Roof rats enter homes by jumping onto rooftops from utility lines or branches. Even nickel-sized holes along attic vents, pipes, or walls are big enough for the pests to squeeze through.Once inside, roof rats gather in closed, rarely used spaces like attics to nest.
Despite remaining out of sight and avoiding contact with humans, rats still leave signs indicating their presence within the home.
Signs of a Roof Rat Infestation
Telltale clues of rat infestations include a musky smell, the sound of the rodents chewing or scurrying about, and grease marks that occur when the pests' oily fur comes into contact with walls and other household surfaces.
The most common sign is rat droppings.
Maybe you’ve seen a rat scurrying along in your house, and maybe you haven’t. But those rat droppings in the attic didn’t come out of thin air. Whether or not you still have rodents in your house, what the rat or rats leave behind needs to be dealt with.
The Most Common Sign of a Roof Rat Infestation in Your Attic
Seeing just a few rat droppings in your insulation might be tempting to ignore especially if they appear old. Fresh droppings are shinier and darker. Old droppings appear chalky and dry, but rat feces start to look old after 48-72 hours.
Rat Droppings in Attic Insulation
You should not ignore rat droppings in your attic insulation. Rat poop and urine can leak into nearby walls and ceilings, causing disgusting smells and stains.
The urine and feces can be a host to health hazards. Some pathogens can infect you via airborne transmission. When rat droppings are disturbed, the airborne particles can cause hantavirus or histoplasmosis. Leptospirosis spreads when you come into contact with rat urine. You can catch rat-bite fever by coming in contact with surfaces contaminated with the bacteria. An ignored rodent problem can be a serious health risk to homeowners.
Roof Rat Damage
Property damage caused by roof rats can add up quickly. They destroy insulation by creating trails through it and using it for nests. Rats gnaw on everything which damages electrical wires, drywall, PVC pipes, and more.
Roof Rat Diseases
They also find paths down to kitchens and pantries, where they eat and contaminate food. This is the way roof rats typically spread diseases like plague, salmonellosis, leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, and typhus to humans. Infested homes also need to be screened for any added pests the rodents may carry, such as mites and ticks.
Attic Restortion from Roof Rat Infestation
Depending on the severity of the insulation damage will determine the cleaning services. We safely get rid of all the rat waste. An ectoparasite treatment exterminates pests like ticks and fleas. A sanitization agent will decontaminate the area.
In the case of rat droppings in attic insulation, cleaning the mess immediately is not the best option. One rat can quickly become many. The presence of one rat can attract more rats. You need to seal your house to stop that. One female rat can have up to seven litters of five to twelve pups in a year.
Fortunately, you do not have to do this alone; Critter Control® is here to help. We believe in offering comprehensive rodent control. We remove any rodents from your house and restore your home to its pre-rat condition. We also provide exclusion services to ensure the rats don’t come back.
You do not have to go to another company for insulation removal- we are fully qualified to do that as well. We have all the equipment to clean up rat droppings in existing insulation, as well as the necessary materials to remove old insulation and replace it with new insulation.
Get them out.
Keep them out.®
Experience wildlife or pest issue? We can help! Complete this form and your local Critter Control® office will contact you to assist.
Customer Reviews
It has been very effective at reducing the number of mice, lizard, and snake sightings. During one visit Edgar removed a rattlesnake he came across. We may see a snake maybe two to three times during the spring and summer months, but it has been far less than before.
Serivces:
Wildlife & Rodent Control in San Diego
Full service. Excellent job of extracting raccoon, cleaning all animal waste, sanitizing, and spraying anti-parasitic substance. They closed all potential ports of entry, though the work did not match the vinyl, and it looks kind of tacky. They added blown insulation, which added a lot to the cost. They provide a one year warranty against animal intrusion, with an option to extend the warranty at the end of each one- year period. They were willing to work with me one the price. I will probably extend my warranty, and will definitely use them it the future.
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Chattanooga
I was really impressed by these guys. Got a call within a few hours of making an inquiry. Had a rep out to inspect the situation by the end of the week, and when they laid out the timeline they kept if not exceeded listed times.
Rob, Travis, and Jim were all professional, polite, and courteous and after months of hearing squirrels in my ceiling they are gone and the repair to my flashing looks excellent. Can't recommend these guys enough.
Jeff was incredibly professional and helpful. I'll use them again and would recommend them to anyone.
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Detroit, MI
Critter Control did a great job of evaluating our house for sites of entry after we found bats and a squirrel in our attic. They completed their work promptly and professionally.
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Seattle, WA
We heard some noise from the corner of our house. Concerned that it could be inside we called for an inspection. Jessy arrived as scheduled and conducted a complete inspection of our home. Based on a recording we made he determined we had a tree frog on our roof. I was pleased that we didn’t have any rodent in our house. And his inspection could a few spots I can tighten up around my house. I am very happy with the outcome.
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New Hampshire
We have a vacation home in
Western Mass and haven’t been there much during the pandemic as we live and work in Atlanta, GA. On our most recent visit we noticed that we had some rodent intrusion as well as some un-welcomed wildlife who decided to make our vacation home their home.
We contacted Critter Control and Mr. Cahoon was quick to set up an appointment as we wouldn’t be in town very long. He came out and assessed our issues. He informed us of our options to both eradicate and control future intrusions. Keeping in mind that wildlife is wildlife! He quickly got to work eradicating the rodents and wildlife from our home and addressing the intrusion issues. We feel much better leaving our vacation home for periods at a time knowing that Mr. Cahoon and Critter Control did their job and did it right! Thanks again!
We bought an old cabin last spring , it was used for years as a summer vacation cabin, therefore maintenance wasn’t a priority. After our project to remodel started, we found evidence of
mice droppings.
We immediately called Critter Control and they came and gave us a reasonable estimate to remove all remnants and insulation. They sanitized and replaced with new insulation and sealing up points of entry .
Seeing their professional work made us feel confident and secure that the problem was solved ! Everyone we worked with continued to show professional and respectful work. Highly recommend this company! We continue to use critter control monthly to be sure we are mice and bug free!
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