You want to get rid of rats in your home, but you do not want to potentially harm your family with chemicals and hazardous poisons. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to get rid of these rodents naturally without relying on those dangerous options.
Search for and Find Every Unlocked “Door”
One thing you have in common with the rats in your home is you all use doors to get inside. You obviously know where your doors are located, but do you know the location(s) of theirs? Rats and mice can squeeze their way through most of the small cracks and holes in your home that you may easily overlook.
It may surprise you that the average rat can work his or her way into your home through a crack or hole the size of a quarter. Therefore, when searching for these “doors,” it is imperative that you hone in on the areas that may have been undetected for quite some time. Chances are the hole, crack or opening you have neglected in the past has now become the “door” used by those rats in the present.
Get Rid of the Inadvertent Rat Bait
You could be inadvertently luring rats and mice into your home with bait. For example, where do you keep your garbage outside of your home? Is it placed in a sealed container or openly exposed to the surrounding rodents, insects and other animals that may smell it? Do you have any food scraps, crumbs or even leftover meals left out overnight? The aroma of those culinary treats and trash can quickly draw a crowd of interested eaters.
To get rid of rats naturally, make sure you are not inadvertently baiting them to your home. Remember, this does not just apply to the food your family eats; rats and mice are just as attracted to pet food and bird seed as well.
Seal All Cracks and Holes in Your Home
You can get rid of rats quickly if you take away their entry and exit points. The key to stopping a rat is to stop their trips in, around and out of your house. By sealing every hole and crack in your house, those uninvited house pests will no longer have any access to your home. Weather stripping, putty and caulk can be used to seal most of those openings. If you wanted to step it up a notch, invest in steel sheets, plates, funnels and other objects made of steel. Persistent rats can and burrow their way through a lot of materials, but steel is not on the list.
Embrace the Power of Peppermint
A natural way to get rid of rats is to appeal to their sense of smell. Perhaps the most powerful ingredient to achieve this goal is peppermint. As humans, we love the smell of peppermint. We put it in our mouths, homes, cars, clothes and other places which need to be freshened up a bit. Rats and mice, on the other hand, absolutely hate the smell.
Studies have shown the strong scent of peppermint causes a lethal reaction in these rodents, shrinking their lungs and progressively killing them. Dipping small cotton balls in peppermint and placing them near the rats’ doors could effectively deter them away from your home, especially with the life-threatening consequences of sticking around too long. If you do not have peppermint, you can sprinkle pepper near their “doors” instead. While peppermint causes their lungs to shrink, the smell of pepper inflates their lungs – creating a different reaction to the same fatal result.
Use Ammonia in Moderation
The pungent scent of ammonia can also effectively kill rats and mice within your home. Like the peppermint, you can soak cotton balls with ammonia and place them near the entry and exit points throughout and outside of your home. Chances are the strong scent will scare off the rodents since it is also capable of killing them slowly. However, there is a major disclaimer you should consider before using ammonia: It is dangerous for humans when not used in moderation.
If you use ammonia as a household cleaning product, you are already familiar with its powerful scent and how overexposure can affect your body. Before you start distributing ammonia-soaked cotton balls throughout your home, please take the time to strategically consider your placement. The last thing you want to do it to negatively affect your family’s health as you try to get rid of rats in your home naturally.
Consider Using Certain Foods as Poison
Along with appealing to their sense of smell, you can also get rid of rats by catering to their sense of taste. For instance, bay leaves are usually viewed by rats as food to eat and share with their families. As soon as they try to ingest the leaves, however, they will choke. If you have any onions you can spare, slice one of them up and put the pieces near their holes. It will not take very long for them to sniff out and eat the slices, which may get the job done.
If you have a cat, you can use your pet’s urine to naturally get rid of rats. Since they are not familiar with the smell, they will more than likely try it out which is the equivalent of drinking poison.
Before you dive into using these hazardous foods and liquids to get rid of rats naturally, there is a downside to consider. Rats and mice are very picky eaters because they instinctively know not everything they put in their mouths is good for them. When introduced to a new food item, he or she will conduct a small “taste test” to see how it affects them. If they notice it makes them sick, they will avoid it like the plague. Therefore, if you are using these food items, you need to ensure the initial exposure does the trick because that may be your only shot. Otherwise, you will be wasting your time and possibly attract a different crowd of creatures by leaving food scraps scattered throughout your home.
