Rodents
- 3 main types: Brown Rat (or Sewer Rat), Roof Rat and House Mouse.
- One pair of rodents can give rise to about 2,000 in one year.
- A young mouse can enter a building through a gap 1cm square with ease.
Characteristics of Rodent
- Most rodents are small animals with robust bodies, short limbs and long tails.
- They use their sharp incisors to gnaw food, excavate burrows and defend themselves.
- They tend to be social animals and many species live in societies with complex ways of communicating with each other.
- Rodents have been used as food, for clothing, as pets and as laboratory animals in research.
- Some species, such as brown rat, and the house mouse are serious pests, eating and spoiling food stored by humans, and spreading diseases.
Problems caused by Rodents
| 1. | They eat food and contaminate it with urine and excrement. |
| 2. | They gnaw into materials such as paper, books, wood, plastic, soft metals and wiring which may cause fire hazard. |
| 3. | They spread many diseases. |
Life Cycle of Rodent
The gestation period of a rodent is about 19-21 days. They give birth to a litter of 3-14 young. One female can have 5 to 10 liters per year. As a result, rodent can reproduce very quickly.
Control Method
| 1. | Rodenticide baiting at a strategic position, i.e along rodents runways. |
| 2. | Traps and Glue-boards and affected areas disinfected. |
| 3. | Sanitation and elimination of a hiding places. |
