Rodents are considered the most dangerous warm-blooded mammals because they transfer diseases that affect the distribution of human communities. There are about 1,500 living rodent species (out of about 4,000 living mammals overall). More than 35 dangerous diseases are transferred to humans by rodents, either directly through food poisoning through the body, urine, and feces of rodents or indirectly through parasites of rodents. economic losses that are destructive to the environment that humans live within. The damage caused is related to their feeding behavior of gnawing and digging, in which they cause damage to buildings, commercial structures, electric wires, and food products.

 To limit the spread of rodents and to avoid the economic and health damages they cause, ETS developed an integrated management strategy to prevent their high reproductive rate and reduce the damage they cause. Rodents are intelligent pests; they are adapted to the environment in which they live, in addition to their ability to maneuver in an orderly fashion. Therefore, there should be a radical change in the environment to deprive the rodents of the necessities of life, both within a limited area (home and farm) and a wide area (village or city).

The family Muridae is considered the common family in the order Rodentia, to which both rats and mice belong. Rodents are divided, based on their relations to humans, into associated rodents (their original home is where the human lives, for example: the house mouse) and not-associated rodents (rodents live inside the human house and get out to search for food or live in burrows outside the house but enter the house for food).

The most common rodents are:

1. House Mouse (Gray, Multi-Colored) – Mus musculus Linnaeus (also Mus domesticus)
2. Norway Rat (Sewer, Street, House, Common, Hanover, Wharf, Brown) Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)
3. Climbing Rat (Roof, Ship, Water, Gray- or White-bellied, Black) – Rattus Rattus (Linnaeus)

1-House Mouse:

General Description

• Distribution: Worldwide distribution.

• General Appearance: Small, slender
• Adult size: small
  • Body weight: 12-30 g
  • Length (nose to the tip of tail) – 6-9 cm
  • Length of Tail: 7-10 cm
• Snout: Pointed
• Ears: large, some hair
• Eyes: small
• Tail: uniformly dark
• Fur: light brown, light gray, smooth
• Droppings: rod-shaped, 3-6 mm

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• It is characterized by rapidly multiplying, with an annual reproduction rate of about 44 per female rat.
• The maturity period of the female sperm is about 42 days, and the gestation period is 19–21 days.
• The female lays eggs between 4 and 8 times during her life, depending on the nature of the food.
• Up to 5-6 children per pregnancy (and up to 12-20 children in rare cases).

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

2. Norway Rat:

General Description

• Distribution: Asian in origin and worldwide in distribution, and quickly adapt to the environment.
• General Appearance: Large, robust
• Adult size: Large
  • Body weight: 200-500g,
• Length (nose to the tip of tail): 18-27 cm
• Length of Tail: 13-21 cm
• Snout: blunt
• Ears: small, covered with short hairs; do not reach eyes
• Eyes: Small
• Tail: dark above, pale beneath
• Fur: brown with scattered black; venter gray to yellow-white; shaggy
• Droppings: capsule-shaped, 2cm

The difference between the climbing or roof rat, Rattus rattus and the Norway or brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• Norway rats prefer moist environments (cellars, streams, stores, warehouses, and mills).
• considered an excellent swimmer.
• The life cycle of rodents is no more than 1–1.5 years in natural conditions, and females live longer than males.
• Norway rats prefer to live in groups of small families or large groups.
• Breed throughout the year, beginning a period of sexual activity after 3-5 months of birth, a pregnancy lasting 21–25 days, an average female pregnancy of 8–12 short weeks, and a medium repeat pregnancy of 5–10 times a year.
• The life cycle has significantly affected the availability of food.

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

2. Climbing Rat:

General Description

• Distribution: offshore Far East in origin. Worldwide in distribution.
• General Appearance: sleek, graceful.
• Adult size: medium
  • Body weight: 150-250 g
• Length (nose to the tip of tail): 16-20 cm
• Length of Tail: 19-25 cm
• Snout: pointed
• Ears: large, nearly naked; can be pulled over eyes
• Eyes: large, prominent
• Tail: uniformly dark. The tail is longer than the length of the body and the head together
• Fur: agouti to gray to black; venter white, gray, or black; smooth
• Droppings: spindle- shaped, 0.5 in

The difference between the climbing or roof rat, Rattus rattus and the Norway or brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• Breed year-round, beginning a period of sexual activity after 3-5 months of
• Take the climber/roof rat with several wives, which is a large degree of
• The average pregnancy lasts 20-25 days, there are 12 young women per pregnancy, and they have 6-8 pregnancies during their lifetime.

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

·       Rodent Senses

Most rodents are nocturnal (active at night).  Therefore, their senses are developed, and they are capable of searching for food and avoiding danger.

Smell:

• Odor is one of the rodents’ most important senses. They can be guided to food and quantify it by smell; they move their heads in all directions and use their olfactory system at the same time.
• difficult to identify odors that they are interested in, but certainly not intimidated by human odors, as is the case with the smell of
• Sex glands secrete fatty perfumes that infer families and find their way into males during mating.

Touch:

• possess the sense of touch provided by rodent hairs or mustaches on the face near the nose and the rest of her body, outlining the way to the holes.
• protect their eyes from harm through this sense.

Hearing:

• very strong, and it is stronger than the sense of hearing of humans.
• they use hearing to locate objects to within a few inches or centimeters.
• can discover any noise and escape immediately to avoid any danger approaching.

Vision:

• thesenseofsightis the theweakestofallsenses.
• cantrackthemovementsbetween10-15m
• The color change does not affect the bait’s acceptance.
• active at night when light levels are low, at which time they rely less on their eyesight than they do on their other senses, particularly small, touch, and hearing.

Taste:

• The taste sense in rodents is similar to that of humans.
• They have a highly developed sense of taste and can detect some chemicals at parts-per-million concentrations. If the bait is contaminated with insecticide odors, this taste sensitivity may result in bait rejection.

