Rodent Identification & Prevention

What Are Rodents?

Rodents take every opportunity given to them to have their basic needs met. While many species of rodents live outside and don't cause people any concern, several of the 1,500 species living worldwide have adapted to living with people. Some of the most common rodents in the Ogden, Utah area are the gopher, mouse, Norway rat, roof rat, and vole.

Are Rodents Dangerous?

Though rodents can look unassuming, the truth is that whether they are living outside in our yards or inside our homes, they pose a danger.

Gophers and voles are garden pests and do most of their damage to our Utah yards. They create an unsightly grid of dirt runways, mounds, and tunnels, and their feeding habits cause damage to trees, grass, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. The underground tunnels gophers make can damage underground wires, pipes, and cables and cause structural damage to foundations.

Rats and mice are most problematic inside of our homes. Their teeth can cause structural damage, and on their bodies, they carry parasites, disease-causing pathogens, bacteria, and viruses. When rats and mice move into our homes, they will help themselves to food stored in the pantry and kitchen, contaminating the food and surfaces of your home with their saliva, urine, and feces.

Why Do I Have a Rodent Problem?

Rodents can become a problem in any of our Utah homes or yards. They live all around us, and our properties offer them what they need. Rodents can forage for food in our gardens, flowerbeds, trees, yards, trash cans, and pet food bowls.

In addition to food, rodents can't resist living with people because our properties offer them water sources, multiple nesting spots, safety, and temperature-controlled living conditions.

Where Will I Find Rodents?

Gophers are most active in yards areas with loose, sandy soil. Voles live in tall grass, dense ground cover, and areas with lots of landscaping. Yards located next to golf courses, fields, parks, and other large open spaces are likely to experience gopher and vole problems.

Mice and rats live outside in dense vegetation or other areas that shelter them. Roof rats prefer to live up off the ground, Norway rats at ground level, and mice are super agile and will scurry into any space that protects them from the weather or predators.

When mice or rats move into our homes, they nest in out-of-the-way spaces like attics, basements, crawl spaces, clutter, under furniture, and within wall voids.