They use these holes to enter and exit your home, like it was their home. Rats and mice can climb brick, other rough surfaces, inside and outside pipes and walk on wires. Rodents can drop 50 feet without being seriously injured. They are able jump vertically 36 inches and 48 inches horizontally. Norway rats can burrow vertically into the earth to a depth of 4 feet. Most people do not realize that rodents can swim a mile in open water. They can enter plumbing traps, swim in sewer lines, and swim against substantial currents. Mice are not as good with water as rats but can manage. The Teeth of the rat makes the homeowner and exterminator cringe. They grow 4 to 5 inches a year and can prevent their eating if they do not gnaw them down. They are constantly chewing to get their teeth to the “proper length” (each rodent probably has their favorite length of teeth , like we have preferable hairstyles HA.) Interesting enough they are able to chew through lead sheeting, aluminum, adobe brick and even concrete! Diseases are transferred and transmitted several different ways some as gross as the rodent “biting” you or your loved ones, others as simple as the rodents fleas ticks or mites that used to live on the rats. They contaminate the food and water of your home with their feces and urine. One of the most dangerous situations for rat exterminators is the insulation of attics that has severe urination as the Hantavirus is contracted this way. Exterminators everywhere when they open the attic door cringe inside when the smell hits them. No matter how many times you smell it, its still as terrible as the first time.This foul dangerous odor gets into the air conditioning and creeps through the vents pouring this harmful smell into areas of your home.