·       Biological and Behavioral Characteristics

Before you prevent and control rodents, it is imperative that you recognize their vital characteristics, and behaviors and curb their living conditions and environmental factors. Of the most important of these attributes:

Gnawing

• Supercapacityfor rodentsgnawing andcausedbyinternalincisorsand
• Cutters with uselessrootscontinue to growover thelife of the animal, and to get rid ofthis continued growthresortedrodentto loananythingencounterseven whilefeedingregularly which lendstenfoldwhat to eatreally, as diggingburrow sizeslargerthan is requiredas a means ofsharpening orshortenhis teeth.
• Rodentscangnawanyless solidsubstanceofPortteethmaterialsuch as wood, stone and paper materials, cloth, lead andasbestospipes,andaluminumplatescanusuallyrodentsprevious articlesloanupto22 mm in

Digging:

• When drilling takes up about a third of rodent activity in a full day, this phenomenon is apparent in rodents’ goal: securing housing for young people in places close to food sources.
• Help in property development by drilling the legs’ muscles (rear), the tail, and teeth suited for them.
• Destruction of irrigation canals and tunnels could damage power cords, and damaged sewage manholes could destroy buildings and dams as a result of induced cracks.
• one of the most important behavioral manifestations in rats It is rare that the mice dig burrows.
• The rat makes a complex of tunnel chains, making their enemies available to them.
• Tunnels made by the rats may reach several meters longitudinally, but the vertical depth is no more than 60 cm, and a rat can carry in its mouth a stone weighing 190 g.

Climbing:

• Mice and rats are distinguished by their ability to climb high, as the development of leg muscles in rodents, as well as the fact that they have five fingers when most types, with foot pads, make them excellent climbers; they can also press their bodies and climb inside the 8-cm-diameter tube.
• The Norway rat tends to live near the surface of the ground and in sewers; however, the rat can also climb.
• Rats and mice can climb vertical walls easily if they have a slightly rough surface and can reach altitudes of up to several meters, depending on the type of wall.
• The rat can walk on the wire and keep its balance using its feet, hooks, and tail.

Jumping:

• Rodents can jump up to 1 m vertically along vertical walls.
• Rodents can jump back and forth.
• Because of its ability to jump up to 2 meters, the roof rat is considered the best rat species.The rat can jump from a height of 15 meters without causing harm. The mouse can jump 30 cm.

Swimming and Diving:

• Norwegian rats are considered the best swimming species because they live in aquatic environments such as swamps and rivers.
• Rodents can be transmitted through these sewer pipes against the water current.
• The rat can swim for 72 hours straight at 4 kilometers per hour.
• Rodents (mice and rats) can control their breathing systems and swim underwater for up to 30 seconds, so they can enter homes through pipes, toilets, septic tanks, and sinks.

Feeding:

• The differences in the nutritional value of available food cause differences in the size of individual rodents.
• Rodents consume about 10 percent of their weight a day; it has been found that the average amount of food the rat may consume is about 40 g per day, and it needs 30 ml of water per day when feeding on dry materials. The mouse requires up to 3 g of food per day and 3 ml of water per day.
• The rat can go a month without water by consuming the water content of its food.
• Lack of water is a fatal factor for rodents.
• Rodents typically start looking for food shortly after sunset and continue until midnight, though mice may venture outside during the day.The mouse has a relatively low activity period, starting at midnight and lasting until dawn.
• The rat feeds from a single location, while the mouse prefers to get its meal from several places, where it takes a bite here and a bite there.
• The Norway rat is characterized as cautious and suspicious and tends to avoid anything new; this phenomenon is known as the “reaction to the new thing,”  and it does not freely feed on any food encountered before the passage of 3–5 days.
• The roof rat is less cautious than the Norway rat. The house mouse, by its nature, tends to try to discover anything new, thus feeding with complete freedom.

·       Signs Associated with Rodent Presence

Urine:

• House mice urinate at intervals along well-used runways that are always used by the rodents, occasionally creating small mounds (urinating pillars) that consist of a combination of grease, urine, and dirt that fluoresces under ultraviolet (black) light.

Smudges or rub marks

• Dirt and oil from the fur of the rodent may sometimes leave smudge marks on pipes and beams.
• Smudge marks left by rats are much more conspicuous than those produced by house mice.

Gnawing marks:

• Sawdustlike wood chips are produced by the gnawing of house mice and rats around baseboards, doors, windows, and frames, and kitchen cabinets.
• Recent gnawings on the wood are light in color, darkening with age. The size of the tooth marks left in the wood can help distinguish the presence of rats or mice.

Droppings:

• The age of the droppings indicates whether the infestation is current.
• Old droppings are dry and gray, and crumble easily when pressed.
• Fresh droppings are dark and moist.
• Droppings are most numerous along runways, near burrow entrances, and at feeding sites.

Pet excitement:

• Pawing and excitement of cats and dogs can indicate the presence of rodents.
• Pets respond most commonly when the premises have been invaded only recently.

Odor:

• Rodents produce characteristic odors.
• With experience, the musky scent of house mice can be differentiated from that produced by rats.

Tracks:

• Fresh tracks are distinct; old ones are faint. Tracks are more easily seen by side illumination with a flashlight than by direct light from above. Tail drags as well as footprints may show up.

·       Rodent Damage and Economic & Health Implications.

Damages in the Area of Animal Production:

• Rodents are attracted to poultry facilities and breeding sheep and cattle farms because they are considered vital and attractive to rodent communities and because they provide suitable environmental conditions such as food, the perfect temperature for breeding, and good places to escape and hide from their enemies. Because of this, the efficiency of reproduction of young during a short period of time causes damages and large losses.
• Rodents in poultry farms eat eggs after they break them, eat the yolk and the chicks, and use chicken feathers to build their nests.
• Rodents attack sheep breeding farms and eat the sheep’s wool, causing wounds, skin ulcers, and serious diseases.
• The presence of rodents in bred animals causes anxiety and tension, which has a negative impact on production (the number of eggs decreases, as does the amount of milk in cows and sheep).In addition, rodents may bring snakes to animal breeding places.

