Homeowners in the U.S. face the threat of three kinds of rats becoming unwelcome house guests: Norway rats, roof rats, and pack rats. Norway rats are the most commonly found in residences or office buildings. Why are these critters trying to sneak into your home? Rats live near residential homes where they can easily access food, water, and shelter resources.
Beyond the uncomfortable thought of rats living in your home, there are plenty of reasons to prioritize rat control. Rats can significantly damage your home’s interior and exterior, creating potential flooding and fire hazards. They also carry ectoparasites and diseases that can harm humans.
Signs of a Rat Infestation
Seeing a rat is rare because they are clever and avoid human encounters. They are most active after dark or when they believe no one is home. Even if you can’t spot a rat, there are other signs you can look for, such as the following:
- Droppings
- Gnaw marks
- Rat tracks
- Nests
- Holes or shreds in insulation
- Smudge marks on beams or walls
You may also hear unusual sounds in your home. Rats communicate through squeaking, hissing, and chattering sounds. You might hear gnawing and rustling in your walls, ceiling, cabinets, appliances, or attic.
Rats avoid items placed in their typical paths, like traps, and will go around them. If they don’t like the bait in a trap, they will avoid it. Professional rat control operators can quickly spot the signs, confirm their presence, and create a plan to get rid of them.
Professional Rat Rodent Control
Rats breed throughout the year, reproducing seven or eight times yearly with seven or more offspring per litter. It doesn’t take long for your home to become infested with rats. The more rats you have, the more damage occurs. Calling a rat rodent control expert at the first sign of rodent activity is crucial.
Trying to control a rat problem yourself can lead to mistakes that worsen the situation. Using the wrong traps, insufficient traps, or the wrong bait can mean the rat population in your home will continue growing. Placing a trap in the wrong place may lead to a rat dying within your walls. The smell of decay can be intolerable.
Rat control experts devise a comprehensive plan consisting of an inspection, trapping, removal, exclusion, prevention, and sanitization. They have the proper tools to assess and implement the rat control plan so that you and your family are safe and do not have to worry about future rat problems.
Professional Rat Inspection
The rat control process starts with a thorough inspection from a certified professional, like our Critter Control service technicians, who will look for signs of rats in your home, such as:
- Entry points that can be as small as a quarter
- Cracks and openings around doors and windows
- Droppings and urine trails along baseboards or appliances
- Nesting activities
- Gnaw marks on wood, plastic, vinyl, wires, etc.
Once the inspection is complete, the technician can remove the rats using their equipment.
Professional Rat Trapping and Removal
Trapping is the most effective method of rat control. The size of the infestation will determine the number of traps, the types of traps, and the rat bait to use. Infestation size also determines the process’s length, which can range from a few days to weeks. With a large colony, other control measures, including tamper-resistant bait stations, may be required around the perimeter of your structure.
The sooner you call the professionals for help, the sooner trapping and rat removal can begin. They take care of everything, including proper disposal and sanitization, so all evidence of rats is removed.
Post-Removal Cleanup
After removing the rodents, the wildlife service technician applies sanitization agents to ensure the area is clean and won’t affect you or your family. Any traces of rat feces or urine can lead to unwanted consequences, including attracting more rodents and growing mold spores. Technicians will thoroughly disinfect where necessary, including removing dead rats. With that, you can breathe easier in your own home. Beyond sanitation, our specialists will help with certain repairs, such as replacing damaged insulation.
Rat Exclusion and Rat Control
If you successfully remove every rat in your home but do not implement exclusion and prevention techniques, your home is at risk for future rat activity. One of our technicians’ first exclusion methods is to seal up all quarter-inch or larger entry points.
A few common entry points include:
- foundation cracks
- loose-fitting screens
- holes for pipes
- chimneys
- loose soffits
Rats will likely gnaw through materials like plastic, wood, and caulking to enter your home. The professionals will use sealants, wire mesh, and other rat-proofing structures to safeguard your home.
Recurring Rodent Control Solutions
The rat removal steps above will give your home a much-needed reset. However, rats are clever and persistent and may try to reenter your home. Their search for food, water, and shelter may lead them back to your home, where they may try to create new entry points.
You can take management steps after completing the rat rodent control process to ensure your home maintains safety. For instance, regularly scheduled monitoring appointments with a professional can ensure you don’t experience future rat problems. Technicians search for new entry points and any signs of rat activity inside and outside your home. If they find something, they can fix the problem right away.
