Rodents: Biology & Control
Rats: Understanding Their Behavior & Risks
Common Species: Norway rats (brown rats, sewer rats) and roof rats (palm rats)
Preferred Habitats: Attics, rooftops, sewers, walls, and crawl spaces
Health Risks: Leptospirosis, hantavirus, salmonella, and other diseases spread through droppings and urine
Physical Adaptations:
Rats have continuously growing incisors that can reach up to 5 inches per year, requiring constant gnawing on wood, electrical wires, pipes, and other hard materials to prevent overgrowth. This behavior often leads to costly structural damage and fire hazards.
Reproduction & Population Growth
Rats have an incredibly high reproductive rate, making infestations grow rapidly if not controlled. A single female rat can produce up to 12 litters per year, with each litter containing 6-12 pups. Within just five weeks, these young rats become sexually mature and begin reproducing, exponentially increasing their population. This rapid breeding cycle makes early intervention essential to prevent severe infestations.
Nocturnal Behavior & Signs of Infestation
Rats are nocturnal creatures, most active during the night when they forage for food and seek shelter, making their presence harder to detect until significant damage has occurred. If you hear scratching, scurrying, or high-pitched squeaks between 8 PM and 7 AM, it could indicate a rat infestation. These sounds are often heard in walls, under bathtubs, attics, and crawl spaces as rats move around in search of food, nesting areas, and while competing for resources.
Uncontrolled Bowel Movements & Contamination
Rats lack voluntary control over their bowel movements, leading to frequent and widespread droppings and urine, which contribute to contamination and disease transmission. Their constant defecation and urination introduce harmful bacteria and pathogens into homes and businesses, especially through porous surfaces, increasing health risks for humans and pets. This unsanitary behavior, combined with their tendency to gnaw on structures, makes them one of the most problematic urban pests.
Control Methods:
- Comprehensive Inspections to locate nesting sites and entry points
- Exclusion Techniques like sealing cracks, vents, and holes
- Humane Trapping & Removal to prevent reinfestation
- Sanitation to eliminate attractants like food and clutter
- Ongoing Upkeep to maintain long-term rodent prevention
Mice
Mice: Small But Destructive
Common Species: House mice, deer mice
Preferred Habitats: Homes, garages, storage spaces, and agricultural areas
Health Risks: Hantavirus, salmonella, leptospirosis from droppings and contaminated surfaces
Physical Adaptations & Behavior
Mice, like rats, have continuously growing incisors, necessitating constant gnawing to prevent overgrowth. However, due to their smaller size, they can access even tighter spaces, squeezing through openings as small as a dime. They are highly opportunistic and adaptable, often using insulation, paper, and fabric to build nests inside walls and attics.
Reproduction & Infestation Growth
Mice reproduce at an alarming rate, with a single female capable of producing up to 10 litters per year, each containing 5-8 pups. Within just a few weeks, these offspring become independent and capable of breeding. This rapid reproductive cycle means that even a small infestation can quickly escalate, requiring swift action to prevent widespread problems.
Control Methods:
- Entry Point Sealing to prevent access
- Sanitation & Food Source Removal to deter infestations
- Baiting & Trapping to reduce population numbers
- Ongoing Upkeep to ensure long-term rodent prevention
Protect Your Home from Rodent Infestations
Rodents reproduce quickly, making early intervention crucial. Contact Green’s Wildlife Solutions for a thorough inspection and customized control plan.
Squirrels: Urban Adaptations & Structural Damage
Squirrel Behavior & Impact
Common Species: Eastern gray squirrel
Preferred Habitats: Trees, attics, rooftops, and soffits
Physical Adaptations & Behavior
Squirrels have strong, continuously growing incisors that can reach up to 6 inches per year, requiring them to gnaw constantly on tree bark, wooden structures, and attic beams to keep their teeth from overgrowing. They are highly agile climbers, using their sharp claws and bushy tails for balance as they navigate rooftops and power lines. Their adaptability allows them to exploit small openings in homes, leading to frequent intrusions in attics and soffits.
Reproduction & Population Growth
Squirrels reproduce rapidly, with females giving birth twice a year, typically in spring and late summer. Each litter consists of 2-5 young, which reach independence within 10-12 weeks. Given their prolific breeding cycle and long lifespan, a few squirrels can quickly establish a colony if left unchecked.
Nocturnal Behavior & Activity Patterns
Unlike strictly nocturnal rodents, squirrels are primarily diurnal, meaning they are most active during the early morning and late afternoon. Homeowners may hear scurrying, scratching, and chewing noises in attics and walls as they search for food, nest materials, or entry points.
Health Risks & Structural Damage
Squirrels pose several risks beyond structural damage. They can carry fleas, ticks, and parasites that may spread to pets and humans. Their persistent gnawing on electrical wiring presents a serious fire hazard, and their nesting habits often lead to insulation contamination, requiring costly remediation.
Control Methods:
- Comprehensive Inspections to assess activity and locate entry points
- Humane Live Trapping to safely remove active infestations
- Exclusion Barriers to seal off potential entry points
- Attic Remediation to clean and restore damaged areas
- Ongoing Upkeep to prevent future infestations
Don’t Let Squirrels Wreak Havoc on Your Home
Squirrel infestations can escalate quickly. Contact Green’s Wildlife Solutions today for expert removal and exclusion services.
