One of the most common groups of household pests is rodents. These tiny creatures are known for getting in walls and attics, chewing on your electrical wiring, and even damaging the structural integrity of your home. We offer our animal control solutions in Daytona, Port Orange, Edgewater, New Smyrna and throughout Flagler and Volusia Counties and parts of Brevard County.
Aside from being gross, rodents are dangerous and are capable of transmitting to you and your pets.
Diseases Transmitted by Rodents
Below is a list of the top seven diseases that reveal how important it is to utilize pest control services to keep your home rodent free.
1.Salmonella
Since mice and rats have no control over their bowel movements or urination, they can easily contaminate your food or countertops with the salmonella bacteria. When you consume this bacteria, you may suffer everything from abdominal cramps and diarrhea to nausea and vomiting. Typically, the infection takes up to a week to run its course through the body.
2. Rat-Bite Fever
Should you spot a rodent and attempt to catch it on your own, you run the risk of getting scratched or bit. If that rodent happened to carry the Streptobacillus moniliformis bacteria, you might come down with rat-bite fever. This illness leaves patients with muscles weakness, achy joints, a headache, fever, and sometimes a rash. Strong antibiotics are needed to treat this disease, and without them, the disease can be fatal.
3. The Plague
Yersinia pestis is the bacteria that causes the plague, and it is transmitted primarily by fleas that have been in contact with an infected rodent, or through contact with the infected animal’s bodily fluids. Symptoms of the plague include pneumonia, fever, weakness, painful lymph nodes, and skin and tissue that begins to turn black before eventually dying. Antibiotics are the treatment, and they work best when administered early on.
4. Leptospirosis
Also caused by a bacteria, leptospirosis is transmitted when one comes into contact with an infected rodent’s urine. It is impossible to contract leptospirosis and not experience any symptoms for a long time. When leprosy does present itself, it shows up through jaundice, red eyes, diarrhea, fever, chills, muscle aches, and a rash. If they are not given antibiotics early on, a person may also experience kidney or liver failure.
5. Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis
The common house mouse is responsible for transmitting the Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Initial symptoms leave a person feeling unwell and without an appetite. Muscle aches and headaches are also common, and if the virus doesn’t clear up after that, it is possible to develop meningitis or encephalitis. Corticosteroids and a drug called ribavirin are used to treat lymphocytic choriomeningitis.
6. Tularemia
Humans can become infected with the Francisella tularensis bacteria when they consume contaminated foods or handle an infected animal carcass. If infected, you may experience a high fever, sore throat, swollen lymph glands, cough, chest pains, and difficulty breathing. A 10 to 21-day course of antibiotics is needed to recover from tularemia.
7. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
There are two ways you can contract the hantavirus. You can come into contact with rodent urine or droppings, or you can breathe in the dust that is contaminated with infected rodent urine or droppings. Since this syndrome has no known cure and a 38 percent mortality rate, it is important to seek medical attention immediately if you begin to show symptoms. These signs include dizziness, abdominal pain, muscle aches, fatigue, coughing, and shortness of breath.
While it’s not a disease, rats and other rodents love to gnaw at electrical wires and are one of the most common sources of house and condo fires in America and throughout the world.
If you notice any evidence of a rodent infestation, contact Dave’s Pest Control Inc. and get a free estimate. Dave’s Pest Control has been providing rodent control, pest control and other extermination services in Port Orange, Daytona, Deland, Edgewater, Ormond Beach and through Flagler and Volusia Counties over 35 years. Aside from exterminating rodents, we can rid your home of termites, bed bugs, cockroaches and other pests.