Damages in the  Area of Agriculture:

• Mice and other rodents eat wheat seeds, barley, maize, lentils, and chickpeas after planting, resulting in a low percentage of germination and a lack of production.
• attack the cotton crop from seed to seedling to plant. It also causes damage in the sugar cane fields and rice fields.
• cause significant damage to the tuber crops (potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, and ornamental bulbs) feeding on tubers and roots, causing sudden death of those plants.
• attack vegetable crops (melons) from seed to fruit, where they puncture and eat the content.
• attack fruit trees and feed on the bark of trees, causing the gradual, slow death of the young seedlings and fruit trees. Because they have a high ability to climb trees and twigs, they feed on the juiciness of the fruit (orange, lemon, apple) and even seed fruits (pistachios, walnuts).
• cause significant damage to the landscaping.

Damages to Public Utilities/ Facilities:

• Rodents damage and cause open gaps within doors, windows, and furniture, and destroy a large portion of which also ruptures and eats wallpaper and fabrics, clothes, books, and papers, and everything that marks the way in the kitchen of foodstuffs, fresh or cooked or stored.
• Rodents cause damage to public facilities (labs, hospitals, stores, grain silos, airports, ports of ships, and train stations) by consuming electrical cables and connecting wires, resulting in electric sparks that cause fires and damage to tools and electrical appliances.
• Rodents attack the body of the soily dam and build their nests, which, in addition to damaging the electric connections in the dam, cause severe damage to the dam.

Damages to Stored Materials

• The rodent consumes a fifth of its weight in grain per day, destroys twenty times more grain, and leaves the food materials contaminated with its urine, feces, and hairs.
• Norway rats weigh 400 g and consume 40 g per day, totaling 1600 g per day.It consumes about 30 The Norway rat consumes half as much as the roof rat, which weighs about 200 g.The house mouse and field mouse consume approximately 5 g of food per day, destroy 100 g, and consume an average of 2 g of grain.

Damages in the Field of Public Health:

• Rodent mammals live in filthy, polluted environments or waste collection sites.Many bacteria and pathogens that cause dangerous diseases in humans and domestic animals live on many rodent species.
• According to the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than forty rodent-borne diseases.

The most important diseases that can be transmitted through rodents to humans.

Leishmania

• Leishmania is an animal that does not have chlorophyll and causes serious diseases in humans.
• The oval-shaped animal (3-5 microns) lives in the human body, rodents, and Leishmania parasites live in the body of the mosquito, the sandfly, Phlebotomus sp., and the infection passed on to the rodent when it absorbs blood from a patient’s body.
• There are two types of this pathogen: Leishmania skin and Leishmania entrails of the interior.
• The parasite is transmitted by sandflies, which absorb the blood through the piercing of diseased rodents carrying the parasite or from an infected person.

Plague

• The old laws are remembered as the most devastating and lethal epidemics that threatened rights for centuries, including the so-called black death.
• The roof rat (Rattus rattus) is a reservoir host of bubonic plague, with the oriental rat fleas that infest them being a prime vector of the disease.
• Theplague oftwotypes,namely:
• Bubonic plague (lymph nodes): the bacteria enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver, spleen, kidney, and brain, where they settle and cause one of the following pathological symptoms: high fever, body tremors, headache, vomiting, dizziness, and then tumors in the lymph nodes under the armpits and thighs.
• Pneumonic plague: the bacteria enter through the bloodstream and settle in the lungs. Delirium and extreme fatigue, insomnia, numbness, coma, memory loss, severe lung inflammation, and edema (fluid entrapment in the lungs) are all pathological symptoms.

Rat Bite Fever

• Definition: an infectious disease transmitted to humans by biting mice or
• Reasons: The pathogenic bacterium Streptobacillusis the causative agent of the disease.
• Synonyms: rat bite fever, mouse bite fever, Sudoku, Alsodjelkothe
• The spread of infection: The disease is transmitted to humans when exposed to the urine or oral secretions of other rodents, such as And this is usually due to a bite or even exposure to secretions.
• Complications:oneofthemostimportantreactionsofthediseaseispoverty inthe
• Treatment: Given penicillin as an effective treatment using 200–300 thousand IU (3–4 times per day for 6–7 days), tetracycline can be used for 7–14 days.
• Prevention and disease control measures
• avoidexposuretorodents andtheirlocations.
• the use of antibiotics when exposed.
• the use of toxic pesticides to eliminate them.

Murine Typhus

Rickettsia is the disease vector, and it is spread to humans by fleas, spiders, and mites. When a flea bites a human, the skin itches, and pathogens from the flea feces are released into the human body, causing the illness.

Salmonella

• The causing agent is a pathogen-shaped bacterium, Salmonella.
• The bacteria infects rodents and can be transmitted to humans or domestic animals (poultry and their products through food contaminated with rodent feces and urine).
• The symptoms are vomiting, high temperatures, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, headaches, and chills.

Trichinosis ) Helical filaments disease)

• PathogenwormspiralnoodlesTrichinaspiralis
• Transmittedto humansfromporkorlunchfromcontaminatedrodentfecesandurine.
• The most important signs of the disease are diarrhea, abdominal pain, brain inflammation, and muscle pain when chewing.

The post Rodents appeared first on ETS.

General Description

• Distribution: Asian in origin and worldwide in distribution, and quickly adapt to the environment.
• General Appearance: Large, robust
• Adult size: Large
  • Body weight: 200-500g,
• Length (nose to the tip of tail): 18-27 cm
• Length of Tail: 13-21 cm
• Snout: blunt
• Ears: small, covered with short hairs; do not reach eyes
• Eyes: Small
• Tail: dark above, pale beneath
• Fur: brown with scattered black; venter gray to yellow-white; shaggy
• Droppings: capsule-shaped, 2cm

The difference between the climbing or roof rat, Rattus rattus and the Norway or brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• Norway rats prefer moist environments (cellars, streams, stores, warehouses, and mills).
• considered an excellent swimmer.
• The life cycle of rodents is no more than 1–1.5 years in natural conditions, and females live longer than males.
• Norway rats prefer to live in groups of small families or large groups.
• Breed throughout the year, beginning a period of sexual activity after 3-5 months of birth, a pregnancy lasting 21–25 days, an average female pregnancy of 8–12 short weeks, and a medium repeat pregnancy of 5–10 times a year.
• The life cycle has significantly affected the availability of food.

