Restaurant closures due to Covid-19 coronavirus have prompted rats and mice to be more aggressive in … [+]
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Rats. Apparently you aren’t the only one missing the service of restaurants that have been closed due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now warning that “some jurisdictions have reported an increase in rodent activity as rodents search for new sources of food.” In this case, increase in rodent activity doesn’t mean that they are starting GoFundMe pages or ordering food online. It means that rats and mice are going where no rodents have gone before and even exhibiting “unusual or aggressive” behavior.
Gee, what can be better than seeing a rodent where you don’t expect such as in your kitchen or your bedroom? How about seeing an aggressive hangry one? Oh, joy.
Well, pestilence is already checked off on the 2020 bingo card. Might as well bring out the rodents.
As you probably have noticed, most restaurants have either been closed or offered limited service over the past couple months ever since social distancing measures went into place to try to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. This has meant that you couldn’t go to your favorite restaurant with your special someone and share a single noodle across the table as was done in the movie Lady and The Tramp:
Closed restaurants and the Covid-19 coronavirus have meant less of this. But before you think of … [+]
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It’s also left rats and mice with less food and other waste to feed on since take out services aren’t quite available for them.
Rats and mice that are used to such food sources probably don’t do too well with intermittent fasting diets, especially when the “intermittent” is removed. As a result, hunger can prompt them to become bolder in finding new food sources. And where might they find food? How about where people currently are? How about where you happen to be?
Yep, if you are feeling isolated, lonely, and wanting company, be careful about what wish for and be specific. Otherwise, you may find yourself in the company of some hungry rodents. And unless you are a cat, that’s usually not good. That ranks somewhere around jump into a bathtub full of tacks.
Therefore, take extra precautions to prevent such unwanted guests. Store your food in safe locations, away from easy detection. Keep all food that is not in the refrigerator or freezer in tightly sealed durable containers. Your pockets or your fanny packs are not tightly sealed durable containers. Rodents may be able to chew through materials like cardboard or cloth. Oh, and by the way, this is way too early to leave cookies out for Santa Claus.
Thoroughly clean anything soon after its been touched by food. This includes grills, cook wear, and any eating surfaces. Control where you eat so that you can keep track of where you may be leaving crumbs and other food residue. It’s time to stop that habit of eating pizza wherever you’d like such as on the couch, in bed, on the toilet, or in the shower.
Keep garbage properly sealed and protected. Otherwise, this may happen. (Photo: Getty)
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Carefully dispose of any garbage. Make sure that it is well-sealed and that garbage cans have tight strong lids. Try to keep garbage as far from your living quarters as possible. This doesn’t mean start dumping your garbage in your neighbor’s lawn. Rodents aren’t only the ones who can get aggressive and exhibit unusual behaviors.
Plug up any holes that you may have. OK, that may have come out a bit wrong but hopefully you get the picture. Rodents, especially little ones like mice, can get through very tight spaces. Therefore, seal any openings that may exist in your windows, doors, walls, and floors. Make sure that you check all parts of your apartment or house because rodents can get creative in getting inside and won’t always use the doorbell and front door. You don’t want to leave your backdoor or other places open for rodents to enter. OK, that probably came out wrong as well.
Consider setting traps. If you do so, place them in locations that people usually don’t go. This doesn’t mean your bed. People means anyone including yourself. Instead, think about places where rodents may roam freely without being seen like your attic, your basement, crawl spaces, and other nooks and crannies. Of course, be careful with such traps. Don’t replicate one of those cartoons where someone ends up with a mouse trap on his or her nose.
Handle rodents very carefully and clean up after them. There’s a reason why rodents are very unwelcome in buildings. It’s not just their personalities and the fact that they may eat your food. They can carry disease-causing pathogens that lead to disease like leptospirosis and the plague. Many rodent-caused diseases can be quite serious. You don’t tend to tell your friends, “sorry, couldn’t make to the party. Just had a touch of the plague. Trying to walk it off.” Although antibiotics can successfully treat the plague nowadays, you still can’t take such problems lightly. Therefore, use thick gloves, tools, and disposable containers when handling rodents or anything they may have touched.
If you have any doubt, contact your local health department or pest control. Luke Skywalker couldn’t take on the Dark Side alone. Do not engage in a light saber duel with a bunch of hangry rodents. If your rodent issues aren’t easily managed, don’t hesitate to get some help. You don’t want your place to start looking like the set of The Nutcracker.
Like the pandemic, this rodent uprising won’t last forever. It’s not unusual for disasters to affect the rodent populations in some way (and make no mistake, this pandemic has been a disaster for the U.S.) After all, like it or not, the rodent population can be tied quite closely to what the human population does. Our actions may affect what happens to rats and mice, and not just the computer kind.