Of Mice and Men : Unwelcome House Guests Arrive, and More May Be Coming

Although they have high, squeaky voices, these characters aren’t cartoon movie stars wearing clean white gloves and red button-front shorts.

They don’t have any fans either.

They are real-life rodents--a cast of millions. They have descended this year upon the San Fernando Valley, as well as other parts of Southern California, turning homes into their own brand of amusement parks.

And the bad news for those who have already stumbled upon these unwanted house guests nibbling at Fido’s bowl or, worse, gnawing on the Wheaties box in the cupboard--the biggest invasion may be coming.

“When the weather starts cooling off is when they really start heading indoors,” said Marcus Canipe, co-owner of Western Termite and Pest Control Inc., which has offices in the Valley, as well as Orange and San Bernardino counties.

The problem, local exterminators say, is the vermin have been multiplying like rats.

“This year, people have had problems with mice in their homes who have never had them before, or have more mice this year than ever before,” said John Munro, a spokesman for the Pest Control Operators of California, a trade association of about 1,000 pest control firms.

The spring rains that ended Southern California’s drought also triggered a rodent baby boom. Rain produced more vegetation, which produced more insects, thus providing more food for rats and mice, which responded by having more offspring.

And when the vegetation started to dry out this summer, the shrinking food supply forced more rodents to find human help to feed their families, exterminators say. As a result, greater than normal numbers of rodents have managed to squeeze past doors, through busted screens and other openings into residences.

The most common pests in the Valley are roof rats, as well as house and field mice, exterminators say.

“In past years, you would have one animal having its young and you might not notice,” said Dave Taylor, an entomologist and training director for the Antimite company in Burbank. “But with the earlier increases in the spring, you have a lot more of them doing it. So the numbers start to go up.”

Taylor and others say the large rodent increases starting this past summer stemmed from a natural cycle that is seen every few years, rather than some sort of apocalyptic plague.

The increase in rodents has also triggered a rise in the number of calls to remove snakes, said Gordon Fries, owner of Hydrex Pest Control Co. in Van Nuys. Owls and coyotes are also enjoying the bounty, exterminators say.

But for residents, it is a different story.

“The rats are driving people crazy,” said Walter Patrick of Walter’s Pest Control in Sherman Oaks. “They’re getting bold, attacking their kitchens, getting into their cupboards.”

Such brazen attacks, and the sound of scurrying feet in the attic, brought Jesse Torres to an upscale Spanish-stucco in North Hollywood on Friday.

After a few minutes in the attic, Torres, an exterminator with Zenith Environmental Pest Control, found the evidence he was looking for. Rat droppings and busted attic screens.

“They always leave a trail that’s easy to find,” said Torres, 41, nicknamed “The Rat Man.”

His arsenal includes new screening for all unguarded openings leading into the house, and half-foot-long rat traps baited with a dollop of peanut butter--”I always use crunchy,” he said.

The rat traps kill the rodents instantly, and “can break your finger,” he said. He demonstrated by snapping a pencil in half with the sprung trap.

Exterminators agree that keeping dishes washed, trash cans emptied and pet food dishes clean are the first steps in the battle. Residents must also close all possible openings rodents can use to get into the house.

The average cost for such professional help can range from $250 to $500. Those costs include removing the dead rodents from traps, a chore that many residents would rather pay for. Some customers get squeamish about the whole idea of killing the creatures, exterminators say.

“I’ve lost jobs when people find out we kill them in the traps,” Torres said. “They think we’re going to trap them and set them free somewhere. I don’t try to persuade anybody. I just tell them what we do.”

Jerye Mooney of the Carson-based Fund for Animals is one of those particularly unhappy with the current war on rodents.

“We would prefer preventive measures,” Mooney said.

Still, with other small businesses in the midst of a downturn, pest control firms aren’t complaining, especially with the prospect of an even busier winter, as rodents seek shelter from the cold.

Says Canipe of Western Termite: “Insects, rats, mice, they don’t know there’s a recession.”

Facts About Rodents RATS

* Size: Head and body up to 10 inches. Tail from 7 to 10 inches.

* Weight: Up to a pound.

* Diet: Just about anything.

* Breeding: Females reach sexual maturity as soon as three months. In warm, moist climates, breeding continues year-round. Gestation period is three weeks.

* Predators: Owls, coyotes, snakes, humans.

MICE

* Size: House mice are often 2.5 to 3.75 inches from head to rump. Add 3 or 4 inches for the tail.

* Weight: From 0.6 to 1 ounce.

* Diet: Some, such as field mice, are capable of eating their own weight each day in vegetables, bark, seeds and grains.

* Breeding: Quick. Various species can give birth to their first litters at five weeks of age. Capable of producing new offspring nearly every three weeks.

* Predators: More owls, coyotes, snakes, humans.

Source: Encyclopedia Americana