Generally, rats prefer to live where people live. This has become a common tendency due to the invasion of human activity in their natural habitats. There are several ways that have been offered to those who wish to learn how to get rid of rats. However, the most effective way is to use Nuisance Wildlife Rangers. We are experts in rat removal and control and use the best methods and techniques to remove the rats naturally. Rats are witty creatures and they will find a way to get into your home, unsuspiciously.
Rats come to your home in search of food and shelter. An ounce of food and water can help these rodents to survive. When they get into your home, they will hide during the day come out at night, due to their nocturnal nature. This is why you will notice screeching noises and scratches on the walls, at night. The favorite places for the rats include the attic, basements and in the walls, away from human activity.
If you have noticed any signs of rat infestation, there are some measures that you can take so as to eliminate them successfully. There are some who would advocate for rat poison, others go for traps. However, the only effective way to take full control of rats is to hire a professional and this is what we are good at. We will not only remove the rats, but also ensure that they do not regain access to your home in the future.
What Scents Repel Rats?
When you go shopping for solutions to keep rats away, there numerous options that will be offered to you. There are some advertisers that will advocate for certain scents that are supposedly meant to repel rats. The most common one is mothballed, which unfortunately do not work. Ammonia is also proposed as an effective remedy to keeping rats away, but this will not work, either. The same applies to peppermint and any other thing that you may have been told. The best way to keep rats away is to ensure that they do not have a source of food or water. A professional rat removal expert will find the right techniques to keep these critters away.
What Is Attracting Rats To My House?
As mentioned earlier, there are a couple of food items that will attract rats to your house. When you have fast foods, you can be sure that these are attractive to the rodents and this is why they are commonly used as bait. The common foods that can appeal to the rats include raisin bread, peanut butter, bacon and gumdrops among others. As long as you can limit the access to the trash can, you can be sure that the rats will not find your home appealing. You should keep your house and yard extremely clean and you will be shocked how easy it is to keep the rodents at a bay.
How Do I Get Rid Of Rats In My House?
There are quite a number of solutions and techniques that can be applied to get rid of rats. The common ones include using a trap and there are different types of traps. Some are lethal and will kill rats instantly. Rat poison is the other option that would be, ideally, recommended. However, this comes with its own fair share of challenges, since rats do not ingest poison right away. It means that they will end up dying somewhere in the house, which may be hard to reach.
Hiring a professional rat removal company is the best way to eliminate these rodents. These are experts that will explore a number of options and the good news is that such experts use humane ways. Call Nuisance Wildlife Ranger to get rid of rats professionally.
How Do You Keep Rats Away?
Rats do not stagger into your home accidentally; there is something that attracts them into your compound. The only way that you will keep the rats away is by ensuring that your property is not attractive to them. You should get rid of all garbage so that it does serve as a source of food for these rats. The next step that you can take is sealing off all the loopholes and gaps that may be used as an entry point by the rodents.
Never leave the pet food outside and in case there are spills of the pet food, clean it up. Getting a cat might also help in repelling the cuts and also removing any bird feeders as well as fruit trees may be an ideal solution.
Do Rats Avoid Traps?
Rats are cunning and intelligent creatures. As such, you cannot expect to come directly to the trap that you have set for them. They will do as much as they can to avoid the traps. As such, you need to outsmart them when it comes to the placing of the traps. You should identify areas that have a high level of rat traffic and this is where you will place the traps.
Since rats love to run along walls, you should ensure that the traps are touching the wall. You can certainly expect some level of resistance, as the rats try to avoid the traps. To get the best results, you should hire a professional to trap the rats and remove them for you.
Why Can’t I See Rats During The Day?
Rats are nocturnal and this is why they tend to be active from dusk to dawn. There are instances when you might actually see the rats, during the day, but this is when the nest has been disturbed. In other cases, rats will be running out when there is a heavy infestation in your house. Ordinarily, these are some of the critters that do no love too much light. Most breeds are partially blind and too much light tends to affect them adversely. If you see a rat running across your yard during the day, then you might have a very large infestation of the same.
