Rats and mice spread disease. Rodents are responsible for some of the most devastating disease outbreaks of all time. More than 10 million people have died in the past century from rodent-borne disease.

The diseases spread by mice and rats include bubonic plague, hantavirus, typhus, rickettsia, Lyme disease, dysentery, and various fevers, among others. Rodents cause food poisoning by spreading bacteria like E.coli, salmonella and listeria. They also trigger allergies and asthma.

Rodents spread disease by biting people, or when people get bit by fleas and ticks that previously fed on the blood of diseased rodents. You also can get sick from breathing in very small particles and droplets of rodent feces and urine, which become airborne when disturbed.

Rodents urinate in micro-droplets as they move about indoors looking for food. This means just about any surface -- counter tops, stoves, dishes – can become contaminated.

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