rat infestation

Rat Infestation Treatment In Garden, Attic, Car, Apartment

Rat infestation treatment is a numbers game. Rats and mice are extremely successful breeders; the more of them there is, the more disease they can spread. Sexually mature rats are pregnant for about three weeks and can birth anywhere from six to twelve rat pups. Rats and mice can have four to six litters a year and reproduce within three months old. Rat infestation treatment is the only option if you deal with a rat infestation in your garden, car, attic, or apartment.

The Reality of Rat Infestations

Rats and mice can live for up to 18 months. Only two rats can create a population of more than 1,200 in a year. Any of these rats can spread up to 35 different diseases.

Rats have strong teeth that allow them to chew through glass, cinder block, wire, aluminum and lead. Many fires of “unknown causes” may have been caused by mice or rats chewing through electrical wires.

Related posts:

Garden Rat Infestation Treatment

Rat infestation treatment in the garden requires a multi-pronged approach. If you want to eliminate one of the most dangerous pests from your garden, you must step up your pest control game.

Start fixing your garden rat infestation problem by not feeding wild birds and animals. Something as innocent as a bird feeder could contribute to a rat infestation in your garden. A backyard bird feeder full of bird seed will attract rats to your house.

Rats feed on some of the same things as birds, such as seeds and grains. And these rodents will be attracted to your garden by fallen seeds from bird feeders. If you want to control rats in your garden, stop feeding birds.

An adult rat can squeeze into your home through a small hole the size of a quarter.

Rat infestation treatment in the garden isn’t possible without keeping your garden tidy. Tidy gardens attract fewer rats. Rats prefer unkept gardens because they provide more cover.

So, to keep rats out of your garden, remove rubbish, keep the grass short, reduce overgrown areas, especially near fences or garden buildings, and clear cluttered storage areas.

One way to keep rats out of your garden is to move things around. Moving objects around makes it harder for rats to nest in your garden. Rats are “neo-phobic,” which means they fear new things. These rodents don’t like disruption to their territory, so you should they frequently create obstacles in their runs and move things around in your garden.

Rat Infestation in Car

A rat infestation in a car is quite common. Rats infest cars, especially when they find food leftovers. And a car can also serve as a great hiding or nesting place for rats.

Even a large rat will find a way to get inside your car. Rats will find small openings such as steering columns, vents, rolled-down windows, and pedal shafts.

If rats make their home in your car, they will cause significant damage. The repairs could cost you thousands of dollars. Furthermore, rats hiding or living in your vehicle can expose you and your family to deadly diseases.

If you have a rat-infested car, you should remove leftover food items and candy from your car. Rats are constantly foraging for food, and if your car is messy, it will attract rats and other rodents. Removing food from your car will drive the rats away. They will relocate in search of a reliable food supply, in other words, another messy car or place.

You can fight a rat infestation by making your car smell. Rats are sensitive to smell, and certain odors will keep them away. Car owners had success with Pine-Sol, peppermint oil, powdered fox urine, and even used cat litter. A strong odor may keep rats out of your car.

Rat Infestation in Attic

If there is a rat infestation in your attic, your number one priority is to get rid of the pest. First, if you hear one rat in the attic, there is a good chance there are more. And even if you’re dealing with one rat, one snap trap isn’t going to be enough to catch the rat.

Often, homeowners set 5-10 snap traps to deal with a rat infestation in the attic. Rats are suspicious; it may be a while before they set off your trap. You could put some tasty peanut butter on snap traps, and the rats won’t go near them. Traps only work if you correctly place them.

It’s best to place the rat traps in their runways. Look alongside the walls in your attic. You should place traps if you find rat feces in the area.

Another way to find rat trails is to look for rub marks -greasy black spots created by their dirty bodies rubbing against things. Rats also urinate randomly along their runways, making their detection easy.

If the rats in the attic set some of the traps off without being caught, it may be a while before they return. Rats may avoid the traps for some time, but they won’t avoid all of them forever. So make sure to place the rat traps properly along the runways.

Rat Infestation in Apartment

Nothing sends chills up an apartment tenant’s spine more than a rat infestation. Seeing even one rat inside your apartment complex is a tell-tale sign of a rat infestation. Rats are not only disgusting for renters but can also pose serious health risks due to their contagious diseases.

What to do if there is a rat infestation in your apartment?

If you think you saw a rat in your apartment, you should notify your apartment management. It would be best if you could take a quick photo to show your landlord to prove there is a rat infestation in your apartment.

It’s best to show proof when you contact the apartment management. And if you cannot take a photo of the rat, you may be able to snap a picture of rat feces.

Once you inform the apartment rental office of the rat infestation, they should take quick action.