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

The post Norway Rat appeared first on ETS.

General Description

• Distribution: Worldwide distribution.

• General Appearance: Small, slender
• Adult size: small
  • Body weight: 12-30 g
  • Length (nose to the tip of tail) – 6-9 cm
  • Length of Tail: 7-10 cm
• Snout: Pointed
• Ears: large, some hair
• Eyes: small
• Tail: uniformly dark
• Fur: light brown, light gray, smooth
• Droppings: rod-shaped, 3-6 mm

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• It is characterized by rapidly multiplying, with an annual reproduction rate of about 44 per female rat.
• The maturity period of the female sperm is about 42 days, and the gestation period is 19–21 days.
• The female lays eggs between 4 and 8 times during her life, depending on the nature of the food.
• Up to 5-6 children per pregnancy (and up to 12-20 children in rare cases).

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

The post House Mouse appeared first on ETS.

General Description

• Distribution: offshore Far East in origin. Worldwide in distribution.
• General Appearance: sleek, graceful.
• Adult size: medium
  • Body weight: 150-250 g
• Length (nose to the tip of tail): 16-20 cm
• Length of Tail: 19-25 cm
• Snout: pointed
• Ears: large, nearly naked; can be pulled over eyes
• Eyes: large, prominent
• Tail: uniformly dark. The tail is longer than the length of the body and the head together
• Fur: agouti to gray to black; venter white, gray, or black; smooth
• Droppings: spindle- shaped, 0.5 in

The difference between the climbing or roof rat, Rattus rattus and the Norway or brown rat, Rattus norvegicus.

Life Cycle and Common Characteristics

• Breed year-round, beginning a period of sexual activity after 3-5 months of
• Take the climber/roof rat with several wives, which is a large degree of
• The average pregnancy lasts 20-25 days, there are 12 young women per pregnancy, and they have 6-8 pregnancies during their lifetime.

Comparisons of the reproduction characteristics among the three commensal rodents. 

Comparisons of the characteristic of growth and development of commensal rodents.

-Rodent Senses

Most rodents are nocturnal (active at night).  Therefore, their senses are developed, and they are capable of searching for food and avoiding danger.

Smell:

• Odor is one of the rodents’ most important senses. They can be guided to food and quantify it by smell; they move their heads in all directions and use their olfactory system at the same time.
• difficult to identify odors that they are interested in, but certainly not intimidated by human odors, as is the case with the smell of
• Sex glands secrete fatty perfumes that infer families and find their way into males during mating.

Touch:

• possess the sense of touch provided by rodent hairs or mustaches on the face near the nose and the rest of her body, outlining the way to the holes.
• protect their eyes from harm through this sense.

Hearing:

• very strong, and it is stronger than the sense of hearing of humans.
• they use hearing to locate objects to within a few inches or centimeters.
• can discover any noise and escape immediately to avoid any danger approaching.

Vision:

• thesenseofsightis the theweakestofallsenses.
• cantrackthemovementsbetween10-15m
• The color change does not affect the bait’s acceptance.
• active at night when light levels are low, at which time they rely less on their eyesight than they do on their other senses, particularly small, touch, and hearing.

Taste:

• The taste sense in rodents is similar to that of humans.
• They have a highly developed sense of taste and can detect some chemicals at parts-per-million concentrations. If the bait is contaminated with insecticide odors, this taste sensitivity may result in bait rejection.

-Biological and Behavioral Characteristics

Before you prevent and control rodents, it is imperative that you recognize their vital characteristics, and behaviors and curb their living conditions and environmental factors. Of the most important of these attributes:

Gnawing

• Supercapacityfor rodentsgnawing andcausedbyinternalincisorsand
• Cutters with uselessrootscontinue to growover thelife of the animal, and to get rid ofthis continued growthresortedrodentto loananythingencounterseven whilefeedingregularly which lendstenfoldwhat to eatreally, as diggingburrow sizeslargerthan is requiredas a means ofsharpening orshortenhis teeth.
• Rodentscangnawanyless solidsubstanceofPortteethmaterialsuch as wood, stone and paper materials, cloth, lead andasbestospipes,andaluminumplatescanusuallyrodentsprevious articlesloanupto22 mm in

Digging:

• When drilling takes up about a third of rodent activity in a full day, this phenomenon is apparent in rodents’ goal: securing housing for young people in places close to food sources.
• Help in property development by drilling the legs’ muscles (rear), the tail, and teeth suited for them.
• Destruction of irrigation canals and tunnels could damage power cords, and damaged sewage manholes could destroy buildings and dams as a result of induced cracks.
• one of the most important behavioral manifestations in rats It is rare that the mice dig burrows.
• The rat makes a complex of tunnel chains, making their enemies available to them.
• Tunnels made by the rats may reach several meters longitudinally, but the vertical depth is no more than 60 cm, and a rat can carry in its mouth a stone weighing 190 g.

Climbing:

• Mice and rats are distinguished by their ability to climb high, as the development of leg muscles in rodents, as well as the fact that they have five fingers when most types, with foot pads, make them excellent climbers; they can also press their bodies and climb inside the 8-cm-diameter tube.
• The Norway rat tends to live near the surface of the ground and in sewers; however, the rat can also climb.
• Rats and mice can climb vertical walls easily if they have a slightly rough surface and can reach altitudes of up to several meters, depending on the type of wall.
• The rat can walk on the wire and keep its balance using its feet, hooks, and tail.

