Rats

Getting Rid Of Rats in Your Home

Currently, the commonest rat species in the country are the roof rats and the Norway rats. Regardless of the type of rats you have in your home, understanding their habits will put you in a better position to control them. Mentioned in this article are some of the most effective methods you can use to inspect for and control rat in your home.

1. Inspection

This is the initial step you should take if you suspect a rat invasion in your home. During the inspection, you should try to identify where the rats are staying and the places they frequent at night. This way, you will know the best places to lay your traps or the best way to eliminate them.

2. Exclusion

This is also an important step, when it comes to controlling the rodents in your home. In this regard, you should aim making it impossible for rats to gain access into the house. As compared to mice, rats are much easier to eliminate because they are larger in size. With mice, you will have to seal all openings that are larger than 1/2″, but with rats, you will only need to seal the openings that are greater than 1/4″ to exclude them. To achieve this, you may use stuff it copper wire mesh on large openings, such as pipe openings, clothes dryer vents and around receptacles, and gum foam on the smaller openings, such as cracks and crevices.

3. Sanitation

This is a very effective rat extermination method that you should not neglect. In this case, you need to eliminate all the refuse and rubbish piles near your home as well as cover all the dumpsters and garbage containers tightly. While it is impossible to eliminate all the food sources and shelter points for rats in our home, keeping the environment will greatly reduce their numbers.

4. Baiting

This method makes use of a rat poison in the form of bait for the rats. Since it is a poison, the bait should be kept away from the reach of pets and children. The bait may be administered in form of meal, pellets or blocks. To ensure that the bait is kept away from children and pets, it is mandatory that you use tamper-resistant bait stations. This is particularly the case if you are placing the bait in areas that are frequented by the pets and children to prevent poisoning. Additionally, you may need to use a single feed bait to make the method more effective.

5. Trapping

If you do not want to use a rodenticide in your home, trapping is the best alternative, with regards to exterminating rats. It is also the perfect method if the rat population is considerably small. As compared to baiting, trapping is advantageous in that it allows you to dispose off the dead rats, rather than have them decompose in inaccessible areas.

While these are easy methods, which you can carry out on your own, it is always advisable to leave the rat control work to the experts like AMG Extermination.