Defined as an order of mammals with continuous growing incisors. Usually garden pests.
,Rodents (rodentia) are an order of mammals defined by their continuously growing incisors. Approximately 40% of all mammal species are rodents and they are native to all continents except for Antarctica. Example rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, porcupines, beavers, voles, and capybara.
Their continuously growing incisors are usually very sharp, and are used to gnaw wood, break into food, and to bite predators. Most eat seeds or plants. As such, many have become pests, eating garden plants (especially shoots and fruit), gnawing structural wood, and spreading diseases (e.g. most famously Bubonic Plague in medieval Europe).
Common rodent garden pests in the northern hemisphere include fox ("American grey") squirrels, rats, mice, and voles (northern US).
Note that many of the smaller mammals are confused with rodents although they are actually from different mammal orders. Such mammals include rabbits & hares (Lagomorpha), opossums ( Didelphimorphia, an order of marsupials), and moles (Soricomorpha).
Use this tag for all garden questions about rodents - especially when the rodent in question is unknown, or the question/expected answers are generic to a range of rodents. Specific tags should be used for questions about specific rodents (e.g. squirrels for squirrels).
