It’s feeding time! When you pour kibble into your dogs’ food bowls and place them onto the ground, you can be sure your dogs will enjoy the full serving of food. Or will they? There may be other crawlers scavenging for a quick, easy meal. More specifically, a popular pest myth states a mouse will eat your dog’s dry food no matter where it is placed.
Mice, like any other rodents, are attracted by food. So yes, a mouse will eat your dog’s dry food. Mice are omnivores, eating a varied diet that includes fats and proteins. Proteins can include common seeds and grains. That being said, these rodents do not just limit themselves to a specific type of food. They can also eat insects, grass, and meats. If they have the opportunity to eat anything, including your pet’s kibble, they will go for it.
The dangers of contamination
According to research conducted at the University of Florida, mice can “contaminate 10 times as much food as they eat,” causing a hazard to your pet’s food supply. As soon as a rodent gets into a bowl or bag of dog food, the dog food is compromised. These rodents may have transferred pathogens that are known to cause diseases including rabies, bacterial food poisoning, bubonic plague, and murine typhus.
Prevention
Mice can cause serious health issues; therefore, prevention is key. There are several tricks to help you prevent mice from entering your home and feeding on pet food. For example, store your dog’s food away and clean up all human and pet food after consumption. Make sure you close trash lids completely throughout the home.
Take notice of any wall openings in your kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and storage rooms that are large enough to let small mice inside. They can squeeze through tiny spaces, so be sure to also check doors, windows, and screens. When sealing these openings, keep in mind that mice like to bite materials such as plastic, rubber, wood, and other materials. Use a material like iron wool to cover the openings.
If these prevention methods are not effective, you will need to call professional pest control services to completely eliminate the problem. Manning Pest Control can help you. Call us today at (954) 772-3077 to remove your rodent problem as soon as possible.
