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Rodents

What Are The Health Risks Of A Rat Infestation?

health risks of rats

While some pests are simply a nuisance, others can pose a risk to you and your family. Rats are an especially dangerous pest that can spread disease and contaminate food and water sources. Keep reading to learn more about how rats spread disease and health risks associated with a rat infestation.

How Rats Spread Disease

Rats have been tied to the spread of over 35 different diseases. They can speak disease to humans and pets in a wide variety of ways including:

  • Direct handling
  • Contact with rodent saliva, feces, or urine
  • Bites
  • Mites, fleas or ticks that have fed on rats
  • Inhaling contaminated dust

Basically, once you have a rat infestation, it is incredibly easy for the disease to spread.

Health Risks to Humans

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: This disease acts much like the flu, so it is easy to dismiss early symptoms. Once infected, you will experience fever, fatigue, and shortness of breath. It is passed onto humans through contact with rat urine or feces.

Rat-bite fever: If you have handled a rat, you may notice that a rash has broken out where you made contact. Additional symptoms include fever, nausea, and headaches.

Salmonellosis: Salmonella food poisoning often occurs when humans eat undercooked meat. However, it can also be contracted by consuming water or food that has been exposed to rat feces. 

Lymphocytic choriomeningitis: This is one of the more serious diseases that comes with long-term symptoms that can result in neurological damage without the right treatment. Sufferers will experience fever, nausea, body aches, and meningitis or encephalitis.

When it comes to common pests, rats are one of the most dangerous to humans. You will want to take immediate action at the first signs of an infestation in order to protect you and your family. If you have noticed droppings or actually spotted rats in your home, call Capital Pest today. 

Capital Pest is proud to be a family-owned and operated pest control company serving Raleigh, NC and its surrounding area (Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Clayton, Pinehurst, Pittsboro, Fuquay-Varina, etc). Contact us for our pest control services today!