Jumping:

• Rodents can jump up to 1 m vertically along vertical walls.
• Rodents can jump back and forth.
• Because of its ability to jump up to 2 meters, the roof rat is considered the best rat species.The rat can jump from a height of 15 meters without causing harm. The mouse can jump 30 cm.

Swimming and Diving:

• Norwegian rats are considered the best swimming species because they live in aquatic environments such as swamps and rivers.
• Rodents can be transmitted through these sewer pipes against the water current.
• The rat can swim for 72 hours straight at 4 kilometers per hour.
• Rodents (mice and rats) can control their breathing systems and swim underwater for up to 30 seconds, so they can enter homes through pipes, toilets, septic tanks, and sinks.

Feeding:

• The differences in the nutritional value of available food cause differences in the size of individual rodents.
• Rodents consume about 10 percent of their weight a day; it has been found that the average amount of food the rat may consume is about 40 g per day, and it needs 30 ml of water per day when feeding on dry materials. The mouse requires up to 3 g of food per day and 3 ml of water per day.
• The rat can go a month without water by consuming the water content of its food.
• Lack of water is a fatal factor for rodents.
• Rodents typically start looking for food shortly after sunset and continue until midnight, though mice may venture outside during the day.The mouse has a relatively low activity period, starting at midnight and lasting until dawn.
• The rat feeds from a single location, while the mouse prefers to get its meal from several places, where it takes a bite here and a bite there.
• The Norway rat is characterized as cautious and suspicious and tends to avoid anything new; this phenomenon is known as the “reaction to the new thing,”  and it does not freely feed on any food encountered before the passage of 3–5 days.
• The roof rat is less cautious than the Norway rat. The house mouse, by its nature, tends to try to discover anything new, thus feeding with complete freedom.

-Signs Associated with Rodent Presence

Urine:

• House mice urinate at intervals along well-used runways that are always used by the rodents, occasionally creating small mounds (urinating pillars) that consist of a combination of grease, urine, and dirt that fluoresces under ultraviolet (black) light.

Smudges or rub marks:

• Dirt and oil from the fur of the rodent may sometimes leave smudge marks on pipes and beams.
• Smudge marks left by rats are much more conspicuous than those produced by house mice.

Gnawing marks:

• Sawdustlike wood chips are produced by the gnawing of house mice and rats around baseboards, doors, windows, and frames, and kitchen cabinets.
• Recent gnawings on the wood are light in color, darkening with age. The size of the tooth marks left in the wood can help distinguish the presence of rats or mice.

Droppings:

• The age of the droppings indicates whether the infestation is current.
• Old droppings are dry and gray, and crumble easily when pressed.
• Fresh droppings are dark and moist.
• Droppings are most numerous along runways, near burrow entrances, and at feeding sites.

Pet excitement:

• Pawing and excitement of cats and dogs can indicate the presence of rodents.
• Pets respond most commonly when the premises have been invaded only recently.

Odor:

• Rodents produce characteristic odors.
• With experience, the musky scent of house mice can be differentiated from that produced by rats.

Tracks:

• Fresh tracks are distinct; old ones are faint. Tracks are more easily seen by side illumination with a flashlight than by direct light from above. Tail drags as well as footprints may show up.

–Rodent Damage and Economic & Health Implications.

Damages in the Area of Animal Production:

• Rodents are attracted to poultry facilities and breeding sheep and cattle farms because they are considered vital and attractive to rodent communities and because they provide suitable environmental conditions such as food, the perfect temperature for breeding, and good places to escape and hide from their enemies. Because of this, the efficiency of reproduction of young during a short period of time causes damages and large losses.
• Rodents in poultry farms eat eggs after they break them, eat the yolk and the chicks, and use chicken feathers to build their nests.
• Rodents attack sheep breeding farms and eat the sheep’s wool, causing wounds, skin ulcers, and serious diseases.
• The presence of rodents in bred animals causes anxiety and tension, which has a negative impact on production (the number of eggs decreases, as does the amount of milk in cows and sheep).In addition, rodents may bring snakes to animal breeding places.

Damages in the  Area of Agriculture:

• Mice and other rodents eat wheat seeds, barley, maize, lentils, and chickpeas after planting, resulting in a low percentage of germination and a lack of production.
• attack the cotton crop from seed to seedling to plant. It also causes damage in the sugar cane fields and rice fields.
• cause significant damage to the tuber crops (potatoes, beets, onions, carrots, and ornamental bulbs) feeding on tubers and roots, causing sudden death of those plants.
• attack vegetable crops (melons) from seed to fruit, where they puncture and eat the content.
• attack fruit trees and feed on the bark of trees, causing the gradual, slow death of the young seedlings and fruit trees. Because they have a high ability to climb trees and twigs, they feed on the juiciness of the fruit (orange, lemon, apple) and even seed fruits (pistachios, walnuts).
• cause significant damage to the landscaping.

Damages to Public Utilities/ Facilities:

• Rodents damage and cause open gaps within doors, windows, and furniture, and destroy a large portion of which also ruptures and eats wallpaper and fabrics, clothes, books, and papers, and everything that marks the way in the kitchen of foodstuffs, fresh or cooked or stored.
• Rodents cause damage to public facilities (labs, hospitals, stores, grain silos, airports, ports of ships, and train stations) by consuming electrical cables and connecting wires, resulting in electric sparks that cause fires and damage to tools and electrical appliances.
• Rodents attack the body of the soily dam and build their nests, which, in addition to damaging the electric connections in the dam, cause severe damage to the dam.

Damages to Stored Materials

• The rodent consumes a fifth of its weight in grain per day, destroys twenty times more grain, and leaves the food materials contaminated with its urine, feces, and hairs.
• Norway rats weigh 400 g and consume 40 g per day, totaling 1600 g per day.It consumes about 30 The Norway rat consumes half as much as the roof rat, which weighs about 200 g.The house mouse and field mouse consume approximately 5 g of food per day, destroy 100 g, and consume an average of 2 g of grain.