Raccoons
Sci. Name - PROCYON LOTOR
When their homes are encroached upon by developments of houses, they can fairly easily adapt to new habitats. In fact, it's now understood that raccoons, for the past several decades, have been in the process of becoming urbanized animals, like pigeons or rats. Raccoon population densities are typically much higher, up to ten times higher, in cities than in the native forests. In cities, they will often live within strips of trees and vegetation if possible, but will commonly find other developed areas in which to settle as well. If they cannot be near water, they will have no qualms about using an animal trough, a swimming pool or a bird bath to douse their food. In this micro-environment, raccoons have a much diminished rage of foraging. In the woodlands, females usually have a range of eight to eighty acres while males roam up to two hundred acres of territory. Living in an urban area, raccoons don't tend to roam that far because they don't have to. Wherever people live there is food to be found. Raccoons have their personal fast food sources without the need to roam. They can also find shelter quite easily in attics, sheds, basements, crawl spaces as well as abandoned cars.
Diseases associated with Raccoons
Baylisascaris procyonis, predominantly found in raccoons, is a ubiquitous roundworm found throughout North America. Although raccoons are typically asymptomatic when infected with the parasite, the larval form of Baylisascaris procyonis can result in fatal human disease or severe neurologic outcomes if not treated rapidly. In the United States, Baylisascaris procyonis is more commonly enzootic in raccoons in the midwestern and northeastern regions and along the West Coast (1). However, since 2002, infections have been documented in other states (Florida and Georgia) and regions (2). Baylisascariasis is not a nationally notifiable disease in the United States, and little is known about how commonly it occurs or the range of clinical disease in humans. Case reports of seven human baylisascariasis cases in the United States diagnosed by Baylisascaris procyonis immunoblot testing at CDC are described, including review of clinical history and laboratory data. Although all seven patients survived, approximately half were left with severe neurologic deficits. Prevention through close monitoring of children at play, frequent handwashing, and clearing of raccoon latrines (communal sites where raccoons defecate) are critical interventions in curbing Baylisascaris infections. Early treatment of suspected cases is critical to prevent permanent sequelae.
Opossums
Sci. Name - DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA
Due to the lack of natural predators, hunting and an abundance of food and shelter, opossums have adapted to living among humans and they now occupy most human-occupied habitats. Opossums will den nearly anywhere that is dry, sheltered and safe. This includes burrows dug by other mammals, rock crevices, hollow stumps, wood piles and spaces under buildings. They fill their dens with dried leaves, grass and other insulating materials.
Fleas especially love Opossums
There are many different types of diseases that are carried by opossums that can be transmitted to people, and those transmitted through urine and feces are often the most easy to catch, such as leptospirosis, which has flu like symptoms for most people, but can cause kidney damage, meningitis and even death in a small number of cases. Salmonella is a condition that is largely believed to be related to food poisoning, but can also be transmitted by opossums, and while it causes diarrhea for most people, the elderly and young children may find themselves at risk of more severe symptoms, with reactive arthritis one possible side effect. Opossums are also known as flea reservoirs, meaning that fleas that have been feeding on opossums can then infest pets that go outside as well.
Armadillos
Sci. Name - DASYPUS
The armadillos in Florida are Nine Banded Armadillos. They are not native to Florida, but now they thrive in that state. They are similar in appearance to anteaters, and their most distinctive trait is their armor. Armadillos prefer forested or semi-open habitats with loose textured soil that allows them to dig easily. They eat many insects, other invertebrates, and plants. They are most active at night, and have very poor eyesight. Armadillos prolific rooting and burrowing can damage lawns and flower-beds.
Diseases associated with Armadillos
Nine-banded armadillos are naturally infected with Mycobacterium leprae and have been implicated in zoonotic transmission of leprosy. Some armadillos, placental mammals with leathery armor, are naturally infected with leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Armadillos are one of the only known animals to carry leprosy, an age-old disease that causes skin and nerve damage. Due to the slow-growing nature of the bacteria and the long time it takes to develop signs of the disease, it is often very difficult to find the source of infection.
Bats
Sci. Name - CHIROPTERA
Florida has 13 recognized native species, though at least 20 species have been found in the state. Some are common across the state, while some live in only a small area or migrate here for part of the year. Bats are the only mammals that can fly, although other species can glide from trees. Like many wild animals, bats are coming closer and closer into the urban areas to live. Some species prefer to sleep alone or in small groups, while others like to be a part of a large colony. While some colonies live in caves, those are not common throughout Florida so they often find shelter in man-made structures like buildings and bridges. Solo or small groups roost in tree cavities, undersides of branches and palm fronds, in Spanish moss, on utility poles and in sheds or houses.
Most Florida bats love man-made bat houses. There are many plans to download online, and instructional videos on how to build them and set them up. Pre-made bat houses are also available, but be sure to look for ones specifically intended for bats in your area.
Diseases associated with Bats
Though bats are beneficial to have around, they also pose a health danger to humans especially when they are living in close proximity to humans. Rabies is normally the first concerns that comes to mind, but many people don't realize how dangerous bat feces are to their health. Bat droppings are a breeding ground for a fungal disease called histoplasmosis. The fungus is common in the eastern and central United States, and people are prone to getting infected by breathing the fungal spores.