Have you heard little feet running across your ceiling boards during the night-time? Your first thought is probably that you have a rat or mice infestation in your roof. Are you concerned about the widespread disease and destruction that a nest of rodents will bring?
Unfortunately, a growing number of people are waking up at night in dismay to find that rats and mice are scratching around their homes. One of the reasons why rodents move into your roof is that it seems as though rodents and pests come indoors to escape the cold winter weather. They will then live on the ceiling boards until the weather warms up and they can go back outside. However, to be very honest, once they have nested in your roof, I’m not sure whether they will move outside again.
Rodents and disease: A short history
Furthermore, rodents have become the symbol of disease, uncleanliness, and destruction. For many centuries, the Black Plague was thought to be spread by rats and fleas. It was first noted in Central Asia where it destroyed whole villages and killed as many as 25 million people. Scientists first believed that it was the Bubonic Plague, also known as the bacterium Yersinia Pestis which infects the Oriental rat flea. This flea, in turn, infects rats, and once the infect rat dies, it jumps to a human host.
However, due to the lack of recorded evidence of large-scale rat deaths at the time and the rapid rate at which the plague spread, some scientists believe that it is rather a type of Ebola haemorrhagic disease.
Reasons to remove rodents from your roof
There are many reasons to contract the best rodent removal company to clear out the rats and mice in your roof. Here are some of the more important reasons:
Fire hazard
Nesting rodents will start chewing the electrical wiring and cabling in your roof; thus, causing a fire hazard. Ergo, faulty wiring damaged by rodents is one of the leading causes of household fires.
Health hazard
Even though rodents and pests are not seen as a major health hazard to your family, a severe infestation is likely to cause problems. Rats and mice leave droppings, hair, fleas, and dander lying around which can be the cause of conditions such as allergic asthma, rate-bite fever, etc.
Hygiene issues
The biggest challenge a rodent infestation poses, apart from the fire hazard, is that they will eat rubbish and waste that is stored in bins before garbage collectors collect it. Ergo, they will spread the trash around; thus, increasing the likelihood of disease due to unhygienic conditions.
Final words
It is easy to think that a couple of mice or rats won’t do any harm in your roof. After all, they are just animals and are sheltering from the cold winter weather. However, there is no doubt that if you leave a small rodent nest in your attic, it will grow into a massive infestation. Therefore, it is wise to get rid of the small problem before it becomes a significant issue that is time-consuming and expensive to solve.