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How to Get Rid of Rats

March 1st, 2006 by admin
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Rats damage buildings by gnawing through walls, pipes, ducts, and electrical wires - often causing fires. They eat and urinate on food and can carry dangerous pathogens and parasites. This rat-control guide will show you how to get rid of these little furry hazards for good.

1. Rat identification

It's important to first figure out which rodent you're dealing with. The most common types are Norway rats, roof rats and house mice. Use the following lists to identify your pest.

Norway rats:

Norway (Sewer) rat

  • Grow up to 16" (40cm) long
  • Nests at ground level
  • Tail is shorter than body and head combined

Roof rats:

Roof Rat

  • Grow up to 15" (38cm) long
  • Nests high in trees, foliage, walls and attics
  • Tail is longer than body and head combined

Maybe they're mice?

Baby rats can look confusingly similar to house mice. You can tell them apart by looking at their heads and feet. Mice have much smaller heads and slimmer feet than baby rats. If you've located one rodent, there are sure to be more. Search for the largest droppings you can find. Adult mice leave cylindrical droppings up to 1/4" long and rats leave cylindrical droppings up to 3/4" long. You can also examine any entry-holes that have been gnawed into walls, mice will gnaw holes up to 1 & 1/2" large while rats will gnaw holes 2" and larger. a leaping mouseIf you're still not sure, sprinkle a little talcum powder on surfaces along walls where you think there's rodent activity then wait a few days. If you have rodents in that area you will see sets of tracks appear in the powder. Mice leave tracks that are approximately 1/2? wide while rats leave tracks up to 3? wide.

Other signs of a rat infestation include:

  • Urine dribbles left in high traffic areas, usually near walls and other objects. The residues will glow under a black light.
  • Dirty 'rub' marks along the sides of vertical surfaces that they often run along.
  • Gnawing damage and debris, especially around food stores.
  • Entry-holes gnawed into walls.

2. Eliminate the sources of the rat infestation

If you've decided that you have mice, read how to get rid of mice. If you believe them to be rats then keep on reading. We will start by inspecting every square inch of your home from the basement to the attic. Look for all signs of rats; gnawing damage, urine dribbles (Can be found with a black light), dirty smudges, feces, and entry holes. Record everything you find on a piece of paper and if you can, plot them on a map so you can get an idea of where they may be centered within the structure. Plug any entry-holes that you find with crumpled paper and return in a day to see if the paper has been disturbed. If it has, you have found an active hole. Mark them on your map and continue to the next step.

Remove rat-friendly food sources

Garbage canRats will eat any kind of food you have from seeds to yesterday's leftovers. You must overhaul any organic material storage areas inside of your home. Store all of your foods in metal or glass containers (no plastics) with tight-fitting lids. This applies to everything that is not stored in a refrigerator. Any food suspected of being touched by rats should be thrown away immediately. Fresh fruits and vegetables go in the fridge and pet food should be covered and put away between feedings. Invest in an metal garbage can that has a tight-fitting lid and refrain from throwing any organic wastes into it. Instead, rinse them off and store them in a large, sealable plastic tub and either bury the material or throw it away when you take out the trash. You should also consider using metal trash cans outdoors with bungee cords thru the handles to hold the lids on. If you choose to bury your organic wastes, do so at least a foot deep and then place a board or something heavy over the area as rats, dogs and raccoons can easily dig it back up. Outside, keep bags of seeds and pet foods elevated or sealed tightly in lidded metal garbage cans. If you have bird feeders (Learn how to make an eco bird feeder), fruit-bearing or nut-bearing trees, clean up any fallen material daily as these can easily feed a population of rats. Animal feces is also a food-source so collect and bury your animal's waste. If you have dumpster's near by, go inspect that any drainage holes near the ground are screened to prevent rats from feeding and put up a sign reminding people to clean up any spilled trash due to the rat problem. Continue Reading >>

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  1. January 3rd, 2010 at 2:23 pm    zoann martinez Says:

    Today is lauren Aguest birthday and there was a rat in her birthday cake and when someone pushed her head in there the rat poped out and she almost ate it but her dog snatched it out of her mouth and her dog is named teddy he lives in side so can some one tell me what to do return the cake or buy a new one but if we buy a new one there might be a nother rat that popes in her birthday cake it was relly nasty for her so if you can please post this on your website so someone can help thanks the cake was chocolete flavor have a nice day. And so if you thank is should buy a new cake each cake coast 123.00 dollers so maybe you should buy us a new cake and please can you give us free rat traps becase we dont have enough money to buy them with we wasted all on the 123.00 doller cake so can you consider tha as a birthday gift to lauren augest thank agian and let me tell you i love this website thanks agian and send us a poster of a kitty gracias agian sorry if you thank were annoying this is the last time well bother you remember the stuff bye.(we are really poor we live in a shake or how ever you spell it by the way werer in the library agian were poor thanks). we need a survival nife if you can send it to us thanks . We have no resstroom so if you can send us a toilet we only have a port aptttya and sometimes we find rats in there . we need a umpa lumpa you know the charley and the chocolete factory those short indian mans there so short short as my room becase im a miget so thanks for your couaperation and if you dont reed this you suck we also need a gold fish thanks my dog teddy loves fish. we neeed fire works to blow the fish up.(gracias that menas thanks if you are white.)

