Controlling Rodents

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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National Pesticide Information Center
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New as of May 28, 2008

People can successfully control rodents through a variety of means. This page provides information about preventing, identifying, and treating rodent infestations. It also addresses regulation of rodent-control products and safe pesticide use.

Why be concerned: Each year, rodents cause significant damage to property and food supplies across the United States. In addition to damaging property, rodents may also spread diseases, posing a serious risk to public health. Rodent-borne diseases can be transferred directly to humans through bite wounds or consumption of contaminated food and/or water, or indirectly by way of ticks, mites, and fleas that transmit the infection to humans after feeding on infected rodents.

What YOU can do: There are many things that you can do to prevent or treat rodent problems, even without the use of chemical rodenticides. Learn more about rodent control, and safe use and regulation of rodenticides.

Prevent Rodent Infestations
Identify Rodent Infestations
Treat Rodent Infestations
Safely Use Rodent Control Products
Tips for Hiring a Rodent Control Professional
Regulating Rodent Control Products
Who Is Involved in Rodent Control?
In Case of an Emergency…
For More Information

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Prevent Rodent Infestations

To discourage rodent infestations and avoid contact with rodents, remove the food sources, water, and items that provide them shelter.

Seal holes inside and outside the home to prevent entry by rodents. This may be as simple as inserting steel wool in small holes, or patching holes in inside or outside walls.
Trap rodents outside the home to help reduce the rodent population within.
Clean up potential rodent food sources and nesting sites.
More prevention tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

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Identify Rodent Infestations

If preventive measures alone do not work, control of a rodent infestation will rely on identifying the problem's source in order to choose an appropriate treatment method. Unless an infestation is severe, you may never physically see a mouse or rat. Some signs of rodent infestation may include:

rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers or cupboards, and/or under the sink;
nesting material such as shredded paper, fabric, or dried plant matter;
evidence of gnawing and chewing on food packaging or structures;
evidence of damaged structures providing entry points into the home; and
stale smells coming from hidden areas.

Pictures of and information about rodents commonly found in the United States are available through CDC and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) .

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Treat Rodent Infestations

To remove rodents, you will need to use traps or rodenticides.
Traps include:

Lethal traps - such as snap traps, are designed to trap and kill rodents.
Live traps - such as cage-type traps, capture rodents alive and unharmed, but the rodents must then be released or killed.
Glue boards - are devices that use sticky substances to trap rodents. Unless you have sealed the entry points into the house, live rodents released outside may find their way back into the house.

Rodenticides are products intended to kill rodents, and are typically sold in bait or tracking powder form. Rodenticides include:

Baits - combine rodenticides with food to attract rodents. They may be formulated as blocks or paste, and may be enclosed in a bait station.
Tracking powders - rodenticides combined with powdery material. The powder sticks to their feet and fur, and is swallowed when the animals groom themselves.

In both cases, the rodents die after consuming the chemical contained in the bait or tracking powder. Because they may pose risks to human health, some rodenticides (including tracking powders) may only be legally applied by certified pesticide applicators.

Always place traps and baits in places where children and pets cannot reach them.
Use all products according to label directions and precautions.
Be sure to select traps that are appropriate to the type and size of rodent (i.e., mouse vs. rat).
When using glue boards, place them in dry, dust-free areas, as moisture and dust will reduce their effectiveness.

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Safely Use Rodent Control Products

Rodent control products, if misused, can potentially poison or otherwise harm you, your children, or your pets. For this reason, it is important to read the product label and follow all directions when using a rodenticide or any other pest control product.

EPA requires all pesticide labels to list important use instructions and precautions to ensure that pesticides and pest control devices are used safely and effectively, and to prevent harmful exposure. You must always read and understand all label information before using any pest control product. EPA also recommends that you store pesticides and pest control devices away from children and pets, in a locked utility cabinet or garden shed. Any traps or baits should also be set in locations where children or pets cannot access them.

EPA, along with CDC and many rodent control professionals, believes that preventing pest problems is the most effective way to control rodent populations. Relying on preventive measures (e.g., cleaning up food and water sources and sealing entry points) and reduced-risk treatment methods (e.g., trapping) can reduce the reliance on, and therefore the corresponding risk from, the use of chemical rodenticides. This combination of approaches is generally known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

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Tips for Hiring a Rodent Control Professional

If you have a rodent issue that you are uncomfortable dealing with yourself, you may wish to hire a rodent control professional.

Choose a pest control company carefully. Firms offering pest control services must be licensed by your state. Ask to see the company’s license and, if you have any concerns, call your state pesticide regulatory agency.
EPA’s Citizen’s Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety (PDF) (54 pp, 2.37M, about PDF) offers more tips on how to choose a pest control company.
For additional assistance and tips on locating and hiring a pest control professional in your area, contact:
- The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC): Call 1-800-858-7378, send an e-mail to npic@ace.orst.edu.
- The National Pest Management Association (NPMA): Call (703) 352-6762, send an e-mail to info@pestworld.org.

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Regulating Rodent Control Products

EPA regulates rodent control products, ensuring that they can be used effectively without posing unreasonable risks to people or the environment. EPA also works with CDC and various other federal, state, and local institutions to provide information and tools to the public for controlling rodents and the risks they may pose.

EPA’s pesticide registration and reevaluation processes are designed to ensure that rodenticides used according to label directions and precautions can help control rodent populations without posing unreasonable risks to people or the environment.

EPA has developed risk management decisions for ten rodenticides. The ten rodenticides covered by this proposed decision are those that the Agency concluded pose the greatest risk to human health and the environment.

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Who Is Involved in Rodent Control?

In addition to its regulatory role, EPA works with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various other state and local agencies on outreach to the public about rodent control and the risks rodents may pose.

CDC protects health by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability, working closely with state and local health departments to provide public information. They are a rich source for information regarding rodent management. CDC also has a fact sheet for rodent control in disaster settings (PDF) (3 pp, 109K, about PDF) .

While pest management begins with individuals, effective control is often community or locally based. Each state and locality has a unique system for pest management, including the prevention and treatment of rodents. To see what your state is doing to treat and prevent rodents, visit your state’s Department of Health Web site.

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