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The most common rat pest in the United States is the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). The Norway rat is also called brown rat, house rat, sewer rat, and wharf rat. Other rats include roof rats and pack rats. If you see a rat with bald ears, black eyes, a blunt nose, a brown or grey body, and a tail smaller than the body, it is likely a Norway rat. They are about 16 inches long, including the tail.
Pack rats are about the same length, but their furry tail is usually equal in size to the body. They have greyish-brown fur, white underbelly, black eyes, and bald ears. Roof rats have pointy noses and scaly-looking tails. They have brown and black fur with much lighter underbelly. They are about the same size as the pack and Norway rats.
Species of Rats
Rats have powerful teeth and jaws. Their teeth grow throughout life, and rats must chew on hard substances to keep them filed down. Unfortunately, this allows them to chew and gnaw on plastic, wood, vinyl, thin metals, wood, and other items used to build your home. If you see gnaw marks on baseboards, electrical wires, internet cables, pipes, siding, gutters, or vents, you may have a rat problem.
Rats can chew through drywall and structural beams, making your home unstable. When building a nest in your home, rats will use any suitable materials from inside your home. They may also bring items from outside. If in your attic, they may use sentimental items that aren’t stored properly. Nests are often built-in insulation, pipes, vents, between walls, or under appliances.
Rats contaminate foods in your pantry and your pet’s, and replacing them will cost you a lot of money.
The feces and droppings they leave in trails as they move from their nest to a food source can grow mold spores. If you inhale these spores, you are at risk for respiratory problems. Rats can bring many diseases into your home, such as
- leptospirosis
- salmonellosis
- tularemia
- plague
- rat-bite fever
Ectoparasites like mites and fleas that live on rats can infest your home. All the pests living on a rat enter your home when they do. Of course, no one wants a rat-related disease. The first step to avoiding potential health hazards is to call for professional help to eliminate the rat infestation.
The best way to keep rats out of your house is to address the reasons why they are there in the first place. You must make your home and property unattractive to rats, which includes removing their access to food, water, and shelter. Exclusion is one step of this process. Exclusion examples begin with sealing and securing all holes, cracks, broken vents, and other entry points that allow rats to enter your home.
Other exclusions include:
- Properly storing groceries and pet food
- Cleaning crumbs that fall behind appliances
- Putting food away rather than letting it sit out
- Keeping the inside and outside of your home clutter-free
When rat control experts implement prevention and exclusion techniques, you have a higher level of reassurance that you will not have rat problems in the future.
A rat infestation is a homeowner’s worst nightmare, stealing your dream of a peaceful, restful, safe home. The good news is that you can implement prevention strategies to avoid a full-scale infestation.
- Eliminate Food Sources. Rats usually come to your home if it’s a source of easily accessible food, water, or shelter. Eliminating the features that attract rats is an effective prevention option.
- Keep Your House Clean. Start with proper home sanitation. That includes regularly taking out the trash and proper food storage to minimize rodent attractants. If you have pets, make sure to pick up their food regularly. An unattended pet food bowl is the holy grail for any rodent seeking a home.
- Remove Accessible Water Sources. Look for ways to remove water sources around the home. For example, if empty containers around your property collect water, rats will drink from them. Anything that collects and holds water should be removed if possible. Rats do not need a lot of water to survive and can get some water from the foods they find. However, reducing access to water sources is still a good idea.
- Do NOT Use Repellents. Do not buy rat and rodent repellents or frightening devices because they do not work. Strange sounds will scare away a rat, but rats quickly get used to repeated noises. In addition, odor and taste repellents have minimal effectiveness.
Finally, watch for any potential signs of a rat infestation. If you see any sign of rat activity, call for professional help right away. Rats are prolific breeders that can quickly create a thriving colony in your home. The professionals at Critter Control can help you get rid of your rat issue quickly and effectively.
Since rats can gnaw through most home materials, they can make new entry points into your home. Rat repellants and improved sanitation can go a long way to preventing the return of rodents, although it doesn’t guarantee rats won’t try to gain access to your home again. But that doesn’t mean you must repeat the entire rat rodent control process. Instead, regularly scheduled appointments can ensure that your home never sees another large-scale rat infestation.
A professional service that regularly monitors your home for rat problems can spot future issues before things get out of hand. Although rats are incredibly resourceful critters, they are no match for a careful rodent control plan.
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