Prevent rats from bringing harmful diseases into your home by following a few prevention tips. Battling a rat infestation can be difficult to eradicate once it is established. Taking some time to rodent proof your home goes a long way. Prevention tips such as:
Keeping all garbage in trash cans with a good lid
Wipe down countertops and sweep after each meal
Seal up potential entry points around your home or roof that are larger than ¼ of an inch
Remove any piles of debris around your home such as leaf piles or wood stacks where rats often make nests
Rats who are exposed to diseases like hantavirus can then become carriers of the disease, potentially spreading it to people. Hantavirus symptoms start off looking similarly to the flu but lead to breathing difficulties, causing a bigger risk to people’s health. According to the CDC, hantavirus can be spread through the droppings, urine, or saliva of rodents. People can be exposed to hantavirus by eating contaminated food and breathing contaminated dust particles from rodent droppings that could be floating in the air.
In addition to hantavirus, rats can carry other harmful diseases such as Salmonella, Tularemia, and more. If you are worried that you may have a rat infestation or you want to make sure you never have one, set up a regular pest inspection with a pest control company that you trust. A rat control professional will check your home routinely for potential entry points and repair any they find, as well as check for evidence of rodents. If any chew marks or dropping are found, a pest professional will set out bait traps around the exterior of your home so as not to attract more rodents inside while eliminating the problem.
To make sure you never develop a rat infestation that could have health concerning consequences, give San Joaquin Pest Control in Visalia, CA a call today to set up regular inspections and treatments for rats.