Things To Know About Dealing With A Rat Problem

Rats are intelligent animals, so getting rid of them when they get in your house is challenging. They're also suspicious about new things, and they may avoid eating foods left on traps. If you're having rat problems, call a rat control professional to help eliminate the rats you have and keep new rats from getting in your house. Here's what to know about dealing with rats.

Rats Have Poor Eyesight But A Great Sense Of Smell

Rats tend to navigate along scent trails, and they leave an oily residue behind from rubbing against a wall or floor as they move about. If you have a bad infestation, this might show up as black streaks on a wall that rats use often. Rats tend to stick to the same path, and new rats are attracted to the sent of the oil streaks. Knowing this helps you come up with a rat control plan.

If you see rat trails around your home, get rid of them. You may want to scrub the area with bleach to also disinfect the wall or cabinet. You can also use odor neutralizers to eliminate rather than cover up the scent on the trail. If the trail is in a place where you can leave it alone, you might place rat traps nearby since you know rats will be in the area.

Traps Are The Best Way To Eliminate Rats

Traps may not be pleasant to set or empty, but they are effective at getting rid of rats. Poison is dangerous to use for residential purposes when you have kids and pets. Even if you don't have kids and pets, you have to worry about wildlife getting into the poison. Plus, a dead rat odor isn't something you want to deal with every day.

One reason to call a rat control professional to set up the traps is that you can't be successful by putting out traps randomly. They need to be in places where rats are likely to encounter them, they have to be placed on the floor in the right position, and the best food has to be used. This often requires experience and understanding of rat behavior.

Rats catch on fast that traps are killing them off, so the rats might get harder to catch as the days go on. For that reason, it's often good to start out with numerous traps and let rats get used to seeing them before you put bait on them. However, the rat control professional knows how to use traps so you get the best results as quickly as possible depending on the type of rats you have.

Clean And Seal Your House To Keep Rats Out

The rat control professional might provide exclusion services that seal the holes and gaps on the roof and sides of your home so new rats can't get in. Once the rats are under control, you may want to clean your home aggressively to get rid of rat odors that attract other rats and tempt them to gnaw their way inside.