It’s fun to watch squirrels scurrying across the yard or playing the “should I or shouldn’t I cross the road?” game.
But these animals are way less fun if they decide to make your home their own.
Squirrels and other rodents are common attic pests that can wreak all sorts of havoc on your home, your daily life, and your health. They often enter people’s homes during the winter months, seeking warmth, safety, or food, and may nest and settle in under the right conditions.
When it comes to these uninvited “guests,” the best defense is a good offense.
A professional rodent-proofing service can help you avoid the health and financial concerns caused by these attic pests.
Risks Associated With Attic Pests
Many people have an out-of-sight-out-of-mind approach to their attics: If they don’t see it, they don’t have to think about it.
However when it comes to rodents and other pests, attics are often a preferred place of entry and habitation precisely because the area is untouched by humans.
The following risks associated with attic pests can be both immediate and long-term.
Health Problems
Both direct and indirect contact with rodents can lead to common health risks. Direct means include contact with rodent saliva, droppings, hair, dander, or saliva, or from getting bitten. Indirect risks can involve those associated with ticks, fleas, or mites that travel on rodents.
Sensitive individuals living in homes with mouse allergens (e.g., urine, hair, dander, etc.), for example, have double the risk of developing asthma symptoms, according to the American Society of Home Inspectors. This group also reports that as many as 82% of homes inspected contained detectable mouse allergens.
Rodents are known to be capable of transmitting dozens of diseases to humans either directly or indirectly, including the following:
- Hantavirus (hantavirus pulmonary syndrome): Transmitted to humans primarily through rats and mice, this viral disease can be deadly. Transmission can occur through breathing air contaminated via saliva, droppings, or urine or coming into contact with contaminated surfaces. Betsy Arakawa, wife of the late actor Gene Hackman, died from a hantavirus infection earlier this year.
- Leptospirosis: This bacterial illness is spread through animals’ urine, including rats’, causing flu-like symptoms. In rare cases, it can be fatal.
- Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM): This viral infection is transmitted mainly via contact with rodents’ urine, feces, or saliva and causes fever, headache, fatigue, and other flu-like symptoms. Severe complications can include inflammation of the brain, the membranes surrounding the brain, and the spinal cord and/or fluid accumulation in the brain.
Costly Damage to Your Home
Rodents really live up to their name. The word “rodent” comes from the Latin word “rodere,” meaning “to gnaw.” Mice, rats, and other rodents have teeth that never stop growing throughout their lives. To prevent serious health issues, they gnaw on everything from building materials like wood, drywall, and insulation to plastics and metals to keep their teeth shorter.
This includes electrical wiring. In home fires without known causes, rodents that have damaged electrical wires or gas lines are implicated 20-25% of the time.
Buckling or leaning exterior walls indicate a 5.6-times greater likelihood of rodent infestation in the home, the U.S. government reports.
Power Outages
Power outages are never convenient and can be particularly troublesome during the harsh winter and summer months. They can also lead to costs associated with food spoilage, communication interruptions, and other service disruptions, along with health risks for certain populations due to extreme temperatures, health equipment failure, etc.
Rodents are a major culprit in power outages. Every year, approximately 13 million Americans lose power due to wildlife, The Nature Conservancy reports, with about half of these outages attributed to squirrels alone.
Noises and Other Disturbances
Getting a good night’s rest is essential to our overall health and well-being. If we have rodents or other nocturnal pests in the attic, they will be looking for food, water, nesting materials, and otherwise clunking about while we are sleeping, or trying to sleep.
Rodents’ presence in the home can also lead to unpleasant odors, including if they die in an area you aren’t able to identify or reach.
How Common Are Attic Pests?
Having pests in the home is very common, with a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey reporting that nearly 12% of Americans had mice or rats in their homes in the past 12 months. Rodent invasions tend to increase as the weather turns cold in the winter.
Mice are notorious for fitting through tiny spaces, including openings as small as ¼ inch, and can jump up to over a foot.
Preventing Attic Pests This Winter
And now for the good news: Risks associated with pests in your home can be avoided with prevention. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that it’s easier to control rodents before they make themselves a nuisance in your home.
This winter season, make sure that all of your guests are invited ones …
We are here to help!
Give Attic Doc a call today to learn about our non-toxic, eco-friendly pest-prevention service. All it takes is one visit from our friendly staff and you can avoid the health and monetary risks associated with rodent infestations.