When Rodents Loaf in Your Kitchen Overnight: Do Rodents Eat Bread?
Did you wake up this morning to find that something has taken a hefty chunk out of a loaf of bread in your kitchen? Then you more than likely have a rodent problem on your hands. Both mice and rats are omnivores, and that means they will eat practically anything they can find. Moreover, they don't mind if they have to chew through plastic or even wood to get to their meal.
Rats have always been a problem in Australia. And, unfortunately, if you live in eastern cities like Melbourne and Sydney, where construction is causing something of a rat plague, rat numbers are on the increase. If something has been at your bread recently, rats or mice could be to blame.
The More Damage Done, the More Likely It is Rats
It doesn't take an expert to tell you that rats are much bigger than mice. That means one rat will do much more damage to a loaf of bread than one mouse. Thus, if something has decimated your loaf of bread, you probably have a rat on your hands. However, if the entire loaf is all but gone, you could even be dealing with a pack of rats.
Research shows that rats travel and eat together. So, if there is little bread left, your problem is much bigger than a single rat. Then again, mice also travel and forage together. You need to work out whether you have a single rodent or a pack.
A Pack Indicates an Entry Point
If you left your door open recently to take out your rubbish, a single mouse or rat could have gained entry to your home. In this case, the damage to your bread will be minimal. However, if there was little bread left when you walked into your kitchen, rats or mice have probably found an entry point somewhere outside. Unfortunately, this means they'll keep coming back until you plug the hole.
Check the outside of your home for entry points. Entry points could be cable holes, outlets, gaps under doors or window frames and air conditioning units. Plug up any holes you find with steel wool as this is difficult for even rats to chew through.
However, now that rodents have worked out there is food in your home; they will try to get back in. As such, you need the help of a pest management service to find and eradicate any nearby mice or rat nests.
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