As a Texan, you will likely experience rodents invading your home sometime during your life. Knowing the most likely culprits of rodent invasion and infestation is extremely helpful on many different fronts. Identifying these rodents allows homeowners to predict their behavior better, how they commonly appear in houses, and the best preventative measures to take regarding pest management.
Here are the most common suspects regarding rodents invading your home.
Most Common Home-Invading Rodents
The most cited rodent infestations within homes and housing units can be attributed to one of the big three: the house mouse, Norway rat, and roof rat.
House Mice
The house mouse is probably the most common mammal in the U.S. regarding behavior. They are mainly nocturnal and commensal creatures, meaning they benefit from a one-sided positive relationship with humans. They are fast breeders that hide within cracks in walls, burrows, rafters, pantries, and cabinets. Most of the time, they will choose to nest in less busy areas of your house or opt for a spot near accessible food.
Since they are generally less feral than rats, they can sometimes be controlled by snap traps and other predators like eagles, cats, and household pets.
Norway Rats
The Norway rat, also known as the brown rat, is a feral and larger variation of rat. While they can be found all over Texas, many make their home along the coast and in marshy areas of Galveston. Most of them can be found near the ground, in burrows, in basements, or on the lowest floors of buildings and homes.
They are omnivorous creatures with sharp teeth that prove to be destructive to the integrity of your home’s drywall and foundation. Getting bitten by these rats is a real threat, as they have been known to attack household pets, children, and even adults when cornered.
Because of their opportunistic feeding tendencies, they have been known to hide in dumpsters, surviving off garbage. Compared to the other rodents of the big three, they exhibit peculiar behavior surrounding food. They tend to hoard and transport food, storing it in different places and relocating it away from the source.
They require a lot of water to survive. So you can spot them near water sources in and out of your home. Lastly, they are infamous for carrying many diseases, like the bubonic plague, rat-bite fever, endemic typhus fever, and more.
Roof Rats
The roof or black rat is a medium-sized nocturnal rat found in Texas towns and cities. As their name suggests, they prefer to nest above ground, usually in attics, crossbeams, and rafters. Neglecting your lawn and tree maintenance can make them more likely to appear since they efficiently use overgrown vegetation and trees to access your roof.
You can usually tell if you’ve stumbled across one of their frequent paths as they leave behind a dark trail of dirt and grease. Check this trail’s ceiling joists, pipes, and beams if you suspect rodent foul play. Like the Norway rat, the black rat is also highly destructive to a home’s structural integrity, a carrier of similar diseases, and is a fast breeder.
Honorable Mentions/ Others
Other commonly sighted rodents in Texas are deer mice, pocket mice, kangaroo rats, squirrels, pocket gophers, and more. While they might not be the usual culprits of home invasion, they can still be bothersome even outdoors.
Deer mice are especially notable. While deer mice tend to favor fields, barns, farms, ranches, silos, granaries, and sheds over our homes, they are infamous for carrying hantavirus, a respiratory disease especially fatal to humans when inhaled.
We know infestations can make you feel uncomfortable in your own home. Say goodbye to unwanted guests, and let us help you take back your home. Schedule an inspection or treatment with Pest Management today!