The most common type of rodent situations of South Florida is rats in the attic and rats in the crawlspaces. These types of rodent problems make up the majority of rat calls received in South Florida each year.
Rats become a problem in attics because of their persistent chewing. Rats have four incisors two on the top and two on the bottom. These teeth continually grow throughout their lifetime meaning they have to continually have to wear them down by gnawing. This gnawing leads to chewing their way into the home through small openings and structural imperfections. This is a difficult problem to solve by a novice. Wildlife Control technicians are experts at finding construction gaps and structural imperfections that can lead to rodent infestations. These pests can access the home through an opening as small as a dime. Never hire an inexperienced rodent control company to solve your rat problems. We provide services to completely seal a home and eliminate any openings these pests can access to prevent rodent infestations. Call our experts today!
Many homes throughout the South Florida area are built on concrete slabs; however, there are some homes such as townhouses, condos and still homes that do have crawlspaces. A crawlspace is an area beneath your floor and ground. Often time’s rats will populate these areas in an attempt to find safe harborage. Rats and mice find crawlspaces an ideal place to live. It is a safe place from predators and keeps them out of the weather’s elements.
The unwanted roommate. You flash him down the toilet and he comes back through the same route! Stereotypically, he is known for loving cheese and helping to reduce the European population during the dark ages. Our dear buddy the rat. Perhaps the reason rodents are so loathed. Rats can undoubtedly be one of the most annoying pests to live in your house. They are untidy, imposing and their ability to transmit diseases is unparalleled.
They will bite you while collecting bits of food particles from your mouth which will aid in the transmission of some of the most deadly diseases known to man. Living with these rodents is simply no way to live for anyone who wants to live a hygienic life. Rats will breed out of control in your house and you cannot keep up with their appetites. This is why rat removal has become such an important service for residents living from small towns to big cities. Nuisance Wildlife Rangers has heard the beckon and offers the best services in rat removal that no other service can offer.
Why Are Rats Dangerous?
There is really nowhere to start in unraveling the menace that is rats. They are known to spread at least sixty known communicable diseases to humans. Rats carry parasites and diseases. Some of the diseases include Hantavirus, Listeria, Rat-bite fever and salmonellosis. To put things in perspective, Rats were the carriers of the fleas that led to the bubonic plague in Europe in the dark ages. This particular plague wiped out about sixty percent of the European population at that time.
They are not very healthy creatures so we must always aim for separate residency with them. Their intrusive nature where they are known to bite people when asleep is also more reason to ensure you don’t live with these rather foul creatures. Rats teeth grow perpetually. They gnaw at all manner of things from furniture to electrical wires. This will leave your furniture looking terrible. Gnawing at wires leaves electrical wires exposed. This is known to cause many house fires in the United States.
How Do You Get Rid Of Rats In Your Attic?
Rats are among the more likely animals to enter your attic. The roof rat is the most likely rat to enter your attic. Rats and mice are commensal rodents. This means that they prefer to live with people and are actually more like people than they are like other animals who live in the wild. For this reason, you will find that rats are more common in cities than they are in the wild. Rats aren’t very social creatures at the same time so they will hide in walls and vents and attics.
Removing rats from attics can be a delicate procedure. The first thing to do is do a thorough inspection of your attic. This may also include doing a thorough inspection of your entire house. You may also have house rats which will dwell everywhere. This may be tiring and the best thing to do is call an expert who will do this for you. So you don’t miss anything. The next thing to do is seal up all entry points into your house and with material that rats can’t chew through. Once this is done, the expert will set traps for them. The final process is usually getting rid of the trapped rats.
Should I Poison Rats?
It is much wiser and encouraged to practice rat exclusion than it is to poison rats. Most of the poisons that people use aren’t good for us or the environment. Cases where poisoning a pest has gone badly for the one issuing the poison are many. Rats are mammals and the possibility that the poison you use on them is also harmful to you is pretty high. Additionally, Poison doesn’t work immediately.
This gives the rat an opportunity to return to its hiding place and die there. This means you’ll have to deal with a foul smell coupled with the risk of other infections coming from the decomposing rat and as well the very same poison you used. A dead rat also attracts the bluebottle fly which lays its eggs on dead animals. Keeping poisons in your house is also an unhealthy practice as it puts young ones and other unsuspecting at risk.
Do Mothballs Repel Rats?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions by those who would rather use simple DIY tricks to get rid of rats. The truth is simply no. Mothballs are advertised to repel many animals but this is just a waste of money. Many people have bought this product only to be extremely disappointed. Mothballs use naphthalene to repel animals. It is a nasty smelling compound. Many studies have shown that rats remain very unbothered by this compound. Some would walk over the balls as though unnoticed.
Even if the rats would be bothered by the smell, having the balls around would bother you more than it would them. This is because they would simply shift their nest to another part of your house that does not have mothballs. The amount of mothballs required to chase rats away is just as much as needed to keep humans away. It is essential to avoid using such ineffective methods of rat control. Use methods that actually work such as calling Nuisance Wildlife Rangers, your reliable rat control expert.
