Eliminating & Controlling Rats In Your House
How To Prevent & Eliminate Rat Infestations
Take care when killing rats with poisons and baits in your home.
Dead and dying rodents often end up in exposed, visible locations, where they can be accessed by children or eaten by pests (poison and all).
No matter how clean a house is kept, just about anyone can find themselves with a rat infestation.
This is particularly true if the home is located near a waterway, creek or canal, where they live. Rats can also take shelter in wood piles, mulch piles, accessible sheds, and cluttered garages.
Homeowners most commonly notice a rat infestation when they hear strange noises in the walls, ceiling, or attic at night, when they find rat feces or urine, or when they find areas where rats have gnawed through when accessing food sources.
Controlling Rats In Your Home
Trapping rats is the primary way that professionals eliminate a population in a home. Rats are shy, cautious creatures, and they learn from their (and others') mistakes. This can make trapping a challenging task!
Pest control experts use a variety of techniques, including prebaiting, black lights, and reusing traps, to more effectively lure rats into traps.
Your local NAPCA Specialist is a specialist in eliminating rat populations in both residential and commercial settings. They are experienced, certified, and highly qualified to provide you with a long-lasting, reliable solution.
To schedule a rat control quote, contact us by phone or e-mail today! We'll put you in touch with your local NAPCA professional, who can arrange an appointment when it's convenient for you.
A typical rat will have a litter of young about once every 21 days. A single littler will have 6-14 offspring at a time.
By three months of age, the young will be independent of their parents and capable of reproduction. Breeding occurs year-round.
Locating Rat & Rodent Entryways
Pest control professionals know that unless rats and rodents are prevented from entering your home in the first place, they are merely "harvesting" the current rodent population. Unless the rodents' entryway into your home is also eliminated, new infestation in the future is almost assured.
Rodents leave pheromone trails where they frequent. These pheromones attract new rodents into your home.
Rat entrance points can be spotted by a professional looking around the edge of the house for "gnawing marks" around the exterior of the house, where they've tried to enter the structure.
A population of infesting rats are also known to leave black, greasy marks where they have been climbing or swinging from one location to another.
Keep rats out by sealing cracks and openings in the foundations (rats can squeeze through spaces the size of a quarter). This includes crawl space vents, foundation cracks, and gaps under doorways.
Rats & Your Health
Rats and other rodents present a serious risk to the health of those who live with them. Among other things, they are the carriers of more than 35 diseases, including the following:
| Hantavirus | Hemorrhagic Fever | Rat Bite Fever | Arenavirus |
| Pulmonary Syndrome | Lassa Fever | Tularemia | Plague |
| Salmonellosis | Weil's Disease |
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis |
Rabies |
Rodents can also bring fleas, ticks, mites, and ringworms, which can them be transferred to humans. Through these parasites, humans can contract the following diseases:
| Human Granulocytic | Anaplasmosis | Murine Typhus | Lyme Disease |
| Leishmaniasis | Omsk Fever | Scrub Typhus | Relapsing Fever |
| Serotype Viruses | Encephalitis | Sylvactic Typhus | |
| Babesiosis | Rickettsialpox | Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever |
Rat Species Found In Homes
When multiple rats live in a home, they form colonies in which there is a well-established pecking order. Members recognize others by scent and recognize their place in the colony, but do not coordinate or cooperate with each other.
Rat control methods will vary depending on the species of rat involved, the size of the colony, and the areas where the rats are infesting (different methods will be used when treating a home versus a barn, hospital, or food processing plant).
The two most common rat species found in North America are as follows:
Norway Rat (Common Rat, Brown Rat)
Size: 13-16" long, with a 7" tail (furless)
Coloration: Brown to gray, with a lighter underbelly
Droppings: 0.75" long, found scattered along runs
Footprint: Rear footprint about 1.5" long
Diet: Eats any type of human food, carrion, small animals. Requires a ready water supply. Bait traps with peanut butter rolled in oats, birdseed, or cheese.
Behavior: Emerges from nest or burrow just after dusk, generally stays within 50 yards of its home. Nests are typically built outdoors (often in woodpiles) with paper, leaves, twigs, or rags.
Roof Rat (Black Rat, Ship Rat)
Size: 7-8.5" long, with a 7-9" tail
Coloration: Black to brown body, with a paler underbelly
Droppings: 0.5" long, banana-shaped
Footprint: Rear footprint is 1.25-1.5" long
Diet: Roof rats prefer fruits, grains, insects, and smaller animals for food. Bait traps with peanut butter, fruit, or various nut meats.
Behavior: Most active after dusk -- can be heard squeaking and screeching in attics and walls. These rats are very shy and slow to approach traps. Nests are built aboveground out of hay, grass, cloth, or soft material.
Eliminate & Prevent Rats In Your Home!
They key to protecting your home from an infestation of rats is to take a multipronged approach. Your rat control plan should include both removal techniques and preventative measures -- so you're not just harvesting mice from your home but are eliminating their access to the structure.
When it comes to reliable control methods for rats, your local NAPCA Pest Control Professional is the expert you're looking for. To schedule a pest control quote with your local representative, contact us by phone or e-mail today!