Damages in the Field of Public Health:

• Rodent mammals live in filthy, polluted environments or waste collection sites.Many bacteria and pathogens that cause dangerous diseases in humans and domestic animals live on many rodent species.
• According to the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than forty rodent-borne diseases.

The most important diseases that can be transmitted through rodents to humans.

Leishmania

• Leishmania is an animal that does not have chlorophyll and causes serious diseases in humans.
• The oval-shaped animal (3-5 microns) lives in the human body, rodents, and Leishmania parasites live in the body of the mosquito, the sandfly, Phlebotomus sp., and the infection passed on to the rodent when it absorbs blood from a patient’s body.
• There are two types of this pathogen: Leishmania skin and Leishmania entrails of the interior.
• The parasite is transmitted by sandflies, which absorb the blood through the piercing of diseased rodents carrying the parasite or from an infected person.

Plague

• The old laws are remembered as the most devastating and lethal epidemics that threatened rights for centuries, including the so-called black death.
• The roof rat (Rattus rattus) is a reservoir host of bubonic plague, with the oriental rat fleas that infest them being a prime vector of the disease.
• Theplague oftwotypes,namely:
• Bubonic plague (lymph nodes): the bacteria enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver, spleen, kidney, and brain, where they settle and cause one of the following pathological symptoms: high fever, body tremors, headache, vomiting, dizziness, and then tumors in the lymph nodes under the armpits and thighs.
• Pneumonic plague: the bacteria enter through the bloodstream and settle in the lungs. Delirium and extreme fatigue, insomnia, numbness, coma, memory loss, severe lung inflammation, and edema (fluid entrapment in the lungs) are all pathological symptoms.

Rat Bite Fever

• Definition: an infectious disease transmitted to humans by biting mice or
• Reasons: The pathogenic bacterium Streptobacillusis the causative agent of the disease.
• Synonyms: rat bite fever, mouse bite fever, Sudoku, Alsodjelkothe
• The spread of infection: The disease is transmitted to humans when exposed to the urine or oral secretions of other rodents, such as And this is usually due to a bite or even exposure to secretions.
• Complications:oneofthemostimportantreactionsofthediseaseispoverty inthe
• Treatment: Given penicillin as an effective treatment using 200–300 thousand IU (3–4 times per day for 6–7 days), tetracycline can be used for 7–14 days.
• Prevention and disease control measures
• avoidexposuretorodents andtheirlocations.
• the use of antibiotics when exposed.
• the use of toxic pesticides to eliminate them.

Murine Typhus

Rickettsia is the disease vector, and it is spread to humans by fleas, spiders, and mites. When a flea bites a human, the skin itches, and pathogens from the flea feces are released into the human body, causing the illness.

Salmonella

• The causing agent is a pathogen-shaped bacterium, Salmonella.
• The bacteria infects rodents and can be transmitted to humans or domestic animals (poultry and their products through food contaminated with rodent feces and urine).
• The symptoms are vomiting, high temperatures, abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, headaches, and chills.

Trichinosis(Helical filaments disease)

• PathogenwormspiralnoodlesTrichinaspiralis
• Transmittedto humansfromporkorlunchfromcontaminatedrodentfecesandurine.
• The most important signs of the disease are diarrhea, abdominal pain, brain inflammation, and muscle pain when chewing.

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The house mouse (Mus musculus) easily adapts to life with people. It thrives in a wide range of climatic conditions in a great variety of habitats, feeding on most human food, and reproducing at a remarkable rate. House mice are found in most areas of human habitation. House mice are also found living in the wild. Pest control operators often find that the house mouse is the most troublesome and economically important rodent. House mice are a common problem in homes and in all types of businesses. Nearly everyone can remember times when they were irritated by mice. They are a nuisance to rich and poor alike. The continual drain that house mice impose on stored food and fiber, and the damage they cause to personal possessions, are the most serious economic threats. House mice also have the potential to transmit diseases and parasites to people and domestic animals.

Control of house mice requires understanding mouse biology and habits, and particularly the major differences between mice and rats. During the past few decades, control of Norway and roof rats has improved while problems with house mice have increased. Baiting programs often are more successful in controlling rats than they are in controlling mice. Many failures in mouse control can be blamed on an applicator using rat-control techniques. The house mouse easily adapts to life with people. Pest control applicators will find that the house mouse is the most troublesome and economically important rodent. Mice are a nuisance, can cause damage to food and buildings and have the potential to transmit disease and parasites. The house mouse is a small, agile rodent. House mice vary in colour from light brown to dark grey but most often are a medium brown or dusky grey, except the belly, which may be a lighter shade than their general colour, but never white. The mouse has moderately large ears. The tail is nearly hairless and about as long as the body and head combined. The feet and eyes are small.

Losses Due to Mice

When mice infest stored food, the greatest loss is not what mice eat, but what is thrown out because of real or suspected contamination. In six months, one pair of mice can eat about four pounds of food and deposit about 18,000 droppings. The amount of food contaminated by the mice is estimated to be about ten times greater than what is eaten. So common are mice that the government permits a certain number rodent hairs, and sometimes droppings, to remain in food commodities destined for human consumption.

Yet food inspectors often have to condemn food products and fine manufacturers because of house mouse contamination in excess of that permitted. Losses are not only connected with food. Family bibles or heirlooms stored in a trunk in the attic or garage that are damaged by mice are irreplaceable, as are original paintings and manuscripts stored in museums. Mouse-riddled documents in the bottom file drawer of an office cannot generally be valued in dollars and cents, but these losses can be costly. Electrical wiring gnawed by rodents start many fires. Many listed as cause unknown” are probably rodent-related. House mice frequently take up residence in electrical appliances and end up chewing into the power supply. This is particularly costly when computer systems are disrupted.