  2. January 3rd, 2010 at 2:04 pm    itzel martienz Says:

    We want to know how to get rid of the rat in our garage and if you know a way how to get ride of rats with out wasting time and money can you please email me at my email but hurry becase it is discuting to have a rat in my garage ane pluse my dog stays in their somtimes and she always barks at somthing that moves shes a chihuaha.

  3. December 11th, 2009 at 5:43 am    Andreas Says:

    Get yourself a good lawyer hun. And take half of everything he has now and in the future. Cheating rat !

  4. September 7th, 2009 at 9:56 pm    Shelley Says:

    To rid of Rats, try mixing plaster of paris with peanut butter and oil to make it creamy. The idea is that it will harden in their bodies before they can expel it.
    I have also heard of using Moth Balls as they do not like the smell.
    Also…have heard of using cayenne pepper. They wash their hands and feet and it burns them.
    Good Luck

  5. May 9th, 2009 at 7:18 pm    viljit Says:

    So today, 5/09/09, Sam de Cat catches himself a harmless garter snake in the north yard, and to join the fun I prepare a forked stick. Sam- a 14-year old codger mind you- is unclear of my intent and leads my around to the south yard and invokes his ring of invisibility.
    Investigating, I find that one of my foundation vent screens has been neatly folded down on its diagonal, within the last month.
    This is a problem. The hole is large enough for an opossum, not an unlikely suspect. I have NO wish to have Pogo, or worse, Sam, die under my house. (The snake, by the way, was last seen in the garage and went home sadder, I presume wiser, and unhurt.)
    Thus I think major traps or poison gas are a bad idea.
    Object: all non-rent payers out, THEN nail the vent shut.
    Suggestions?
    First idea is to spread a bunch of flour and look for tracks to know what I’m dealing with.
    Second idea: Play “Victory At Sea” down there for a few days. Or AM news channel.
    Mike and all: antifreeze, along with Aspirin and 298 others, is a very effective CAT poison: they love the taste, lap it up and die. As wrong a way to go as I can think of.

  6. April 10th, 2009 at 9:38 pm    Bill Earl Says:

    Though our high intensity strobe lights were designed to evict squirrels from attics and crawl spaces….. they are 100% effective at evicting roof rats.www.evictorproducts.com

    Shortly we will have video footage of a roof rat getting evicted using one of our MB10K units. Of course you still may have to contend with the rats on the OUTSIDE of your house….but at least they will be gone from the inside.

  7. January 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 pm    Joanne Says:

    I live in a condo,which has 148 units. this year we are infested with roof rats.There is alot of ivy around these units,the HOA talked about cutting the ivy back,I told one of the members,that won”t solve the problem,the ivy will only grow back,the problem will start again. I suggested we take all the ivy out would be the best solution,what are your suggestions?

  8. January 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm    Michael Says:

    For Maria who needed something to get rid of the smell of a dead rat in the wall, there’s a product called BAC-A-ZAP that is an enzyme that essentially ‘eats’ up the odor. You can google it…it’s sold nationally.

  9. December 13th, 2008 at 6:01 pm    viljit Says:

    continued: predictable and very ugly and painful results. Twas random chance I returned to the kitchen in 5 minutes, not 30, after lighting a cigarette off the stove, or I’d be out at least one room of my house.
    What didn’t work:
    poor choice of a biped room-mate. She had been living in a tent for months, came with a dog {Basenji/Lab mix}. Thus feces, fleas, even maggots. When’s the last time you saw a maggot? A full 11 months of court eviction process to remove the biped in handcuffs. (Dog left to Animal Control 1/2 hour later and went to a good competent home.)
    More sloppy housekeeping on my part.

    What did work:
    1. Sam de Cat. 12?16? yrs old, he’s not saying. Good for a few a week.
    2. The classic BIG Victor brand snap trap, also good for a few a week.
    WARNING:
    RAT TRAPS ARE ALSO CAT TRAPS. THE TRAP MUST BE INACCESSIBLE TO THE CAT, AND CATS ARE CRAFTY, SMART AND CURIOUS.
    The problem reduced, but did not leave. The varmints chewed neat handy pour spouts into both my sealed plastic containers.
    3. FINALLY realizing cat food is rat food, I moved the weekly supply to a seven foot high shelf without easy access, the 20 pound monthly supply to top pantry shelf. The paper bag sufficed, but metal is a better idea. Sam defended the daily supply at floor level.
    MY POINT: Isolation of the CAT food solved the problem.

  10. If you put the snap trap (bated)inside a paper bag. when you hear a snap, you just pick up the bag and toss it, that way you dont have to look at it!!!

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