Rodents are one of the worst pests to have in our homes. They can damage our property, make us feel unsafe in our homes, and worst of all, they can bring horrible diseases. If you don’t call in the help of a rodent control application, you could expose yourself or your family to the following diseases.
Diseases You Can Prevent With Rodent Control In Alabama
And as you will see, many of the symptoms of these diseases could be mistaken for something like a bad cold or the flu. That’s why being proactive about rodent control is so important. Under normal circumstances, you can write off a headache to stress or even forgetting to have your morning coffee. But if you have a rodent problem, that medical symptom you think is not a big deal could actually become a huge deal very quickly. 
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome
Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe, sometimes fatal, respiratory disease caused by hantaviruses. Hantaviruses are spread mainly by rodents. This particular disease is spread by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), cotton rat (Sigmodon Hispidus), rice rat (Oryzomys palustris), white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). Any person who comes in contact with a rodent carrying hantavirus could be at risk – even healthy people. The primary exposure to this virus occurs when there are rodent infestations in or around the home. Fortunately, there are no cases of HPS reported that have been transmitted from one person to the other. It can only be spread from an infected rodent to a human.
How Is HPS Transmitted
HPS can be transmitted to humans by breathing in the dust with rodent urine or feces, having direct contact with rodent urine or feces, or from a bite wound.
Signs Of HPS
While the exact incubation period is not known, it seems that symptoms may develop between one and eight weeks after exposure. Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, muscle aches, headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. About 50% of patients with HPS will experience these symptoms. As the disease progresses, patients can experience coughing and shortness of breath as the lungs begin to fill with fluid. Unfortunately, HPS is fatal in 38% of cases.
Leptospirosis
This disease is spread by bacteria and can cause many symptoms, which often are misdiagnosed as other diseases. It’s possible, however, to be asymptomatic.
How Leptospirosis Is Transmitted
Like HPS, Leptospirosis is transmitted through urine and fecal matter from infected rodents. Though in this case, it’s from eating food or drinking water that’s been contaminated. You can also contract it through the skin or mucous membranes – for example, rubbing your eyes.
Signs Of Leptospirosis
Patients may experience a high fever, headaches, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, jaundice, red eyes, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or the appearance of a rash. Typically, the disease lasts for about three weeks, but it could last for several months without medical care. Without treatment, it can cause kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.
Lymphocytic choriomeningitis, or LCM
The ordinary house mouse is to blame for LCM. In some circumstances, hamsters could host this virus, though they are not the primary carrier. However, pet hamsters could become infected if wild mice bring the disease inside.
How LCM Is Transmitted
LCM is transmitted in the same manner that hantavirus is: breathing in the dust with rodent urine or feces, having direct contact with rodent urine or feces, or from a bite wound.
Signs Of LCM
When someone becomes infected with LCM, symptoms usually occur eight to 13 days after exposure. This disease has multiple stages. In the first stage, symptoms include fever, malaise, lack of appetite, muscle aches, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Other symptoms that appear less frequently include sore throat, cough, joint pain, chest pain, testicular pain, and parotid (salivary gland) pain. During the second phase, patients may experience meningitis, encephalitis, r meningoencephalitis. LCMV has also been known to cause acute hydrocephalus, an increased amount of fluid on the brain. This often requires surgical shunting to relieve the pressure. In rare cases, infection results in myelitis – an inflammation of the spinal cord – and the patient could have muscle weakness, paralysis, or changes in body sensation. LCM has even caused inflammation of the heart muscle. Generally, those who contract LCM will survive, and it has an extremely rare fatality rate of less than one percent. However, it’s not something you want to take a chance with. And it’s easily preventable with a rodent control treatment.
Salmonellosis
Spread by rats and mice, this bacterial infection is known worldwide and caused by the Salmonella bacteria, which you have probably heard of.
How Salmonellosis Is Transmitted
Humans contract this bacteria when they consume food or water contaminated with rodent urine or feces.
Signs Of Salmonellosis
Salmonellosis typically produces symptoms that show up rather quickly after the initial contact with the bacteria – between six hours and six days. The illness lasts for four to seven days and causes infection to spread to the urinary tract, blood, bones, joints, or nervous system and can be severe. Children are more likely to contract salmonella as they are more likely to put things in their mouths or come in contact with rat or mouse urine or fecal matter by crawling around on the floor.
Get Rodent Control Near Mobile, AL
Don’t run the risk of contracting horrible diseases brought in by rats and mice. Instead, get critter control in the Mobile area from Bama Pest Control. Our rodent control program will not only trap and remove rodents. In addition, we’ll repair any damage they’ve caused to your home or property and clean up any animal waste. If you have a rodent problem, don’t hesitate to contact us.
We currently service:
- Mobile County
- Baldwin County
- Washington County
You can reach us at (251) 478-7015 or contact us here. You can also read more about what we do and learn how to prevent future pest infestations on our blog page, where we post monthly articles.