At Omega Animal Removal, we take rodent removal very seriously, and here’s just one more reason why. A new study shows that proximity to rat infestation is linked to depression. The study is specific to urban neighborhoods where people have strong reasons to believe that rats are residing in their homes or those nearby. Much of the research took place in low-income neighborhoods where violence is at higher risk and residents are plagued by a variety of seemingly greater issues such as drug sales, threat of physical harm and vacant housing. No matter if you live in Miami, Los Angeles, or in between in place like Dallas.

The researchers, Danielle German and Carl Latkin, expected to hear complaints of the proximity of drugs, HIV or lack of access to healthy food, but the reigning grievances were rats and trash. The researchers looked more carefully into the data and found that the other neighborhood issues had little bearing on the anxiety and mood swings caused by having the constant threat of a rat infestation.

Even more shocking was the correlation that those who reported seeing rats in their homes or nearby were 72% more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than those who did not. Rodent removal is a tricky process that can seem interminable and impossible to the untrained citizen. Rats and mice leave pheromone trails between the outdoors and their nesting sites, meaning deserted nests can easily become the home of another passing rodent, leading them directly to the previous location. This is why rat traps frequently prove unsuccessful in permanently terminating a rat infestation.

Rat proximity is a community stressor and an individual nightmare. Failure to take care of a suspected rat problem both increases the risk of the issue spreading to other homes in your neighborhood and heightens the internal risk of disease. Regardless of the size of the problem, it is important to call us, your area’s leading rodent removal specialist immediately upon suspicion, if just to verify that your home is properly sealed against outdoor critters making a prolonged visit in your attic and crawlspace.