structures, electrical wiring, skirting boards, kitchen cabinets, books and/or upholstery.
In addition to the physical damage they can cause, they also create an unpleasant odour and mess by leaving urine and droppings along their trails and at the sources of food that they have found, usually in the kitchen and pantry area if they have made their way into these rooms for food. This is not only unpleasant, but also presents a health risk to humans as their urine and droppings could spread diseases such as Salmonella poisoning.
Another common irritation to humans is when the rodents make their way into the wall cavities as they enter the home through the sub floor or roof void. Because they are nocturnal, this means their movement is predominantly at night when the household if asleep and they have been known to create enough noise that family members cannot sleep because of the movement and scratching sounds coming from inside the walls.
Common signs that you have rodents in and around your home:
- The most obvious sign is usually rodent droppings, but these are not always evident when the rodents are nesting in the sub floor or have made their way into the roof void.
- The next obvious sign is night-time sounds, either in the roof void, the walls or underneath the house.
- The final sign that the problem may have been left too late is when you see them in the house or see evidence such as droppings in the house. This means that the rodents have found an entry into the home as well as a potential food source.
In either of these cases, it is important to act quickly and give Pest-Zap a call to investigate the extent of the problem. Pest-Zap specialises in Melbourne’s Northern and Eastern suburbs to put down effective rodent control measures to significantly reduce and eliminate rodent activity around your home.
Pest-Zap also provides detailed advice on proofing measures that need to be conducted around the home to prevent future rodent entry into the home. This combined with an annual treatment plan before rodent season provides the best results in ensuring that rodents do not nest and make a nuisance of themselves around and inside your home.
