Even in sunny Florida, temperatures drop and people and animals must warmth.
This includes pests, bugs, and even rodents.
Rats and mice may find refuge from the cooler temperatures in the walls, flooring, or ceiling of your house.
The most common rodents in the West Palm Beach area are the common house mouse, Norway rat and roof rat.
Florida House Mouse This Florida rodent typically has tan or light brown to ashy gray color hair.
House mice have large ears and small, beady black eyes.
They grow to be about 5 to 7 inches long, including a tail that is about half their total length.
A house mouse will be active in the night time and typically feed on grains, like cereals or rice.
House mice nest, using paper, cardboard, or other fibrous materials.
The nest emanates a distinctive musky order.
Within this mouse's nest, a female mouse may 25 to 50 offspring in a single year.
The lifespan of house mice is short and lasts only about 9 months to a year.
The greatest danger to humans from house mice is the transmission of disease and illness from the contamination of human food sources.
Secondarily, house mice can over time cause a significant amount of structural damage to property.
Norway Rats in Florida Norway rats, also known as the common rat or brown rat, can be identified by their reddish-gray and brown fur with a contrasting white or grey belly.
Noticeably larger than the common house mouse, the common rat can grow to over a foot in length, weighing in at about pound.
Brown rats have small ears and a short tail.
Norway rats are usually have coarse brownish or reddish-gray fur, and are whitish-gray on the belly.
Some may be blackish in color.
Their nose is blunt and have small, close-set ears and a scaly, fairly short tail.
This type of rat is a scavenger and will eat all types of food going after the freshest and most readily available.
They are attracted to garbage in residential areas, because of the constant food source.
Norway rats also nest similar to mice using paper and other fibrous materials for its constructions, but are also known to burrow and live on the lower floors and areas of a building.
Norway rats are known carrier of diseases and other illnesses.
The spread of the Black Plague in the Middle Ages have been attributed to rats and their infectious contact with humans.
Rats can spread illness through bites, fecal matter, and pests that live in their fur, like fleas and ticks.
Roof Rats The Florida Roof Rat is also known as the black rat or ship rat.
The roof rat can be identified by its black or very dark fur and long tail.
Typically smaller in body size than its cousin the Norway rat, the roof rats and the Norway rats are about the same length when including their tail.
Roof rats also have large ears.
Roof rats prefer vegetables, fruits, and cereals.
The black rat requires an ample amount of water.
In contrast to Norway rats, roof rats are as aptly named, a rat that lives in higher elevations, such as attics, palm trees.
They are also known to live on river banks and canals among outlying vegetation.
The root rat can pose a danger to human health and safety.
Along with the transmission of disease and illness, like their cousin the Norway rat, roof rats are known to gnaw through electrical wiring and insulation.
Root rats can make the electrical wiring in a house or business vulnerable to electrical shortages and fires.
Who can help if you have need rodent control in south Florida? Hulett Environmental Services have provided West Palm Beach rodent control services for decades.
Over the years, Hulett Environmental Services is a family owned businesses that has grown to serve throughout Florida, providing local pest control through knowledgeable and experienced technicians.