Marion County, Ocala Rat Control Situation:
Hi, I have a question regarding rodent poo. Here's the story... We have a vacation rental house in Ocala Florida. There can be people staying for weeks or empty for weeks. We are staying at the house now. The other evening, we came in. I turned the bedroom light on and noticed a very black dropping on the night stand. Only a single dropping. It was bigger than a mouse dropping and more round than oval. It did have the one end that looked pinched. I got a piece of tissue to clean it up and it was very soft and somewhat powdery. I also had my phone charger plugged in the wall. I can't remember if the other end was on the nightstand or the floor, but the cord was stretched out...still plugged in the wall, but going under the bed. I haven't looked under the bed, but I guess I should. Since this did not look like any mouse dropping I have seen and only a single dropping, I tried to tell myself it was from a gecko. However, I started searching the web and I keep seeing where gecko poo has a white tip like bird droppings. What I found did not have white, so maybe not a gecko. Do you think it sounds like a rat? Again, I have only found the one single dropping. Thanks for any info!
Ocala Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Hurt A Human?
Rodents are animals that do not represent a direct threat to people. Although they are intelligent, they do not harm for pleasure. Most of the time, they are just bacteria carriers, but they do not spread them with the intention of starting a pandemic. The cases in which rats have harmed children, might have been because at that moment their instinct was activated to survive. Most houses that are invaded by this urban plague is because they do not take necessary preventive measures and rats have easy access to any corner of the house.
Rats vs. people
Man is surrounded by animals that are predators, so over the years, he decided to protect himself and shelter in homes. Some animals are attracted to find refuge in these homes due to the same necessity of protection and food that humans have. Rodents and people in the same house are a bad combination because of the structural and health damage that rodents can cause.
Can a rat make me sick?
Rats are animals whose excrement, urine, and saliva can contain a great number of bacteria damaging for people's health. Among the most well-known diseases are salmonellosis, leptospirosis, and hepatitis. The most common wounds caused by rodents are bites and scratches. An open and deep wound caused by rodents that come in contact with fluid from a rat will be an open door for microorganisms to spread into the bloodstream causing systemic infections that can be severe and even cause death.
In summary, it can be said that rats can hurt humans through infections by having contact with their fluids or can accidently cause scratches and bites through measures of self-defense. On the other hand, people that have a phobia of these little animals may have psychological damage when coming in contact with them.