Eliminating Garden Rats
Rats can colonize your garden. Some rat species prefer to live in hollows in the ground and as discussed, you don’t want a rat colony in your compound. They are likely to attract other predators such as snakes which can cause even more damage to your health. To prevent rats from making a home in your yards, ensure you have a clean yard. Remove all clutter such as haystacks that you never use, stacks of timber and any other items that appear to make a good nesting place for rats.
Keeping your grass well-trimmed also protects you from rats. This is because they will be unable to hide in short well-manicured grass. If you have an existing rat problem, there are two methods you might want to consider. People usually opt for mechanical trapping or poisoning. Trapping and exclusion is the best way because it averts the risk of killing other species. It also protects kids from innocently consuming the poison.
Rat Proofing
This is all methods that ensure that rats cannot in any way get into your compound or house. It ensures that an invasion cannot happen. You can start by repairing all the holes in your compound. Rats can creep in through very small holes into our buildings. If you want to prevent rats, start with doing simple repairs around your house. Sealing holes in the yard also help. Burrow rats will hide in the dirt so filling these holes with sand will make your yard less appealing to them.
Using high gloss paints is also a good idea. This is because it will give the rats a hard time climbing up walls and getting into your house. Being mindful and acting at once when you see a rat also keeps them from encroaching. Spray your compound with rat repellent. Keeping your house extremely clean and your garbage disposed of in tight bags is also very important.
Natural Rat Control
When it comes to getting rid of rats, you might want to consider bringing in another furry animal who is at least a friend. Employ cats. They have a long history of symbiotic living with human beings. They are natural enemies with rats and for this reason, provide a safe biological means to deter rats. The city of Chicago has been known to employ cats in different stations to kill rats. There are many cats without homes and if you really need a safer way to deal with rats, adopt that kitty at the shelter without someone to love.
Cats also come with many advantages. Did you know the purring of a cat against you can heal diseases? Well, keep that in mind if you’re considering a better effective rat removal method. Other than chase and eat rats, cat feces serve as rat deterrents. Rats smelling cat feces will relocate fearing this natural predator. This is among the best methods to consider to control rats in your home.
Signs of A Rat Infestation
Sometimes when these little baggers settle in with us, we may not really know it until they’ve totally overrun us. There are some telling signs that you may have a rat infestation, however. Rat droppings are the first. Rat droppings are usually grain like and hard. They will sound like sand and they are usually numerous. Rats are shameless shitters and will have their droppings everywhere including in your kitchen where they feast on your food. These are good places to check especially if you are spotless cleaner.
You will definitely then see them. The little ones at least. Small rats will crisscross across your floor often with a particular route they follow. You may check for signs of a route. They also gnaw at everything. Check if your cushions have been eaten away. Small circular holes are usually a good indication of the presence of rats. Rats will also eat your clothing leaving the same marks they leave on cushions. Another sign of a rat presence is squeaking. Rats are squeaking animals and small squeaks are a good sign.
Traps For Removal
It is not in all of our disposition to have the heart to kill rats. Thankfully and to science, there are a number of alternative methods that can and will work for you. Here is also where trapping rats come in. You may need to consult your expert for this. There are many kinds of traps such as snap trap that lure the rats with bait then when pressed, snap and kill the rat. The best thing about traps is that you will often get alerted due to the movements of the closing mechanisms.
Depending on the kind of rat infestation that afflicts you, you should consider a trapping mechanism that is apt to this task. Some of them have the ability to trap as many as ten rats. The more expensive trap is an electric one which lures rats in with some food as bait then shuts and immediately activates an electric pulse that kills the rats. It should b noted that rats are a rather enduring species, with the ability to resuscitate themselves after an electric buzz through their hearts.
Rat Removal Poisons
These are an easy way to get rid of rats and never have to do any real work, right? Well, think again. There use of poison deterrents is linked with many frightful dangers. It is for these dangers that you should strongly avoid considering the use of these. However, if it is really bad, you should know how to use these effectively. First, you should buy a poison that is not strong enough to affect a human in a considerably fatal manner.
You should as well, ensure you lock up all food particulates so that the rat only has access to the poisoned food. Ensure the water sources are as well out of reach for them. Place your poisons in places that are out of reach from unsuspecting kids and our pets. Such places would include behind the fridge and up the attic. It is impossible to exhaust how much poisons can work against you.
Poison does not immediately work. It takes a while giving the rat some time to escape back to its hole. This essentially means your house will stink if you cannot get hold of the rat. This attracts predators into your home and as well as flies. Rat removal is undoubtedly an essential service in America today.
Rats have really settled into our homes. For most of us, living with rats does not really fit into our idea of healthy living. Investing in a reliable partner for your home and estate is a definitely the best way to go now. Let rat removal be an easy task for you by employing Nuisance Wildlife Rangers for all your animal control matters. There is no regretting these guys. If you are experiencing problems with rodent infestations, rats or mice in attics, dead rat in the wall or need any other type of rat removal service contact our office today. Rest assured we can solve all types of rat and mice problems and eliminate your pest problem today!