“Why all the fuss about rats and mice?” you may be asking. You hear stories in the Arizona news, including the local Phoenix, Scottsdale, Prescott, and Flagstaff papers about the nuisance of rats and mice—but are they really that bad? Aside from the damage roof rats, packrats, and mice will cause to the structure of your home or building, it is clear that these Arizona rodents carry diseases that can be both directly and indirectly transmitted to humans and our pets. The diseases commonly carried by everyday rats and mice have the potential to be lethal. Such a threat to your home and family should be taken seriously. In the early 1990s, Northern Arizona saw a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus, which affected the four-corners region of the Southwest. When people’s lives are at stake, the utmost care should be taken to understand just how rodents could put the lives of our nearest and dearest at risk.

What Scientists are saying about Rodent Diseases:

According to the world’s authority on health, the infectious disease experts of the Centers for Disease Control report that there are more than thirty-five diseases carried and spread by rats and mice worldwide. In Arizona and within our local communities, there are nearly a dozen diseases that local packrats, roof rats, and mice carry and can spread to both humans and our family pets. The most common rodent-borne diseases you should be concerned about are: Hantavirus, Salmonella, Lyme Disease, Rat-Bite Fever, Jaundice, Plague, Tularemia, Ricketts, and Typhus fever. The effect that these diseases can have on your health can range from a minor infection to death. These are just some of the diseases spread by roof rats, packrats and mice in the Arizona region of the Southwestern states. Complete details may be found at the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/rodents/diseases/index.htm.

How Rodent-borne diseases are spread:

Whether rodents live in Tucson, Flagstaff, Prescott, Scottsdale, Arcadia, Paradise Valley, or Phoenix, they all have the same potential to spread infectious diseases the same ways. Roof rats, pack rats, and mice each spread harmful diseases through their contaminated feces and urine, as well as bite wounds inflicted by a diseased rodent. Humans and our pets are at risk whenever we breathe uncirculated air that contains dust particles from rodent droppings or areas with a heavy presence of urine. It is very common in attics, basements, storage rooms, and garages to find dried feces and rodent urine, which may contain germs that can cause disease. Additional ways you can come in contact with harmful diseases is by drinking contaminated water or eating food that an infected rodent has come in contact with. Ticks, mites, mosquitoes, and fleas that have been in contact with rodents can also spread rodent-borne diseases with a bite to a human our pets.

Who Is At Risk?

All Arizona residents who come in contact with an infected rodent is at risk. The elderly populations who may have a weak or damaged immune system, infants, people with allergies or respiratory illnesses, and those who work in attics are especially susceptible. Our dogs, cats, birds, or anyone in the presence of roof rats, packrats, and mice may be at risk to diseases carried and spread by rodents. If you have a rodent infestation in your home or other structure, there may be contaminated urine or droppings that can cause various diseases. If you have any reason to suspect that you have come in contact with an infected rodent, it is wise to speak with your trusted health professional. If you are currently experiencing the presence of roof rats, packrats, or mice, contact a local and licensed wildlife control and pest management professional immediately, such as Rodent Proof LLC.