Nobody wants to share their home with any type of pest or vermin. Especially Rats and Mice. After all, these tiny, furry creatures not only damage property but also harbor germs and bacteria that can be fatal to your family and pets.

Below is a quick list of diseases transmitted by rodents (including rats and mice) to humans and some household pets:

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome
Lassa Fever
Leptospirosis
Lymphocytic Chorio-meningitis (LCM)
Omsk Hemorrhagic Fever
Bubonic Plague
Rat-Bite Fever
Salmonellosis
South American Arenaviruses (Argentine hemorrhagic fever, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Sabiá-associated hemorrhagic fever, Venezuelan hemorrhagic fever)
Tularemia

If you happen to see a rat or mice in the vicinity of your home, jump on top of a table. Plus, are unsure if the sighting is a one-off thing or a sure sign of an infestation, be observant and check to see for other signs you need to call a Stockton area exterminator for rats and mice:

Property damage and teeth marks

Paper shreds in the morning, scratch marks on the walls or in corners of your home, bite marks on your furniture, and damaged cords and wires – these are sure signs that rodents have made your home their abode as well.

Rodent Droppings everywhere

Whether they’re all dried up or new, mice and rat droppings are an honest indicator that these pesky vermin have been partying all night in your home, or have scratched and bitten their way to a little corner in your residence, and set up shop.

Do not touch these droppings with your bare hands! Rat and mice excrement is one component that can spread disease so you would want to clean the area up carefully and sanitize the place afterwards to ensure all germs are killed off.

Markings on walls and floors

Be your own Sherlock and look out for greasy and dirty tracks along the walls and flooring of your home. Vermin like rats and mice suffer from poor eyesight so they have a tendency to follow paths on instinct so it is safe to say that the more prominent and numerous the markings are, the higher the vermin traffic in those areas.

Rodent sightings

Just like insect infestations (i.e., bedbugs, mites and fleas), overcrowding in vermin residences would lead some to risk of being seen in broad daylight, leading to their accidental exposure to humans whom they try to avoid like the plague.

Be sure to protect your loved ones and your home from further damage. Moments like these are pivotal, and should lead you to call a pest control expert immediately.

Nocturnal sounds

Since rats and mice are active at night, do not be surprised to hear screeching and scratching noises coming from the ceiling, behind walls or from the floorboards in the dead of night or in the wee hours of the morning.

This definitely means something is up – they may be searching for food, building a nest, or accumulating food supplies in their little den.

They may be tiny and furry, but vermin like rats and mice are far from cute. They are dirty and carry germs that can be harmful, to your family and pets. An exterminator for rats or mice will know exactly what to do to solve this problem.

When you observe the above signs in your home, be sure to call professional pest exterminators, at AAI Pest Control pronto!