Rats pose significant health hazards due to the diseases they carry and the damage they can cause. These rodents contaminate food and water sources, spread allergens, and even inflict structural damage in homes. They are known vectors for a variety of dangerous diseases and can trigger other health issues through their presence. In states like Utah and Georgia, for example, environmental conditions allow rat populations to thrive, Georgia’s warm climate and urban growth create ideal conditions for rodents, while Utah’s cold winters drive rats indoors in search of shelter. This makes awareness and prevention of rat-borne health risks especially important for residents in these areas.
Diseases Spread by Rats
Rats are notorious for harboring and transmitting numerous diseases. Contact with rat urine, droppings, saliva, or bites can directly infect humans with various pathogens. Some of the most significant diseases spread by rats include:
- Leptospirosis: A bacterial infection spread through water or soil contaminated by rat urine. It can lead to high fever, chills, and if left untreated may cause severe kidney damage and liver failure.
- Rat-Bite Fever: A serious bacterial illness transmitted through bites or scratches from infected rats (or even by consuming food contaminated by rats). Symptoms often include fever, vomiting, headache, muscle pain, and rash within a week or so of exposure. Without prompt treatment, rat-bite fever can result in severe complications.
- Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCMV): A rodent-borne viral infection spread via exposure to contaminated rat saliva, urine, or droppings. It typically causes flu-like symptoms (fever, nausea, aches) in healthy individuals, but can lead to more serious neurological complications (like meningitis) in some cases. Pregnant women are especially at risk, as LCMV can infect the fetus and cause serious outcomes.
- Salmonellosis: A common food poisoning infection caused by the Salmonella bacteria. Rats can spread salmonellosis by contaminating food or cooking surfaces with their feces. Ingesting such tainted food can result in diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, and vomiting.
- Hantavirus: A life-threatening virus transmitted through inhalation of dust contaminated with rodent droppings, urine, or saliva. Certain rat and mouse species shed hantaviruses; when humans breathe in airborne particles of dried rodent waste, they can develop Hantavirus
- Pulmonary Syndrome, a severe respiratory illness. Early symptoms include fever and muscle aches, and the disease can progress rapidly to cause lung failure.
- Bubonic Plague: While extremely rare in modern times, the plague (caused by Yersinia pestis bacteria) is historically associated with rats. Fleas that have bitten infected rats can transmit the bubonic plague to humans. This disease causes high fever and painfully swollen lymph nodes (“buboes”) and can be fatal without antibiotic treatment. (Only a few thousand cases occur worldwide per year today, but plague persists in some rodent populations.)
- Tularemia: A bacterial disease that rodents (among other wildlife) can carry. Humans may contract tularemia through direct contact (handling infected animals or carcasses), bites from infected ticks or flies that fed on rats, or exposure to contaminated water. Tularemia can cause fever, skin ulcers, and swollen lymph glands, and it may be life-threatening if untreated.
- Other Health Hazards of Rats
Beyond the well-known diseases above, rat infestations pose additional health and safety risks for homeowners: - Allergies and Asthma: Rats produce allergens in their dander, urine, and droppings that can trigger allergic reactions or asthma attacks in sensitive individuals. Indoor rodent infestations have been linked to increased asthma symptoms, especially in children, due to these allergens circulating in the air.
- Contamination of Surfaces and Food: Even when they don’t transmit a specific disease, rats constantly contaminate their surroundings. A single rat can leave droppings and urine throughout kitchen pantries, food packaging, and countertops, making these surfaces and any exposed food unsafe for use. This contamination can spread bacteria (like Salmonella) and compel homeowners to discard tainted food to avoid illness.
- Property Damage (Fire and Structural Hazards): Rats have ever-growing incisors and must gnaw constantly. They can chew through walls, insulation, wood, and even electrical wires, posing a serious fire hazard. In fact, rodent damage is suspected to cause up to 20% of undetermined house fires in the U.S. by stripping wire insulation and sparking electrical failures. Beyond fire risks, their gnawing also destroys structural materials and personal belongings, leading to costly repairs. Rats have even been known to chew on plastic pipes and plumbing, potentially causing leaks and water damage.
- Food Spoilage and Waste: Rats will invade pantries and storage areas, chewing through paper or plastic packaging to get at stored foods. In the process, they defecate and urinate on these supplies, spoiling food that then must be thrown out. The scale of this problem is significant – rodents are estimated to contaminate or consume roughly 20% of the world’s food supply. For a homeowner, a single rat in a pantry can ruin large quantities of food, representing not just an economic loss but also a potential health risk if anyone unknowingly consumed the contaminated items.
