You are lying in bed at night when you hear it. Scratch, scratch, scratch. It sounds like something is moving inside your walls. Your heart starts to beat a little faster. You wonder if it is just the wind or something else. 

If you live in Markham, there is a chance it could be a rodent. You might ask yourself, are rats really dangerous? The short answer is yes. These animals are much more than just a nuisance. They can hurt your home and make your family sick.

When these unwanted guests move in, they bring a lot of trouble with them. They are not just looking for a warm place to sleep. They are looking for food and a place to grow their family. This creates big problems for you. From spreading sickness to chewing on wires, the risks are very real. 

You need to know that are rats dangerous to your safety and your wallet. If you think you have these animals in your house, you need to act fast. At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control in Markham, we’re here to help you understand the risks and solve the problem.

In this blog, we will explain the dangers rats can bring into your home and how you can protect your family.

The Health Risks Hiding in Your Home

You might think that if you do not touch a rat, you are safe. Sadly, that is not true. One reason rats are dangerous is the germs they carry. They spread sickness through droppings and urine, which can dry up and mix into the air you breathe.

These health risks are serious. Rats move through garbage and sewers before entering homes. They leave bacteria on counters and floors. Even one rat can make your home unsafe, so protecting your family is important.

Here are some of the illnesses these animals can bring into your house:

• Hantavirus: This is a very serious sickness. You can get it by breathing in dust that has rodent urine or droppings in it. It feels like the flu at first, but it can make it hard to breathe.
• Salmonella: You might know this as food poisoning. These animals walk on your counters and get into your food. If you eat food they touched, you can get very sick with stomach pain and fever.
• Leptospirosis: This is a bacteria found in their urine. If it touches your skin or eyes, or if you consume food with it, you can get ill. It can hurt your kidneys and liver.
• Rat-Bite Fever: Even though bites are rare, they happen. If a rat feels trapped, it might scratch or bite. This can cause a fever and a rash that needs a doctor’s help.

The Danger of Fire in Your Walls

Did you know that these animals can start fires? It sounds unbelievable, but it happens more often than you think. This is one of the scariest reasons are rats dangerous. Their teeth never stop growing. To keep their teeth short and sharp, they have to chew on things. They do not care what they chew on. Wood, plastic, and even metal are all fair game.

The biggest problem is when they find electrical wires. These wires are often hidden inside your walls or attic. You cannot see the damage happening. When a rat chews off the protective plastic coating, the bare wire is exposed. If that wire touches something flammable, like insulation or wood, a spark can start a fire.

You might not know anything is wrong until it is too late. Lights might flicker, or outlets might stop working. 

Serious Damage to Your House Structure

Your home is likely your biggest investment. These invaders can cause serious damage that costs thousands of dollars to repair. They are strong and will chew through drywall, wood, and even soft concrete to move around.

They also destroy insulation in the attic to build nests. Damaged insulation lets heat escape, making your home less energy-efficient. This can lead to higher heating bills and ongoing repair costs.

Here are some of the ways they damage your property:

• Ruined Insulation: They soil insulation with urine and droppings. This ruins it completely. You often have to remove and replace all of it to get rid of the smell and the germs.
• Chewed Pipes: Believe it or not, they can chew through pipes made of lead or plastic. This can cause water leaks inside your walls. Water damage leads to mould and rot, which hurts your home’s frame.
• Damaged Vents: They often enter through roof vents. They can rip open screens and break covers. This leaves your home open to rain and snow, as well as other wildlife.
• Grease Marks: These animals have oily fur. As they run along your baseboards and walls, they leave dark, greasy smudges. These marks are hard to clean and look terrible.

Contamination of Your Food Supply

Think about your pantry, where you store snacks and food for meals. Now imagine a rodent running over those packages. This is upsetting, but it happens often during an infestation. Rats have a strong sense of smell and can find food from far away.

They chew through boxes and bags with ease. Once inside, they walk on the food and leave waste behind, making it unsafe to eat. Even sealed containers may not stop them. The only way to protect your food is to remove the rats from your home completely.

They Multiply Very Quickly

One rat is rarely the only one. These rodents live in groups, so if you see one, others are likely nearby. Their numbers grow fast because they breed quickly.

A single pair can turn into a large infestation in less than a year. Females have several litters, and the babies grow up fast. This is how a small problem becomes a serious one in a short time.

Here is how fast the population can grow:

• Short Pregnancy: The time it takes for babies to be born is less than a month. This means new babies are always arriving.
• Large Litters: A mother can have up to 12 babies at one time. That is a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of new rats running around your house.
• Rapid Maturity: The babies are ready to have their own babies when they are just a few months old. The cycle keeps going faster and faster.
• Constant Breeding: They do not take a break. If they have food and warmth, they will keep having babies all year round.

Aggression and Safety Concerns

Most of the time, these wildlife visitors want to stay away from you. They are afraid of humans and prefer to hide in the dark. However, they can become aggressive if they feel trapped or threatened. This usually happens when a homeowner tries to catch them or corners them in a small space.

A rat that is scared will fight back. They have sharp teeth and claws. A bite or scratch is painful and, as we mentioned, can spread disease. This is dangerous for you, but also for your pets. Dogs and cats often try to chase or catch rodents. If your pet gets into a fight with one, your pet could get hurt or sick.

You should never try to grab or handle these animals yourself. It is not worth the risk. 

Why Professional Removal is Necessary

You might be thinking about buying traps at the store. Many people try this first. But usually, it does not work well. Traps only catch one rat at a time. Remember how fast they breed? You cannot catch them fast enough to stop the population from growing. Also, traps do not stop them from coming back inside.

If you do not find how they are getting in, new ones will just replace the old ones. You need a complete solution. This is where our professional rat removal makes a difference. At Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control, we do more than just remove the animals. We solve the problem for good.

Our process is thorough and humane. We do not use harmful poisons that can hurt your pets. We do not use cruel traps. Instead, we use our knowledge of wildlife behaviour to get them out.

Here is how we help you reclaim your home:

• Detailed Inspection: We check every inch of your house. We look for the entry holes that you might miss. We find out where they are nesting and how they are getting in.
• One-Way Doors: This is our special tool. We install these clever doors over the entry holes. They let the wildlife leave your house to find food, but they cannot open the door to get back in. They are locked out gently and safely.
• Sealing the Home: Once the rats are out, we seal up all the holes. We use strong mesh and sealant that they cannot chew through. This protects your home from future invasions.
• Cleaning Up: We can also help clean up the mess they left behind. This is important for removing the rat health risks from your attic or walls.

Get Your Home Back Today

Are you ready to say goodbye to rodents for good? Do not wait for the damage to get worse. You need a team that understands wildlife and knows how to protect your home in Markham. Trust Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to handle the situation safely and effectively. Are rats dangerous? You bet they are, but we are here to help.

Request an estimate to learn more about how we can help you today.