Garden Rodent: Identification, Control and Diseases Borne

Gardens provide a safe habitat for rodents: shelter and food, they get it all. Causing damage to seeds, pulp, fruits and vegetables and health hazards to the people in the house with various diseases, they create an unhealthy environment. In the US, the common rat species is the brown rat. Black rats are seldom found.
Identification:
- They take shelter under trash cans, drains or clutters. The noises of their activities can also be heard. The mice usually come out of their shelters at night when they feel safe. They also come out when they face scarcity of food.
- These rodents run through vegetation and leave track usually 2–4 inches wide. They remember the tracks taken by them and use the same track to get back to their shelter. Thus, you will find marks along the vegetation's, by the walls or stones and fencing. Although, they travel on the ground, they can still jump.
- Mice and rats are fond of chewing. If you find partially eaten fruits or vegetables in your garden, you can be sure of mice in the garden. These rodents also leave droppings of food along the way. Their teeth are hard and can gnaw through plastic bottles, rubber, wood, fencing, electrical wires etc.
How to keep rodents out of a garden?
You can reduce the chance of rodents in your garden by taking preventive measures-
- Reduce the harborage points such as small gaps because these rodents can enter even from the tiniest gaps. For instance, rats require an inch, mice a quarter of an inch of a gap to enter.
- The birds feed should not be scattered around on the ground.
- Some rodents are repelled by camphor, lavender and wormwood. These dried items are easily found in any garden and food stores.
- The garbage bins must be covered and the food waste should be properly wrapped in the garbage bags. These should not be kept outside for a longer period of time.
- Keep your garden tidy and remove any piles formed out of wood and cuttings of plants.
Rodent Traps:
Live capture: A small bait is used to capture the animals inside with a trigger mechanism, Do check these traps every now and then such as to not trap any non target animals.
Spring/ snap trap: The spring traps kill rodents instantly by releasing a spring. These are however to be carefully used so that they do not affect other wildlife and even children.
Electrocution traps: These traps release electricity when animals step on the metal plates inside the boxes. They cannot be used outdoors because they are dangerous and are also expensive.
All the traps need to be checked regularly to dispose off dead animals.
Diseases borne by rodents:
A wide range of diseases are borne by rodents due to bacteria, viruses and protozoa. These diseases affect both pets and humans. The rodents also carry ticks, lice, fleas which in turn carry another set of diseases which also pass to pets and humans. The contamination of diseases from the gardens is not as harmful as one would find it in their homes but they can still pass diseases.
Some of the ways in which you can infect yourself with these diseases-
- Handling dust particles in your garden that contain infectious microorganisms
- Direct contact with their urine, saliva or excreta
- Rodent bites
- Your pets eating rodents with diseases that are contagious and passing them on to your family
- Handling the infected rodents
The rodents are very cunning creatures and always find a way to inhibit in your garden somehow. If you are not able to deal with them alone, you can always call for some professional help as they have skills and knowledge to eliminate them from your garden.