Habits of House Mice

Under ideal conditions, the house mouse may produce as many as 10 litters (about 50 young) in a year. Environmental conditions, such as the availability and quantity of food, play a role in the frequency of pregnancies, litter size and survival. New-born mice are quite undeveloped and are nearly hair-less. At about 3 weeks, the young start to eat solid food and take trips on their own.

1. Social Behaviour
   Mice are primarily active at night. Movements of house mice are primarily determined by temperature, food and hiding places. Home ranges of mice tend to be the smallest when living conditions are good. Mice tend to travel over their territory daily, investigating any changes or new objects. They are very aggressive and show no fear of new objects.
2. Senses of Mice
   Mice have relatively poor vision and are color blind. They rely heavily on smell, taste, touch and hearing. An important sensory factor with mice is touch. Like rats, they use their long whiskers and guard hairs to enable them to travel. Mice also have an excellent sense of balance.
3. Curiosity
   Mice quickly detect new objects in their territory and investigate. They will immediately enter bait stations and sample a new food (although they normally only nibble the food). They will also investigate traps and glue boards. Because of this curiosity, control programs against mice are often successful early, with the opposite being true for rats.
4. Physical Attributes
   The pest control applicator must understand what a house mouse is capable of in order to effectively plan a control program.Mice are excellent jumpers.
   • They can jump against a wall or flat vertical surface and use it as a spring board for added height.
   • They can run up almost any vertical surface without much difficulty if the surface is rough.
   • They can run along extremely thin areas such as electrical wires.
   • They can travel for some distance hanging upside down.
   • They are capable swimmers although they do not take to water as well as rats do and they tend not to dive below the surface.
   • They can walk or run along ledges too narrow for rats.
5. Food and Water
   House mice prefer cereals over other items although they will feed on a wide variety of food. Mice get much of their water from their food but they will drink if water is available. Mice are nibblers and have two main feeding periods, at dusk and just before dawn.
6. Range
   Mice are territorial and seldom travel more than 10 m (30 feet) from their nest. Their range is much smaller than the rats’ range of 30 to 46 m (100 to 150 feet).
7. Nests
   House mice may nest in any dark, sheltered location. Nests are constructed of any fibrous, shredded material such as paper, cloth, or insulation and generally look like a loosely woven ball. The small range of mice, the way they feed and their food preferences are the characteristics that set house mice apart from rats. Keep these in mind when controlling mice as many failures in mice control are due to an applicator using rat-control techniques.

Inspection

1 Sounds

Sounds are common at night where large numbers of mice are present.

Listen for squeaks, scrambling and sounds of gnawing.

2 Droppings

A house mouse produces about 70 droppings per day. Fresh droppings are not usually as soft in texture as rat droppings and in a few days become quite hard. Mouse droppings are frequently the first evidence that mice are infesting. Large cockroaches, bats, and other species of mice such as deermice (Peromyscus sp) and meadow mice (Mircrotus sp), may produce droppings similar to house mice.

Look along runways, by food near shelters, and in other places mice may frequent.

3 Urine

House mice occasionally make small mounds known as “urinating pillars.” These consist of a combination of grease, urine, and dirt and may become quite conspicuous.

Look for many small drops of urine.

Use a blacklight. Urine stains will fluoresce under ultra-violet light.

4 Grease Marks

Like rats, mice produce greasy smears where dirt and oil from 0their fur marks pipes and beams. House mouse spotsare not as easy to detect.

Expect markings to cover a smaller area than those made by rats.

5 Runways

Most house mouse runways are indistinct trails free of dust but not readily detectable.

6 Tracks

Look for footprints or tail marks on dusty surfaces or on mud.

Use a nontoxic tracking dust to help to determine the presence of house mice within Buildings

7 Gnawing Damage

Recent gnawing on wood are light in colour, turning darkerwith age.

Look for enlarged cracks beneath doors.

Look for small tooth marks. (Such evidence frequently helps to distinguish between mice and rats).

Look for wood chips with a consistency like coarse saw-dust around baseboards, doors, basement windows and frames, and kitchen cabinets.

8 Visual Sightings

Mice are often active in daylight and this may not indicate a high population as it does with rats.

Use a powerful flashlight or spotlight at night in ware-houses and food plants to confirm house mouse presence.

9 Nest sites

Look in garages, attics, basements, closets, and other storage places.

Be alert to fine shredded paper or other fibrous materials; these are common nest-building materials.

10 Pet Excitement

Follow up when cats and dogs paw excitedly at a kitchen cabinet door, the floor at the Base of a refrigerator, or atthe base of a wall, especially if mice have invaded the premises only recently.

11 Mouse Odors

Smell for the characteristic musky odour produced by mice. It can be easily differentiated from that of rats.

Estimating Numbers of Mice

Estimates are more difficult to get than for rats. The numbers of mice observed or food consumed is not highly reliable as a census technique with house mice. Unlike rats (which maytravel widely within a building leaving tracks on many patches of dust) house mice do not range widely.

Read natural signs such as droppings, urine stains, tracks, and damage.

Make nontoxic tracking patches of talc at 5 to 10 meter intervals (20 to 30 feet) throughout a building. The more tracks seen in each patch, and the more patches showing tracks, the larger the population. The percentage of patches showing tracks, will reflect the extent of the local infestation.

Tracking patches are also an excellent means to evaluate a control operation. Compare the number of tracks or patches with mouse tracks before and after a control program.

Control and Management

Control and prevention of house mice is a three-part process:

sanitation, mouse-proofing, and population reduction with traps or toxicants.

The first two are useful preventive measures. When a mouse population already exists, some kind of lethal control is necessary. Otherwise, the reproductive capability of the mice, and their remarkable ability to find food in almost any habitat, will keep their populations up or increase them. House mouse control is different from rat control. Applicators that do not take these differences into account will have control failures Sealing mice out of a building is difficult because mice are smaller. Range is small. Identify each infested site in order to target control procedures. Mice often can produce offspring faster than control methods can work. Nevertheless, many of the techniques to control and manage rats also apply to mice. In the sections below the differences in procedures between rats and mice are emphasized.

