What damage can mice and rats do to a home?

The presence of mice and rats in your home can represent a great deal of risk when it comes to your most important investment.

Not only are rodents capable of spreading disease, but both rats, and mice are also equipped to cause significant damage to your interior furniture, and the structure of your home.

The longer a rodent infestation goes unchecked, the more costly and potentially permanent damage could become. That's why it's so important to establish the true danger of mice and rats in the home, and set up a plan for deterring these pests.

Nesting and Scavenging

When rats and mice move into your home, they create a house for themselves. To build nests and feed themselves, rats and mice will chew on anything that they consider useful, from wood and cloths, to paper, books, and wires.

Using whatever they can find, mice and rats will create a nest, whether that means tearing up your drywall, or damaging your insulation. Not only does this cause damage to your home, but it could also lead to fire hazards because of wires being chewed and exposed.

When it comes to food, mice and rats are easily pleased, but they will roam your home in search of things that seem nutritional. During that search, they will drop faeces and urine along its path - contaminating your property. When a mouse or rat enters your food storage area, it generally contaminates all the food that it is exposed to, and can cause foodborne illnesses such as salmonellosis.

What Can be Damaged by Mice and Rats in a Home?

Besides infecting your food and potentially damaging your drywall and furniture, mice and rats can tear apart various parts of your home, leading to damage including:

• Ruined electrical appliances caused by chewing through wiring and insulation.
• Holes in furniture created by mice and rats attempting to establish a cosy nest within your home.
• Chewed up family heirlooms and important documents

The more undisturbed or hidden away an area or item appears to be, the more likely it is that a mouse or a rat will see it as a secure and comfortable home location.

How to Protect your Home

The best way to defend yourself from rodents within your property, is to keep your home clear of excess food that might draw mice and rats looking for an easy meal.

What's more, make sure that you have pests dealt with immediately as soon as you see a problem - before they have a chance to make babies and multiply.

Rats can have up to seven litters a year, with 14 young in each litter, and mice can have ten litters a year, with 6 young in each litter.

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