How To Get Rid Of Rats Outside
While most people may not see the rats, the infestation is discovered by the various signs of their presence. If you hear some noises in the attic, walls, and ceilings at night, this may indicate the infestation of rats. Some of the common indicators include rat droppings, near the sources of food and also when you follow their trail, you may discover some greasy marks. If there holes in the fence, this may be used as the entry point.
In order to eliminate these nuisance animals outside, you need to ensure that they do not have any supply of food. This means that you should clear out your trash often and if possible invest in a metal trash can that has a lid. You should also keep away pet food and this prevents the rats from coming into your compound. Nuisance Wildlife Rangers are experienced in rat removal and would be the best option in this case.
How To Get Rid Of Rats In-House Fast
Rats come into your house in search of food, water, and shelter. You can easily remove the rats from your home by hiring a rat removal specialist. These are experts with the skills and expertise to eliminate the rats, successfully. Once the rats are removed, it is imperative to keep them away for good. Some of the measures that you can take is to ensure that your food is stored properly and any debris is cleaned right away.
Check your plumbing also to fix any leaks so that you can deprive them of water. Do not be tempted to use poison as it may end affecting your children and pets. Working with a professional rat removal expert is the best way as they will use non-toxic methods and ensure that the rat menace is eliminated completely.
How To Get Rid Of Rats In The Walls
Getting rid of rats in the walls is one task that may not be easy. You will need an experienced specialist to identify the exact place where the rats are, before the removal process commences. While this will be a remedial solution, it is imperative to prevent the entry of rats into the house, in the first place. This simply means denying them any food or water, by storing your food properly.
The process of removing rats in the walls will start with sealing off the entry points completely. A single opening will be left and a cage trap will be placed. As the rats come out in search of food, they will get into the trap and be relocated. The necessary repairs will be done and leave your house free of any rats. This is a task that should be entrusted to qualified experts.
How To Get Rid Of Rats Without Poison
When you go to the internet or even the department stores to look for ways of eliminating rats, most people will recommend the use of poison. This is the difference between pest control companies and wildlife remove experts. In our case, we will remove the rats and relocate them to their natural habitat. However, pest controllers are inclined towards poisoning rats, which is not an effective solution.
Rat poison is cruel as most chemicals are made to dehydrate the rats. When you use poison, the rats may ingest it, but it will not take effect immediately, which means that they end up dying in their nest. Instead of using these harmful substances as a way of removing rats, allow Nuisance Wildlife Rangers to use their humane methods to remove all the rats in your home, without killing them.
Rat Removal Cost
Whether you choose to remove the rats by yourself or choose to hire a professional, there is a cost factor that is incurred. You should never believe anyone who promises to offer free rat removal services. There are a number of activities involved when you hire an expert to remove the rats for you and this is what will influence the overall cost. Ideally, there will be repairs, cleaning, and sanitization of the areas where there was an infestation.
Do not overthink about the cost of rat removal as failing to have them removed professional can end up being too costly. Rats reproduce at a very high rate and they will chew on your cables, wires and other surfaces. This may cause electric fires and other damages and ultimately you will be slapped with a heavy cost of repairs. Rats also carry viral diseases that can be fatal, if not treated, right away. Have a professional expert remove the rats and this will be cheaper than the cost of letting the colony grow.
Rat Control Services Near Me
When should you call a professional expert to remove rats from your home? For most people when they spot a rat or any signs of rat infestation, the initial reaction is to try and catch the rat by themselves. Sadly, most of them do not succeed and the longer you wait, the bigger the problem. This is mainly due to the fact that these rodents tend to breed pretty fast. One rat can have up to 10 litters in a year.
This means that as soon as you notice the slightest indication of rat infestation, you need to find a professional exterminator. By leaving this task to the professionals, you will not only have the problem resolved fast but also for good.
Nuisance Wildlife Rangers has a great team of highly trained rat removal experts. We know the best tactics to deal with all manner of nuisance creatures. If you are looking for ways on how to get rid of rats, contact us today and we will do a proper job. We have the best trapping and baiting techniques for the rats in your home. Call us today for rat removal and control and you can kiss the rat problem goodbye, forever!