Rats can cause problems when they find their way into your home. Unfortunately, you might not spot the signs of a rat infestation before the problem escalates, making it more difficult to remove the rats. Not only do these rodents carry disease but they can contaminate your food and cause damage to structure and utility wires in your property. Luckily there are ways to effectively get rid of rats! The two best ways are either open and enclosed traps, and baits.
How to Find Rats:
The first step in the effective elimination of a rat infestation is to find where the rats are living. As they are mainly nocturnal rodents they are rarely seen during the day, however they do leave tell-tale signs where they have been.
Signs of Rats Include:
Seeing live or dead rats
Scratching sounds coming from the walls or attic
Droppings, usually around food or rubbish
Nests or nesting materials in hidden places
Gnaw marks on wood or wires
Burrows in your garden and around your home or outbuildings, gnawed fruits on trees
Smudge marks on walls
Rodent hairs
Rat Traps
Traps are a relatively cheap and easy way to get rid of rats. If traps are un-baited they can be left in place for long periods of time however, all traps both baited and un-baited should be checked regular to make sure there are no dead or dying rats, and with bait traps the bait must be changed regular as rotting food can cause further infestation of insects.
You should set traps where you have seen signs of rats, and in and rarely used or hidden spaces., more so in attics and basements and near sources of food. Keep traps away from children or pests to avoid unintentional triggering.
Snap Traps – Wooden or plastic traps are effective and fairly cheap when capturing and killing rats. When you go to buy a snap trap make sure it’s the larger size you but labelled rat control, a smaller mouse trap isn’t likely to catch or kill the rat instead it may just inhumanely hurt the rat.
Live Traps – Live traps take advantage of the rats natural curiosity. The work by allowing the rat to enter but not leave. These traps must be checked regular and emptied. Once a rat has been caught it must either be humanly killed or released were it wont be able to re-enter your home or cause harm to others.
Rodent Baits
Baiting Traps – Effective bait for rats can be, dog food, dried fruits, nuts and dried meats. These can be attached to the trap with wire, thread or glue. Soft baits can be ineffective for rats as they can sometimes get to the bait without triggering the trap.
Rodenticides – These are poison pesticides used to kill rats and mice. Some can be bought in shops however new regulations limit these to specific baits that can only be sold in disposable ready to use stations. This helps protect children and pests from accidentally consuming the bait. Make sure you follow the instructions on the label.
If you are having problems with rats then contact Redwatch Solutions on – 0800 999 5911