Prevention and Safety Measures
The best defense against the health risks of rats is to prevent an infestation before it starts. Here are some key preventive measures and safety tips to minimize the danger:
- Sanitation: Maintain a clean environment to make your home less attractive to rats. Eliminate readily available food and water sources that could draw rodents in. Store pantry foods in sealed containers, clean up crumbs and spills promptly, fix leaky pipes, and dispose of garbage regularly. Removing clutter (where rats can nest) is also important, as is keeping pet food in rodent-proof containers.
- Seal Entry Points: Rodent-proof your home by blocking off any potential entryways. Inspect for cracks or holes in walls, gaps around doors, windows, vents, and foundations, and seal them with durable materials (like steel wool, caulk, or metal mesh). Remember that rats can squeeze through openings as small as about 1/2 inch (and mice through 1/4 inch), so even tiny gaps must be sealed. Pay special attention to areas where utility lines or pipes enter the building, as well as damaged screens or door sweeps.
- Traps and Professional Pest Control: Use rat traps in areas of known activity to help reduce the population. Snap traps or enclosed bait traps can be effective for a small number of rodents. However, because rats reproduce quickly and infestations can grow out of control, don’t hesitate to seek professional pest control services for thorough eradication. Experienced pest control technicians can identify nesting sites and entry points that you might miss and employ safe, effective measures to eliminate the rats. In fact, professional intervention is often essential for long-term control, as rats hiding in walls or attics can be difficult to fully eliminate without expert strategies.
- Safe Cleanup Practices: If you need to clean areas that have been contaminated by rat droppings or urine, take precautions to protect yourself. Wear rubber or latex gloves (and consider a mask to avoid inhaling particles). Do not sweep or vacuum dry droppings, as this can aerosolize harmful viruses/bacteria into the air. Instead, spray any rodent waste or nesting materials with a disinfectant or bleach solution first to dampen it, then carefully wipe it up and dispose of it in sealed bags. Disinfect all affected surfaces thoroughly. Wash your hands well after any cleanup. By handling cleanup carefully, you reduce the risk of contracting diseases like hantavirus or salmonellosis during the process.
Rats are far more than a simple nuisance pest they are a genuine threat to your health and home. By understanding the risks (from disease transmission to allergy triggers and fires) and taking proactive preventive steps, you can protect your family and property from these dangers. If you suspect even a minor rodent problem, act quickly, as a small rat issue can escalate rapidly early intervention is critical. Through diligent prevention and, when needed, professional pest control help, you can ensure that these hazardous rodents stay out of your living space for good.
Protect your health by making sure your home is rat and mouse-free. Along with giving you the chills, having mice and rats can have a great risk of passing diseases and allergies to humans. They are also known for destroying food and homes.
Destroying our Food
Did you know that in one year mice and rats are estimated to destroy enough food to feed over 200 Million people?
They are great at finding ways into our homes. It only takes ¼ inch opening for a mouse to make it into your home. Once mice or rats are in your home they are looking to eat. These rodents cause a huge sanitary issue because of the diseases they carry. Sanitary issues also rise because of their urine and feces that they will spread across food that they get into. Most mice and rats will dwell in sewers and trash passing these germs and diseases into our food.
Mouse Allergens
It is known that mice carry a protein in their urine can cause asthma and allergic rhinitis in susceptible people. Mice urinate in micro-droplets as they move across your home rooms. This urine will contaminate all surfaces it covers including floors, counters, and other surfaces we frequent in our home.
Hantaviruses
According to the CDC, Hantavirus can only be given by some mice and rats. This virus is passed by breathing in air that is contaminated with mice or rat urine and feces that is contaminated with Hantavirus. To prevent this disease, try to keep mice or rats out of your home and clean up any mouse or rat urine, droppings or nesting.
Food-Borne Illness
Rats and mice are known to transmit different food borne illnesses — mainly passing salmonella and campylobacter to humans.
Rat-bite Fever
As the name suggests, when bitten by a rate, there is a chance of experiencing Rat-bite fever. This is caused by the bacteria that is found in rat or mice saliva. Symptoms include skin irritation, fever, and / or vomiting.
Damages to health and home
Mice and Rats have teeth that keep growing. They will gnaw on things to shave these teeth down and sharpen their teeth at the same time. It is common for mice and rats to gnaw through walls, baseboards, boxes, electrical wires, and other items in and around your home.
Homes are not only contaminated from rodents they are also destroyed. Causing risks of fires from gnawing through electrical wires and equipment malfunction. They are known to gnaw through utility pipes causing flooding as well.
If you are in need of expert rodent exterminators, call Arete Pest Control at 770-954-8770.