Some say there’s probably one rat for every person living in Australia. Yes, they’re prolific, and rodents have followed humans worldwide, no matter whether their hosts are rich or poor, important or run-of-the-mill.

Rats came to Australia with the First Fleet back in the 1700s and they’ve been with us ever since. If mice invade your house or building, you will need a professional rodent pest manager for treatment, removal and rodent control.

These rodents will eat any kind of food, clothes, or paper they come across on their nightly raids. Rats and mice are extremely destructive, prone to gnawing on vital electric wiring and causing fires, eating through fuel lines in vehicles, munching on clothes, plastic, and boring through walls. In agricultural areas, there are often mouse plagues that destroy stored grain – with the mice also eating everything in sight.

Rodents and mice are also notorious as carriers of diseases. They contaminate both the food in your home and your home itself with their droppings and urine, they pee themselves and leave urine tracks as they scurry across your benchtops and in cupboards.

Are Rodents Only Rats and Mice?

No, not all rodents are rats and mice but these two culprits are the only real pest rodents we have in Australia – there are pet guinea pigs here, but as yet they haven’t become a pest. There are many mammals that belong to the order Rodentia with around 40 per cent of all mammals classified as rodents.

Rodents are distinguishable by their pairs of front teeth on the top and bottom jaws and these teeth never stop growing, which is why they have to continually gnaw to keep their teeth sharp and short. Some of the mammals in the family Rodentia found in other countries include:

• Rats and mice, capybaras, porcupines
• Hamsters, guinea pigs, squirrels
• Voles, lemmings, chinchillas
• Pocket gophers, marmots
• Prairie dogs, beavers

Commercial & Residential Rodent Control

It’s just as important to control rodent infestations in workplaces as it is in the home, especially if the commercial enterprise is one where food is stored or prepared.

If a Geelong restaurant or commercial enterprise that handles food becomes infested with rats or mice, they will face Health Department prosecution and their reputation will suffer severely, so control and treatment of rodent infestations are crucial.

Rats don’t just go where the breeze takes them, they go where there is food and shelter. There are certain situations and layouts in and on properties that make its life much easier.

• Commercial Pest Control
• Residential Pest Control

Mice will move in if your home or workplace is appealing to them so it’s best to make sure your home or commercial enterprise is not open to a rodent infestation. Rats and mice are naturals when it comes to Olympic-level leaps, climbs, and bounds; they’re top acrobats and contortionists and can flatten their bodies and squeeze through the tightest spaces possible.

At Acacia Pest Control our skilled pest manager can smell a rat a mile away, so if you have a rodent infestation, don’t wait until the problem gets so bad that your home, building or businesses are damaged.

Call us, and we’ll send an pest manager to identify the rodent pest, apply treatment, removal and rodent control techniques. We can also advise you on rat control measures you can take to help keep the mouse problem at bay between pest manager pest checks.

Common rodents in Geelong homes and commercial properties

• Norway rat – Rattus norvegicus: also known as sewer, brown, and wharf rat. This stocky blunt-nosed rat is slightly larger than the roof rat. It makes burrows, has small close-set ears, a tail shorter than the head and body combined.
• Roof rat – Rattus rattus: also known as ship rat and black rat – it has a slender body and a tail as long as the body and head combined.
• House mouse – Mus musculus or Mus domesticus: This rodent is small and slender with a slightly pointed nose, protruding black eyes and big, light-haired ears. The tail is almost hairless; some mice have white feet, and jumping mice have white bellies.

In Australia, the native Antechinus can be mistaken for a rat. However, it isn’t a rodent, but a small carnivorous marsupial and it’s not a pest.

Why Are Rats So Harmful?

In Australia, rats and mice carry a variety of infectious diseases that can be transmitted to people and livestock including:

• Bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Viral infections
• Rickettsial infections
• Parasitic infections
• Protozoan infections
• Rat-bite fever
• Murine Typhus
• Salmonella

Rodents can pass on encephalomyocarditis virus to pigs; salmonella to other mice, domestic animals and humans; leptospirosis to humans and domestic pigs and fungal skin diseases (ringworms) to cats and people. Rodents can transmit diseases in a variety of ways, including:

• Contaminated food or utensils with rodent faeces or urine.
• Contamination via touching urine or faeces when skin is broken.
• Indirect contamination through fleas, ticks, mosquitoes.
• Indirect contamination through pets to people.
• Contamination via a rodent bite.
• Indirect contamination – if a rodent is eaten by an intermediate carrier.

It’s said there are no rats in the Antarctic. However, despite great efforts to prevent the introduction of rodents that harm fragile ecosystems and seabird breeding, rats have hitched rides on research vessels and are evident at departure points, though as yet, not all over the Antarctic.

How to Get Rid Of Rats and Rodent Infestations?

To make your Geelong home or commercial premises rat and mice proof, you need to block them from getting inside, so installing deterrents is strongly advisable.