How do you protect against rats?

  • Remove debris from the property. (This includes compost piles)
  • Seal all gaps leading into the house.
  • Do not leave pet food out or garbage uncovered.
  • A cat may help but is only a partial solution. One cat cannot get rid of a rat infestation.

Dangers of Rodent Waste

When there is a rat infestation, you must worry about rodent waste. If mice, a colony of rats, a flock of birds or a family of squirrels, raccoons or other pests take up residence in your home, their droppings will accumulate and create potential health risks. Anyone who enters the area and disturbs the material could be in danger. Once a rodent problem has been discovered in a building, exclusion plans should be made, and the extent of contamination should be determined. When an accumulation of pest manure (feces) is discovered in a building, removing the material is critical, but it’s not the first step.

The first step of the rodent waste clean-up process is to seek a pest control or animal waste removal company. From there, our technicians will remove the animals themselves. Chemical repellents and ultrasonic devices are largely ineffective in eliminating rodent infestations. The most effective animal control solution is inspection, trapping, removing and excluding the pests. This involves following critical steps to identify and seal active entry and exit points and re-entry points. (Because some rodents are so small, they can squeeze through a gap as small as a ¼”).

The best way to prevent exposure to rodent carried disease is to avoid situations where contaminated material can become airborne and later inhaled. Inhalation exposure to highly contaminated places may be all that is needed to cause infection and development of Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, rabies, plague, histoplasmosis, Eosinophilic Meningitis, Anthrax, Raccoon Roundwormand other zoonotic diseases. Occasionally, when bats are roosting in the attic space, the animal feces may contaminate the attic’s air conditioning or heating equipment, exposing the occupants to potential infection without even entering the attic.

Proper disposal of contaminated material during animal waste clean-up is critical. You must thoroughly clean all accessible and visible interior walls where wildlife has roosted or nested. You should remove all rodent droppings. Removing droppings from structures should be left to experienced professionals familiar with proper removal procedures to prevent animal waste from becoming airborne.

After removing all contaminated material, apply an approved disinfectant to kill any parasites or fungi associated with pests and wildlife. Rats are common flea hosts. Fleas, lice, mites and can infest bats, squirrels, birds, rats, raccoons, and pests. If the host animals are removed from their roosts or nests, the parasites look for another host. As a result, they may wander into the living space of human dwellings, potentially transmitting diseases to humans.

Rat infestation facts and diseases

Tularemia: Host and carrier: Rats, mice, raccoons, and other rodents.
Agent: Bacteria

How Tularemia spreads:

  • Handling infected rats, mice, raccoons and animal carcasses
  • Being bitten by an infected tick, mouse, deerfly, rat or other insect or rodent
  • Eating or drinking contaminated food or water
  • Breathing in the bacteria

Additional Info: Tularemia is characterized by fever, chills, headache, backache, and weakness.

Salmonella Virus: Host and carrier: Rodents, rats and mice
How Salmonella spreads: Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces
Additional Info: Symptoms are abdominal pains and violent diarrhea

Colorado Tick Fever: Host and carrier: Rodents, mice, raccoons, and other rodents.
Agent: Virus
Transmitter: Tick

How the disease spreads: Bite from an infected tick

Murine Typhus: Host and carrier: Rats
Agent: Bacteria
Transmitter: Flea or mite

How the disease spreads:

  • Bite from an infected flea or mite
  • Contact of broken skin or wound with infected flea or mite or their droppings.

Additional Info: Symptoms are characterized by fever, headache and muscular pain.

Scrub Typhus: Host and carrier: Rats
Agent: Bacteria
Transmitter: Mite

How the disease spreads: Bite from an infected rat or mouse

Additional info: Symptoms are characterized by sudden fever, painful swelling of the lymph glands, and skin rash.

Plague Bacteria: Host and carrier: Rodents and other animals involved Bubonic plague bacteria
Agent: Bacteria

How the disease spreads:

  • Bite of an infected flea
  • Direct contact with an infected animal

Additional Info: Plague is a severe and potentially deadly bacterial infection.

Lymphocytic Chorio-Meningitis (LCM): Host and carrier: House mouse
Agent: Virus

How Lymphocytic Chorio-Meningitis (LCM) spreads:

  • Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent droppings or urine
  • Direct contact with rodents or their droppings or urine.
  • Bite wounds, although this rarely occurs.

Leptospirosis: Host and carrier: Rodents and other animals
Agent: Bacteria

How Leptospirosis spreads:

  • Eating food or drinking water contaminated with urine from infected pests like rats, mice, raccoons, and rodents.
  • Contact through the mucous membranes (such as inside the nose) or skin with soil or water contaminated with infected animals’ urine.

Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: Host and carrier: Rodents and other animals
Agent: Virus

How Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome spreads:

  • Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent droppings or urine
  • Direct contact with rodents or their droppings or urine
  • Bite wounds, although this rarely happens

Additional Info: This syndrome is characterized most commonly by fever, headache, cough, and rapid respiratory and kidney failure.

How do you stop a rat infestation?

Rat infestations are one of the most annoying problems homeowners are forced. Unfortunately, virtually all homeowners must deal with a rat infestation at least once. Rats can often cause severe damage by their presence, constantly chewing through electrical wires or causing noxious odors by leaving their droppings everywhere. Look for a pest control company that also offers a rat cleanup service.

Have you noticed noxious odors, droppings, or other indicators of the presence of rats, mice, raccoons, opossums or other pests that get into your attic? Worry no longer; hire rat control to help you with your infestation problem.

Step 1 – Home inspection for rats:

Getting rid of rats should start with a thorough inspection of the home to identify rat entry points. Rats don’t need to walk through your front door to get inside your home. All they need is a hole the size of a quarter to gain entry to your house, and mice can get through even smaller holes than that. The rat trapping system should be installed after the inspection.

Step 2 – Clean up and sanitation

The rat waste is removed, and damaged materials are replaced. Infested areas are sanitized and deodorized.

Step 3 – Prevention and sealing

This step is also known as “rat-proofing” your home. In this step, your home is repaired with rat-proof materials. The trapping system is checked and reset.

Step 4 – Attic and crawl space repair and restoration

Materials are replaced. New insulation and other damaged materials are being repaired or replaced.

Step 5 – Rat prevention

Protection is the rat repellent system of controlling rats by lowering the rat population, preventing re-infestation by using rat repellent installed in your attic and crawl space.

Step 6 – Warranty

You should only hire a pest control company that offers a multi-year warranty on the rat control service. Unless their service results in a rat-free home, they should return and fix the problem free of charge.

Are there rats in your attic?

Why are rats attracted to your attic?

Rats are often found in attics for three primary reasons.

Firstly, they crave warm temperatures, and when nighttime temperatures drop, rats are attracted to attics that offer warmth and protection. Secondly, rats are constantly looking for the scent of other rats for breeding purposes. When rats leave their home in your attic, the odors attract rats from around the area. Lastly, attics protect rats from natural predators such as cats, dogs, and birds of prey.

Rats, mice, raccoons, squirrels and other rodents are capable of causing significant damage to your attic’s wiring and ductwork, so when an infestation has been detected, it pays to address the problem immediately. Rats instinctually chew and gnaw constantly. An untreated rat problem can cause frayed electric wires, punctured air ducts, electrical fires and even damaged plumbing pipes. Lastly, rats can spread disease and contamination.

The key to rat control is two-pronged, you must first clear out the current infestation and decontaminate the area, and secondly, you must rat-proof the site of the infestation to prevent more rats from entering in the future. If you simply trap and remove the rats already there, your infestation problem will never return. It’s not enough to simply hire an exterminator. You need a company that will take care of your rat problem permanently. The pest control company should perform a thorough removal and decontamination to remove all rats and traces of their presence. Then the exterminator should attack the source of the problem by finding all the openings rats use to enter your home and seal them shut with steel.

Rat infestation health hazards

Hantavirus

If you have a rat problem in your insulation, you must be wary of the Hantavirus. Rats excrete the virus in their urine, droppings and saliva. Therefore, someone may be exposed to Hantavirus by breathing contaminated dust after cleaning or disturbing rodent nests or droppings or by working or living in rodent-infested settings.

Leptospirosis

Rats, among other rodents, are also known to spread Leptospirosis. Humans are infected through food, water, or soil containing urine from these infected animals (i.e., rats, raccoons, mice). Leptospirosis can also be transmitted through direct contact with urine, blood or tissue from an infected animal. In addition, the bacteria can enter through broken skin or the soft tissues inside the mouth, nose or eyes.

Murine Typhus

Murine Typhus is an acute infectious disease. It is transmitted to humans by rat fleas and feces. The symptoms include fever, headache, rash, body aches & pains, chills.

Salmonella

Bacteria cause Salmonella disease in humans and animals and is transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.

Preventative Measures

At one point, your attic has likely been infested with disease-carrying rodents. The following measures should be taken to protect yourself and your family from rodents transmitting these diseases within your household. First, remove rodent feces and urine. Second, keep rodents out of your home. Remove rodent food sources. Clean up rodent-infested areas. Lastly, wear gloves and wash your hands after contact with animal feces.