1 Sanitation

Good sanitation makes it easier to detect signs of mouse infestation. It also increases the effectiveness of baits and traps by reducing competing food. However, the best sanitation will not eliminate house mice; they require very little space and small amounts of food to flourish.

Store bulk foods in mouse-proof containers or rooms. In warehouses, restaurants, and food plants stack packaged foods in orderly rows on pallets so that they can be inspected easily. A family of mice can happily live in a pallet of food without ever having to leave the immediate area.

Keep stored materials away from walls and off of the floor. A 12 -18 inch yellow or white painted band next to the wall in commercial storage areas permits easier detection of mouse droppings. This band and the areas around pallets should be swept often so that new droppings can be detected quickly.

2 Mouse-Proofing

It isn’t easy to completely mouse-proof a building since mice are reported to be able to squeeze through an opening as little as 1/4-inch high.

Seal large holes to limit the movement of mice into and through a building.

Plug holes in foundation walls with steel wool or copper mesh.

Caulk and fit doors and windows tightly. Seal holes around pipes, utility lines, vents, etc., to make it difficult for mice to move in and out of wall and ceiling voids. This confines mice to a smaller area and may make snap traps and glue boards more effective.

3 Traps

Snap Traps. If used correctly, snap traps are very effective in controlling mice. They must be set in the right places, in high numbers, and in the right position or mice will miss them entirely.

Here are some factors to keep in mind when trapping mice.

Remember that the territory of mice rarely extends further than 30 feet from the nest, and more often is about 10 feet. If mice are sighted throughout a building it means that there are numerous discrete locations where you will have to set traps. Place snap traps not only wherever you see obvious signs of mice, but look for good trap locations in a three dimensionalsphere about ten feet in diameter around those signs.

Mice can be living above their main food supply in suspended ceilings, attics, inside vertical pipe runs, and on top of walk-in coolers. Or they can be below, in floor voids, crawl spaces, or under coolers and/or processing equipment.

The best sites are those with large numbers of droppings since that means the mice are spending a lot of time there. Other good sites are along walls, behind objects, and in dark corners, particularly where runways narrow down, funneling the mice into a limited area.

Good mouse baits increase a traps effectiveness. Peanut butter, bacon, cereal, and nuts are traditional, but one of the best baits is a cotton ball, which the female mice like to use for nest material. It must be tied securely to the trigger. Food baits must be fresh to be effective.

Probably the biggest mistake made in mouse trapping is not using enough traps. Use enough to make the trapping campaign short and sweet.

4 Multiple-Catch Traps

Multiple-catch mouse traps catch up to 15 mice without requiring reset. Some brands are called “wind-up” traps; the wind-up mechanism kicks mice into the trap. Others use a treadle door. Live mice must be humanely killed.

Mice like to investigate new things. They enter the small entrance hole without hesitation. Odor plays a role too; traps that smell “mousy” catch more mice. Place a small dab of peanut butter inside the tunnel entrance to improve the catch.

Check traps frequently. Mice are captured alive but may die in a day or two. Some traps have a clear plastic end plate or lid so you can see if any have been captured.

Place the traps directly against a wall or object with the opening parallel to the runway, or point the tunnel hole towards the wall, leaving one or two inches of space between the trap and the wall.

If mice are active, place many traps 6-10 feet apart. For maintenance trapping, place the traps in high risk areas and also at potential mouse entry points such as loading docks, near utility lines, and at doorways.

5 Glue Boards

Glue boards are very effective against mice. As with traps, placement is the key. Locations thatare good trap sites are good sites for glue boards.

• Do not put glue boards directly above food products or in food preparation areas.
• Set glue boards lengthwise and flush against a wall, box, or other object that edges a runway.
• Move objects around; create new, narrow runways six inches wide to increase the effectiveness of glue boards.
• Put peanut butter or a cotton ball in the center of the board.
• Place the glue boards 5 to 10 feet apart in infested areas [closer if the population is large].
• If no mice are captured in three days, move the boards to new locations.
• If a trapped mouse is alive, kill it before disposal. Replace the boards if they fill up with insects.

6 Rodenticides

Food Baits. Observe the same safety guidelines for mouse baits as discussed in the section on rat baits. Children, pets, wildlife, and domestic animals must be protected by putting the bait in inaccessible locations or inside tamper-proof bait boxes.

• Apply many small bait placements rather than a few large placements.
• Use baits labeled for mouse control.
• Place the baits in favorite feeding and resting sites as determined by large numbers of droppings.
• Place the baits between hiding places and food, up against a wall or object to intercept the mice.
• Bait in three dimensions (see earlier discussion on trapping).
• Make bait placements 10 feet apart or closer in infested areas.
• If bait is refused, try switching to a different type, and replace the baits often.
• Use small bait stations which are more attractive to mice than the larger rat-type stations.
• Make sure that sanitation is such that other food is not out- competing the baits.
• Place secured tamper-proof bait boxes in safe locations near doors in late summer to intercept mice entering from the wild.

7 Liquid Baits.

Mice get most of their water from their food; they also drink from a water container. Liquid baits that are labeled for mouse control can be effective in sites that do not have a ready supply of water. The same water bait dispensers used for rats can be used for mice. As with food baits and traps, many water stations will be necessary to put the bait into the territory of all mice infesting a building.

8 Tracking Powders.

Tracking powders are especially effective against mice. Mice groom themselves more than rats, and they investigate enclosed areas which can be dusted with tracking powder.

• Apply inside infested dry wall voids.
• Dust tracking powder into voids in heavily infested apartment or office buildings.
• Use a bait station, PVC tube, cardboard tube, or any small, dark shelter that a mouse could enter in cases where tracking powder cannot be applied. Mice will explore such a shelter.
• Apply the tracking powder in a layer less than 1/16-inch deep.
• Do not allow tracking powder to drift into nontarget areas.

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