At Acacia Pest Control we can treat and apply removal methods for any mouse infestation and advise you on ways to help prevent the rodents from coming into the building or on the roof. Try using screens with gaps no bigger than about six millimetres to deter rodents, and weather strips on exterior doors will create a barrier as well.

Check around pipes or wires that enter your Geelong home or building, and any gaps at the bottom of garage doors, and roof vents. You can also trim tree limbs that these acrobatic rats and mice can climb up, and keep branches as far away from house roofs as possible.

Seal cracks and gaps outside your Geelong home or business, and clear up any clutter and food waste inside. A cluttered house gives an invading mouse a hiding and breeding place, which makes it harder to eradicate the rodent pest.

Where are Rodents Found mostly?

Rodents are everywhere – in Geelong homes, restaurants, supermarkets, on farms in livestock pens, and fields. Places more vulnerable to mice attack are grain mills, silos, elevators, and warehouses.

These Australian rodents will eat anything that livestock or humans eat, and they’re active mostly at night so you probably won’t see one feeding during the day unless they’re in plague proportions or the population is high. Rodents will squeeze through tiny crevices in Geelong home or business, and even though you might not see them you will hear them at night.

Unfortunately, pets don’t deter rodent infestations all that much. If you see rodent droppings on your kitchen benchtop, you know you have a rat or mouse problem.

However, use gloves to remove any droppings, and if there is an abundance, wet the rodent faeces down if they’re dry so dust doesn’t fly off them and contaminate food and the air in the kitchen. Wash your hands thoroughly after you clean up after rats or mice.

Do You Need a Mice Control Expert?

As mentioned above, you’ll know you have mice if you detect any mouse droppings, smell any musky urine odours or see urine stains in your Geelong home or business commercial premises. Mice and rats have certain toilet areas, but they are incontinent and will pee on the run.

Mouse urine is blue/white when fresh and glows under ultraviolet light. You will also see objects the rats or mice have gnawed – they have to gnaw to keep their continuously growing teeth sharp and short. If you see tiny teeth marks on food, wire, beam edges, or building materials, you have an infestation of mice or rats. Rafters could also show swing marks of roof rats.

Of course, if you see live or dead rats or mice or hear rat fights, squeaks, gnawing or scratching in walls or in the roof at night it’s a good indication you need the services of a professional rodent pest pest manager for treatment and removal of the problem.

At Acacia Pest Control Geelong, our professional pest manager are highly knowledgeable about all rat pest habits, breeding, and behaviour, and can provide effective treatment, removal and control.

What To Expect From Our Mice Pest Control Services and Control Methods

Depending on the severity of the rat or mouse infestation, an pest manager will not only apply trusted treatment and removal methods, but also advise you on some rat control techniques you can use in between pest manager pest inspections.

These include to the removal of any droppings, cleaning grease from benchtops and stoves and sanitising the areas where the mice or rats were nesting to remove any odours that will attract more rodent pests from feeding.

If your Geelong home or business has been invaded by rats or mice, the best advice is to call in the pest experts at Acacia Pest Control Geelong and a skilled pest manager will eradicate the mice or mouse problem.

How does pest control services get rid of rats and mice?

At Acacia Pest Control, we use a range of methods to effectively get rid of rats, mice, and other rodents in and around your properties. Traps made with chemical poison is often used to quickly catch and get rid of a rat or rodent infestation, however there are other chemical-free methods available if that is your preference. This depends on the extent of infestation so we highly recommend that you get in touch for more details.

How do I get rid of rats and mice permanently?

Rats, mice and other pests have one thing in common – they’re looking for free food, water and shelter in your home. If you notice nests, scratch marks or holes in the floor or walls, it’s best to place traps and bait around your property to protect yourself from rats and mice or the common house mouse infestation. You should also call our pest control experts for routine pest control inspections and treatments to keep any pests away permanently.

What’s the average cost for rodent control?

The average cost for pest control can depend on the extent of your rodent problem. Ultimately, the total cost will be determined by the baits, equipment, traps, chemicals and time required for our team to service your property. However, be assured that we strive to keep our rates extremely competitive for your peace of mind. Plus, our team is more than happy to teach you ways to prevent infestations and other rodent issues in the future.

How long does it take for rodent control to work?

Rodent control normally takes between 1-3 days to a few weeks to work. This depends on the extent of the infestation and how large the areas are that they’ve covered. For effective and fast mice or rodent control, we highly recommend getting expert help from our pest control professionals at Acacia Pest Control.

Is pest control effective for rats?

Pest control is the best way to rid yourself of rodents. However, it’s best to contact an expert as they can get rid of your rat or rodent problem a lot quicker than any traps that you may put out. At Acacia Pest Control Geelong, we strive to be the best at identifying, qualifying and delivering mice treatments and control. Our professional, trained rodent pest manager have solutions that go beyond our customer’s expectations for the best outcomes.