Differences Between Mice & Rats

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Rodents can cause serious damage in your home. They chew on literally everything including electrical wires, ductwork, HVAC units, walls, and foundations. They eat your food and contaminate the area with droppings. They also carry a variety of deadly illnesses such as plague, salmonellosis, trichinosis, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), and Lyme disease, which can be lethal for you, your family, and your pets.

So if mice and rats do the same types of damage, why does it matter which one has invaded your home? The answer lies in the methods of extermination – a mouse trap is very different from a rat one.

 

What is the difference between mice and rats?

When it comes to visual characteristics, rats are distinguishably bigger than mice. Generally, a mouse weighs about two ounces, while a rat is about 10 ounces. Besides looking different, mice and rats also have distinct behaviors and habits. Gaining knowledge about these details can help aid your control efforts. Here are the basic difference between mice and rats:

 

Behavior

Rats are a bit shy and cautious about new things. If you decide to place traps, first set some that won’t hurt the animal. This way the rat will get used to it, and next time you lay down a functioning one, it won’t be afraid to go near it. Mice, on the other hand, are a bit more curious. They like to play detective. To catch one, you just need to place a trap anywhere you think they might be present.

When you place traps, bear in mind that they have a home range, which is the limited area these rodents inhabit. It is no larger than necessary to acquire food, shelter, and water. If the conditions are good, the range is no bigger than 10 feet. If there is not proper access to the described necessities, the range can expand up to 150 feet. Rats have a wider range than mice.

 

Diet

Rats will eat anything. They are muricide, meaning that they have a predator-like behavior and will hunt on smaller rodents if there are any around. A rather disturbing fact is that they can go on a cannibal diet. Yes, rats consume other rats!

Mice are a bit pickier. If you find one in your box of Oaty-Os, don’t be surprised – they have a soft spot for cereal and plant-based foods.

 

Habitation

Mice like to build nests in hidden places near a food source. Rats prefer to dig under buildings, along fences, and under plants and debris.

 

Breeding

Both species like to make babies and they make a lot of them. In one year, a female mouse can give birth up to 10 times and each litter can consist of five or six babies – that means about 60 mice a year. Rats can parent 70+ youngsters in a year. Now imagine all those babies making their own family. It’s easy to see how quickly infestations can happen.

 

Movement

Another way to figure out if you have a rat or mice infestation is to listen for specific noises. Any type of scratching, squeaking, hissing, and chattering sounds mean that you are definitely dealing with one of the two. While rats tend to move through sewers, mice can jump, swim, and climb. They can even climb up rough, vertical surfaces and run really fast.

When moving through your home, rodents leave dark, greasy marks from their bodies. You can tell if it is a mouse or rat even by inspecting those. Rub marks left by rats are most commonly seen beneath beams or rafters. Mice don’t usually leave distinctive spots, except if the infestation is big.

 

Droppings

One of the best ways to figure out which rodent is in your home is by inspecting the droppings. Before you look for droppings, put on some gloves. Rodent feces can carry harmful bacteria, diseases, and viruses. Typically, you can find the droppings where the animals eat. Check your kitchen and pay particular attention to cabinets where cereal is stored. Another place to look is near their nests. Rodents tend to make houses in old furniture and insulation.

Mice produce more droppings (around 70 to 150 per day), but are smaller in size (3-6 mm). Rats leave fewer poops behind, but they are much bigger (2 cm). You can find mice excrement scattered around their housing, while rats tend to leave their poop in a small bunch.

 

We can help

No matter how intimidating or pervasive your pest problem, you can trust that Amco Ranger knows exactly how to handle it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Give us a call today if you need helping getting rid of mice or rats in your home.

Check out our commercial program against rodents.

How to Get Rid of Squirrels in Your Attic

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Squirrels are interesting and funny creatures to watch in nature, but you certainly don’t want them invading your home. Squirrels tend to come inside and make nests in the attic to escape cold weather. They can create a mess and be quite noisy.

 

Here are some ways you can get rid of squirrels in your attic:

 

Through Exclusion

The first method to get rid of squirrels in your attic is exclusion, which is the process of sealing potential entrances to prevent squirrels from entering your home in the first place.

 

The first step in the exclusion process is to seal off your attic. Patch up any visible holes and make repairs as needed to prevent squirrels from squeezing in. When sealing your attic, keep these steps in mind:

  • Cover your chimney: It may seem crazy, but a dedicated squirrel can make his way into your home through your chimney. The simple addition of wire mesh or a chimney cap can prevent squirrels and other animals from entering.
  • Make sure vents are covered and sealed.
  • Patch any visible holes on the outside of the home (even the smallest hole can be chewed into a viable entrance).

If there are still squirrels in your attic, you need to give them a way to get out that won’t allow them back in. This is most often done by professionals, where a funnel shaped exit, baited with food, is used to lure the critters out but prevents them from getting back in once they’ve squeezed through.

 

Removal by Trapping

When placing traps, put them in corners and away from open areas of your attic, as squirrels may be wary of obvious traps placed in traffic areas. Squirrels won’t go near your traps without the right bait, so make sure to use something that will attract them like peanuts, crackers, bread pieces, or apple slices. Be sure to place the bait far enough toward the back of the trap to make sure they get in, while leaving it far enough away from the edge to prevent squirrels from grabbing the bait from the outside.

 

Prevention Through Repellents

Whether you purchase a specific ultrasonic device or simply leave a radio on in your attic, sound can be a great deterrent to any squirrel looking to make a home in your attic.

If leaving your radio on in the attic sounds a bit annoying, consider purchasing a strobe light or leaving the light on in your attic for a brief period of time. Any squirrels that enter your attic will prefer the darkness, and the constant light source may work to deter squirrels from sticking around.

The last option available is to use commercial spray repellents. These chemicals can be applied to your attic to deter squirrels from building nests. These repellents can be made from predator urine, like the fox and can be purchased at hunting supply or farm supply stores. The other option is to use ammonia soaked rags. Simply soak a folded rag in ammonia and leave them placed around your attic in areas you suspect may be home to squirrels.

 

We can help

No matter how intimidating or pervasive your pest problem, you can trust that Amco Ranger knows exactly how to handle it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Give us a call today if you need helping getting rid of squirrels in your home.