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Just What Is a Rodent, Anyway?

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One of the best ways to prevent rodents is to first learn about them, their habits, and their likes and dislikes. In this way, you will understand what makes them tick, and can more accurately pinpoint successful ways to eradicate them from your property with the least amount of bother and danger to you, your children, and your pets.

Did you know that there are more different kinds of rodents than any other group of animals worldwide? Scientists have identified close to 2000 different types of rodents. When most people hear the word rodent, what automatically pops into their mind? Usually, they get the mental image of a big rat or a small, but just as dreaded little mouse. These animals are indeed rodents, but they have a long list of fellow members in the scientific order called Rodentia, which is from a Latin word, rodere, whose definition is “to gnaw”. All of the familiar animals below are rodents.

Beaver
Capybara
Chinchilla
Chipmunk
Gerbil
Gopher
Groundhog
Guinea Pig
Hamster
Lemming
Marmot
Mouse
Muskrat
Porcupine
Prairie Dog
Rat
Squirrel
Woodchuck

Rodents are mammals, just like the cats and dogs that we keep in our home as pets – and just like man himself! And, almost 40 percent of all the mammals in existence are rodents! Obviously, they have adapted well to our earth, and have figured out how to successfully feed themselves and their large, frequently occurring litters of offspring. This is why they are so numerous in our world today, to the point where they

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