Equipped for survival

Rats and mice are endowed with qualities that have enabled them to survive throughout millenniums. They can penetrate even the narrowest openings. Rats are known to pass through holes the size of a quarter, survive 50-foot drops and spring 3 feet vertically from tree branches to gain access to your home.

Likewise, mice can gain entry by squeezing through crevices and gnawing through walls. Rats can chew their way through glass, lead and aluminum barriers, cinder blocks, and electrical wiring, usually causing fire. Rats constantly need to chew on objects, a natural instinct to trim down their sharp teeth.

Rodents are hardy creatures and can survive in extreme environmental conditions. They can endure 10 degrees below freezing temperatures and can live with hardly any food or water. They have a life span of two years and can densely populate your home within months, being able to bear young almost every 24 days.

Rodents can also carry and spread of a host of diseases inside your home. Rats have been known to spread typhus, food poisoning and the plague. Some mice species have hantavirus which can cause fatal respiratory diseases in humans. Rodent feces and urine in floodwaters have brought about Leptospirosis infection on humans, usually causing deaths.

Counter-invasion tactics

To prevent these marauding pests from making your house their home, perform these safeguards:

- Check your home inside and out for signs of rodent infestation. Signs may include presence of rodent droppings in cabinets, gnaw marks on woodwork and foodstuff or rustling sounds behind walls.

- Cover cracks and possible entrances larger than 1/4 inch with cement or sheet metal.

- Never leave foodstuff out overnight, particularly in your kitchen. Store your food in metal or thick plastic containers. Keep your garbage containers covered.

- Rid possible nesting sites like shelves and drawers of old newspaper, books, lumber or wood shavings.

- Clean your surroundings. Cut tree limbs that hang over your house. Trim plants and bushes near the home to discourage rodent nesting.

If rodents have infiltrated your home, the next choice is to set traps or poison to get rid of them, the method depending on how humane you'd want it to be. If you have children or pets, the safest option is to set traps rather than using poison. Pets may ingest the poison or consume the poisoned rodent and die. Poison can cause rats to die in hard-to-reach places like between walls and cause quite a stink that can linger for weeks.

Capture devices

Rat and mice traps come in various forms, including:

- Traditional snap traps - have been around for decades and known for its ability to kill rodents instantly.

- Glue traps - are uses very sticky glue in trays or boards. Rodents will get stuck, suffocate or slowly die from hunger and thirst. They contain no poison and safe around children and pets.

- Live traps - are made to trap one or more rodents at a time, depending on the type, without killing them.

- These do-it-yourself rodent proofing steps can save you a lot of problems in the long run and ensure that unwelcome pests stay where they ought to - outside your home.