Think you have rodents in your home? Hear the scurrying of small critters in your loft at night? Seeing suspicious-looking droppings around your home?

You’re not alone. Apparently, over 14.8 million homeowners in the US have seen rodents in their property within the past year.

If you think you may have rats or mice, how can you tell?

We’re going to explain what rat and mice droppings look like, the dangers of having mice and rats in your home and explain a few ways to get rid of them humanely.

How to identify mice and rat droppings

Seeing mice and rat droppings around your home is often the first sign anyone has that they have pests in their house. It’s a dead giveaway.

Mice droppings

Mice droppings look a little larger than cockroach feces. They are typically small, a similar size to a grain of rice, oval shapes that are black or very dark brown. They will often be left close to a nest or feeding site.

Rat droppings

Rat droppings look similar to mice feces but are often slightly longer than mice. The size depends on the type of rat and the color depends on the size or age of the rat.

The dangers of mice and rat droppings

Our intention isn’t to scare you, but mice and rat droppings can be harmful to health. Rodent feces carry all kinds of bacteria including hantavirus, bubonic plague, salmonellosis, rat-bite fever and other harmful diseases.

If you find mice or rat droppings in your home, careful handling is paramount. You also need to make sure you don’t leave food out and ensure the pests don’t have access to plates, cutlery and anything you’re likely to put in your mouth.

Safe removal of mice and rat feces

To safely clean up after mice and rats, you need to take genuine precautions. That means using gloves and a mask. If you have any left over from COVID, they would work fine, otherwise, buy some. It is that serious.

The gloves protect your hands when you clean up and the mask will protect you from the airborne particles thrown up when you move the feces.

Use a dog poop bag or plastic bag and seal it once the feces have been cleaned up. Throw away the gloves and mask too.

Safe removal of mice and rats

If you know you have mice or rats in your home, you need to take action. Not only do they carry disease, they can also be destructive.

There are humane ways to get rid of mice and rats without using chemicals or pesticides, which is what everyone wants. A house free of pests without killing them.

Remove all food sources

An effective way to discourage pests is to give them nothing to eat. Store foods in cupboards or in containers. Don’t leave food or trash lying around and accessible and clean up food spills quickly.

If they don’t have a ready supply of food, they won’t hang around!

Seal points of entry

Go around the interior and exterior of your home and seal up any entry points. Use caulk, weatherboard, stucco or whatever is suitable for the building.

Do everything you can to minimize the chance of entry to prevent mice and rats getting in.

Use ultrasonic prevention

Prevention is always better than cure and it’s the same with mice and rats. Our ultrasonic pest repellents are known to be very effective at repelling mice, rats, insects and other critters from taking up residence in your home.

Place an indoor pest repellent in your rooms and perhaps an outdoor one in your yard to help keep mice and rats away.

Combined with removing food sources and methods of ingress, you should be able to prevent becoming one of those 14.8 million American statistics!