Rodents in Knoxville, TN

Nothing can make your eyes pop open at night more quickly than hearing the scratching and scurrying of rodents in your Knoxville home. Nobody wants to have these furry critters, as cute as some of them can be, running around where you live. Problems with rodent infestations can range from being merely annoying to damaging to your property and even spreaders of serious diseases like the hantavirus. If you live in Knoxville or the suburbs of Downtown Knoxville, Old City, and Old Sevier, here are some of the rodents you may encounter:

1. House Mice – True to their name, house mice often find and eat food meant for people or their pets. They particularly enjoy sweets and nuts, but will also eat grains, such as bags of rice or dry dog food.
2. Ground Squirrels – Based on their name, ground squirrels may not sound like a common household pest, but they can be a major threat to both outdoor areas like gardens and your home itself.
3. Norway Rats – Norway rats have many names, including sewer rat, brown rat, street rat, common rat, water rat, Parisian rat, Norwegian rat, wharf rat, and Hanover rat.
4. Pocket Gophers – People with gardens, whether for food or decoration, are terrified of the damage that gophers cause.
5. Roof Rats – Roof rats are aptly named because of their affinity for heights. They can be seen traveling along power lines or tree limbs to reach the roof of your house.
6. Tree Squirrels – Tree squirrels, as you’d expect, are all members of Scirudae, the squirrel family that lives primarily in trees, as opposed to ground squirrels.