Rats are the most unwelcome of all the visitors you might have in your home, and there are several reasons you might want to kill and eliminate them. Besides their unpleasant appearance, rats pose a risk to your loved ones due to the diseases they carry.
For such a small creature, a rat can create a lot of damage--by chewing through electrical wires, insulations, and walls. When seeking shelter during the cold months, they will do whatever it takes to gain access to your home.
In order to get your house back, you have no option but to kill or eliminate all the rats.
Options of Rat Bait
One of the options you can use to eliminate rats is the use of pet food as bait, as well as other bite-sized snacks that can kill them. You can then place the bait of choice around all the entry points or in your garbage containers. Doing this will tempt the rat(s) to go after the trap.
Rats are a lot smarter than they look. Once caught, set them free in an area far enough from your property to ensure they cannot return. Avert the storage of rat poison or traps from places where children play or pets live.
Pet Food is an excellent rat bait option
Pet food works great if you are looking for an option to use as rat bait. Specifically, try placing a few pieces of dog food or other small snack bites in various places where you have seen rats enter or near the garbage cans. Doing this will tempt the rat(s) to go toward the trap you have set.
Best Places to Set Traps to Kill and Eliminate Rats
Rodent control services utilize specific methods for trapping rats in order to make a significant dent in the rat population. Thus, in order to maximize the effectiveness of a rat trap, you must consider the type of trap you are using.
For more effective and affordable extermination, ensure rat traps are placed strategically in areas where rats have been seen. Some common types of rat traps can be bought at a supermarket.
Traditional Traps
A traditional yet effective way to catch mice and rats is the snap traps. These are traps that utilize a metal bar sturdy enough to snap shut with force onto the trapped rodent.
So avoid using this type of rat trap in places where pets live or children play.
How to Prevent a Rat Infestation
The best way to discourage a rat infestation is to keep your home and kitchen clean. Rats and mice love rummaging through garbage to find food sources.
Ensure garbage is stored in closed bins.
You can use something from your kitchen pantry to prevent or repel rats and a potential infestation. Eventually, sprinkle crushed pepper, or spray pepper spray near the rat holes or openings you have found.
Having a rodent problem can create serious health hazards by spreading diseases to loved ones and family pets.
You can use rat poison, or rodenticide, to kill and eliminate rats. You can find this at the local hardware store. However, sometimes amateur rat control services are ineffective and even dangerous.
What are some other ways to repel rats?
When you are looking for methods of repelling rodents, you can purchase several items that work well from your local hardware store.
Natural Pest Control for Rats
The following items can be placed strategically around your home to prevent rodents and other pests:
- Peppermint oil
- Cayenne pepper
- Cloves
- Crushed red pepper
- Black pepper
Using traditional snap traps, you can use certain food, like dried fruits, nuts, and bacon, to attract rats.
Avoid an infestation by placing peppermint oil, cloves, and cayenne pepper in areas around your home you have noticed signs of rats.
Black pepper is another kitchen item that repels rats and will send them packing from your house.
Besides peppermint oil, Eucalyptus oil works wonders because the odor is repulsive to most rats.
Maintain Your Yard and Garden
Not all rats reside in the walls of a home or other building. Yard and garden rats nest in other areas around the property. These rats seek gardens and other vegetation for the nutrients plant life offers.
Keeping the plants in your garden trimmed regularly can discourage this type of infestation.
Harvest all vegetables and fruits from the garden as soon as they are ripe enough to bring indoors. Keeping rats out requires ensuring the lawn is mowed, hedges trimmed, and removing the trash, debris piles, and wood piles.
Ensure to patch holes in the foundation and plumbing leaks are repaired immediately, so you are not providing rats with a water source.
How to Identify a Rat Problem
There are several signs to look for that will warn you of an infestation inside your home. Here are four of the most common tell-tale clues to look for:
- Odd sounds and smells. Rats emit a strong ammonia odor. In addition, these rodents create squeaking sounds and scratching noises as they roam about the house.
- Seeing the pellet-shaped droppings and greasy smears. The rat droppings are shaped like small and dark pellets and are typically found in the primary pathways of rats. Because of their poor eyesight, rodents use an established route along the walls. Therefore, you might see greasy smears as their bodies rub against the walls and other surfaces.
- If you think you have an infestation, check for tiny foot and tail marks left in the dusty areas. To verify the problem, rats sprinkle a little baking soda in the area of the footprints. If there is an issue with rats, you will notice fresh tracks in the baking soda the next morning.
