Rodent Control

Yes, rats will go near a sleeping human, especially if there is food or crumbs nearby. What’s worse, they may even bite humans while they are asleep. Common places for bites are exposed fingers, toes, hands, and faces. To minimize the risk of rats approaching you and your family members while they’re asleep, do not eat or leave accessible food packages in the bedroom.

Roof rats can carry a variety of pathogens and parasites, including salmonellosis (food contamination), leptospirosis, trichinosis, rat-bite fever, murine typhus, plague, and toxoplasmosis. Diseases can be spread via urine, droppings, or saliva. To prevent transmission, it’s essential to promptly address a roof rat infestation and avoid direct contact with the animals where possible.

Any food that’s left out can potentially attract mice, but they especially like grains such as rice. Mice will also go after fruit, fatty foods like bacon, pasta, and cereal. Mice can also be attracted to garbage and compost bins if they’re left uncovered. The best way to prevent mice from getting to these areas is to keep food in hard-sided containers and cover garbage bins.

Thankfully, it’s pretty rare to find a rat in your toilet. It’s more likely in larger cities with big sewer systems that can be feeding grounds for rats, but even then, you still shouldn’t fret. 

“I wouldn’t worry too much about rats coming up through the sewers,” Bradshaw says. “I’d say only one out of a thousand rodent customers we get actually have this problem. And of the 20 or some customers that have had this happen, they’ve all only had just one rat come up this way.”