Protect Your Home And Workplace from Rodents
A Guide To Rodent Control

Rats and mice are more than a nuisance, they can carry some very serious diseases. Everyone should try to get rid of areas around their home where rats can live and breed and find food.

Diseases that rats and mice carry include:

• Plague
• Typhus
• Salmonella Food Poisoning
• Leptospirosis
• Rat Bite Fever
• Hantavirus

The most important signs of rodent infestation are gnawing marks on wood, plastic, metal, pipes, and foodstuffs; droppings and urine stains in feeding areas; dark grease stains from the rat's fur on pipes & wires, shelves, and around entrance holes where rats run; tail and footprint marks in dust & debris; and nesting sites.

It's difficult to get rid of rats.  Environmental sanitation is the best method for rodent control. Rat-proofing a building and maintaining proper sanitation principles will greatly help to eliminate the problem with rats and mice. 

Some Helpful Hints

1. Keep rodents out of your home.
   • Make sure doors & windows fit tightly and are screened.   Close other holes through walls with heavy gauge steel wool, galvanized metal, or steel mesh or hardware cloth.  Tightly seal openings around pipes & wires where they go through walls.  Rats & mice can get through very small openings.
2. Don't provide shelter near your home.
   • Cut grass, brush, and thick bushes within 100 feet of your home.   Get rid of trash, abandoned vehicles, discarded appliances & junk.  Store lumber & firewood in neat stacks at least 12 inches off the ground and as far from the house as possible.
3. Don't provide food for the rodents.
   • Keep garbage in tightly covered metal or heavy plastic containers.  Store pet foods and grains in galvanized trash cans with tight fitting lids.   Don't leave food for pets out overnight - feed only what they will eat within a few minutes.
4. Use baits & poisons carefully and only after all other control methods have been used.
   • Consult a licensed exterminator for assistance.   Spring loaded traps and bait stations can be used if properly baited and placed (check daily).  Keep poisons away from pets and children.  Rats also don't like the odor of moth balls.  Use them in areas where possible to drive rats out.   Promptly dispose of dead rodents.
   • For odor problems you may purchase oil of wintergreen from your local pharmacy. Soak cotton balls and place in the affected are

Remember, for survival, rodents need: Food, Water, Shelter and Warmth.

DON'T Let Rodents Enter Your Home!
DON'T Shelter Rodents!
DON'T Feed Rodents!
DON'T Make Your Space a Nesting Place

For additional information on this subject and other pests can be found on the following web site: www.doyourownpestcontrol.com/