- Finding the damage rats have created. Rats will chew and gnaw their way through everything. Noticing chewed electrical wires, storage containers, paper, and gnaw marks on furniture. Even eating leftover food on kitchen countertops.
How to Kill or Eliminate Rats
Of all the household pests, rats are one of the most frustrating. They pose a health risk and wreak havoc on everything inside your house, including contaminating food.
After a complete inspection of your property, you will need to find where these rodents' primary pathway is. You can do this by placing glue traps in their runways to catch them as they are running.
Using an Electronic Trap
Another effective way to eliminate rats is the electrical trap which utilizes a high-voltage shock to kill the rat that has been trapped. Electronic traps are non-toxic, therefore, safe to use around children and pets. However, electronic traps are not waterproof, so you cannot use them outdoors.
Electric traps are battery-powered and easy to set up, delivering a high-voltage shock that instantly kills rats. These traps are not harmful to pets or humans. An electric trap operates by sending a volt of electricity when smaller rodents step on the metal plate.
As a homeowner or business owner, you want to know how to get rid of rats and prevent them from returning. The minute you see one in your garden, house, or yard, they pose a problem.
You can take several steps to remove rats and the risk of a full infestation of home rats forming in your home. Learning how to get rid of rats is the first priority on your mind because rats carry disease and create extreme destruction.
Are Rats Good at Swimming?
Rats appear to be simple critters; however, they are also rather crafty. They are rather adept at swimming if that will get them to a cozy home. Perhaps their long, thin tails, tiny dexterous paws, or furry bodies make them swim so well.
What Attracts Rats to Your Yard?
If you are struggling with rodent problems, you must first understand what attracts rats to your yard. You can use certain plants to keep them from entering your yard and garden.
You could entice rats without knowing it by having certain plants in your garden. Just as there are plants that repel rats, there are also plants that attract rats. Rats aren't picky eaters. If you feed birds or other animals, rats love any food source.
How to Prevent Rats from Entering Your House
The first step to prevent rats from getting inside your house is to perform an inspection. You will also need to look over the outside of the house, paying attention to damaged drains.
If the garage door has any cracks or vents have gaps, this will need to be repaired in addition to any openings within the home's foundation.
After the inspection and the entry points are known, you can set traps to kill rats instantly and eliminate fully the infestation.
Sealing all Gaps
Unlike other animals, a rat does not require an entry point that is very large. They can get their body through a hole as big as your thumb. Knowing this, you know what size gaps on the exterior and interior walls to seal.
To avert rat activity inside your home, fill all gaps with wire wool, steel wool, cement, caulk, or metal kick plates. Fill all holes, cracks, and gaps; rats can slip into anything the size of a quarter.
Keep all areas clean
If you want to get rid of rats without using any poison, the best way is to get rid of their hideouts. You can do this by eliminating any clutter inside and in the area around your house.
Keep food and trash in bins that are closed securely. Quickly wipe away spills, and keep all drains and pipes clean.
Many areas have made the use of harsh poisons and rodenticides illegal. Thus, rat traps are the only way to eradicate rats effectively. If you have rat problems, the only way to deal with them effectively is by setting up bait stations and rat traps.
A poison-free method of setting traps is the most effective way of lowering a population of rats. When setting live traps, make certain you set lots of them in places rats are most active. Using bird food, peanut butter, apples, bananas, or red pepper as bait.
Using a method of natural pest control
You can use natural methods of pest control to end rodent activity. Placing peppermint extract on cotton balls and scattering it in areas the areas rats were seen.
Another excellent way to get rid of rats is with the household chemical ammonia. Rats dislike ammonia's pungent odor. Mix 1/4 cup water with 2 cups ammonia and 2 teaspoons detergent in a bowl.
To keep rodents away, you can plant peppermint around the perimeter of your house. In addition, chili powder works as a natural repellent for rats. It is believed that chili creates the rat's nasal passages to become irritated when the rodent inhales it.
How to Naturally Eradicate Rats
Natural predators are another way to get rid of rats. For this reason, many homeowners use a fake owl prop to ward off rodents.
Cut back any tree branches touching your home so rodents cannot get indoors. Maintain awareness of any electrical cords or plumbing that allow them to gain access indoors.
When it's Time to Call the Professional Pest Control Experts
If you have mice or rat problems and have tried everything to deter rats from your home, it's time to call a professional. The professional pest control experts at A.N.T. Pest Control know the telltale signs rodents leave of their presence.
If you don't want to set rat traps yourself, you can contact A.N.T. Pest control. We are a pest management team of pest control experts that can do it for you.
