Rats Control
Rats are a major issue all around the world, and the plague all cities and towns. These animals cause problems everywhere, making people’s lives more difficult.
Dealing with a rat infestation can cause serious problems to home and business owners. Rats are especially attracted to attics and wall cavities, but they can be found living anywhere that provides them food and shelter. Once rats have invaded a property, they will raid food supplies, get into the trash, chew on electrical wires, and cause serious health issues among humans and pets.
Rats can be so difficult to deal with because of their extremely high rate of reproduction. Rats breed year-round and can have up to five litters every year, and each litter will consist of, on average, 7 offspring (although they are capable of having up to 14 in a single litter). This means that two rats could produce a population of up to 2,000 in just one year. Rats are social animals and will live in large colonies that can quickly overwhelm their environment.
Norway Rats pester many people in Colorado, especially those in large cities like Denver and Fort Collins. These large brown rats invade homes and businesses alike, especially during the winter months.
Rat Problems
Rats are some of the worst pests in the world. Not only do they cause a lot of problems, but they’re hard to get rid of because of their small size and their high birthrates.
You should immediately call a professional to remove rats if you find them in your home, otherwise, the rats will quickly get out of control and you’ll be faced with the following problems:
- Spreading diseases: Many diseases are attributed to these filthy pests. These include salmonella, leptospirosis, and rat-bite fever. These animals are also responsible for spreading the plague.
To make matters worse, they carry fleas which have caused pandemics like the Black Death. That’s why you should keep your distance from these rodents to avoid contracting illnesses.
- Damaging your home: Rats and other rodents have very sharp teeth, and they have to constantly chew on things to keep them in good shape. That’s why these pests will bite on anything they can find in your home and cause a lot of damage.
Rats are known to damage furniture by chewing on it, cause fires by gnawing on wires, and cause water leaks by biting on pipes. Repairing this damage is expensive, so you should get rid of the animals before they cost you a fortune.
Similar to bats, mice can enter a hole as small as ¼ inch to enter your home, burrowing into undisturbed small cavities. Mice and rats can ruin a home’s electrical wiring, sometimes leading to fires while posing extreme health risks to humans due to their disease-causing droppings. First Choice Wildlife Services will clean and disinfect nesting areas while completely inspecting and potential entry points.
Professional Rat Control
In Colorado, we have rats that often become a nuisance to homeowners and local businesses. Much like mice, rats will seek to escape the cold weather inside a warm home. Winters here in Colorado can be rough, but that does not mean we want unwelcome visitors in our homes, especially when they can cause extensive property damage and spread diseases.
The rats that live in Colorado can grow quite large, weighing almost a pond and typically growing up to 10 inches long. Rats can be found all over the world because they thrive anywhere where humans live, eat, and work. Human activity provides food, water, and shelter to the rat population and Fort Collins is no exception to that rule.
Other ways to prevent a rat problem include setting traps or investing in a cat that will drive away rodents in your area. However, none of these steps will guarantee your house stays rat-free; if you are experiencing a problem, you should consider contacting a professional pest control company to address the problem.
After we have sealed your house and trapped any remaining rats, we will address any needed cleanup, including dealing with potentially harmful feces and other biological waste. Potential negative health impacts of rats include viral infections and other serious conditions, making the decontamination process just as important as the pest removal.
Rats can damage your home, cause diseases, and quickly compound the problem through reproduction. If you suspect your home might be playing host to a rat colony, it is important to contact a professional rat control company. At First Choice Wildlife Services, we are experts at dealing with all the implications of a rat infestation.
We service locations all across the Front Range, including Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Boulder, and Denver. You contact us anytime at 970-460-4044.
Removing Rats
Rat removal is a difficult process, and it comes with its own set of challenges and risks. It’s important to protect yourself before attempting rat removal, as being near the animals puts you at risk of contracting a disease.
To understand the rat removal process, you can follow these steps:
- Avoiding the use of poison: It’s tempting to use poison to remove rats because it sounds so easy. But experience shows that you should never use poison when dealing with rats. These toxic substances won’t get rid of all the animals, and they’ll make things more difficult because many rats will die behind your walls where it’s hard to get rid of the corpses.
- Removing food sources: You can seal up your garbage can, store away exposed pet food, and remove fruits and vegetables from your garden. This removes the major sources that attract rodents in the first place, so these animals will be less likely to bother you in the future.
- Setting traps: You can then work on setting traps. Snap traps are often the best way of getting rid of a rat infestation because they’re effective and easy to use. Just place these near a rat’s nest and you’ll quickly get results.
- Sealing entry points: You should scour your home for holes and other entry points. Rats and other animals use these to get inside your home, so you should properly seal them to avoid future infestations.
- Cleaning up: We believe that cleaning up the infested area is one of the most important steps in proper rat removal. This disinfects the spot and kills all the bacteria and viruses there. It’s an essential step for keeping you and your family safe.
Preventing Rat Infestations
Keeping rats out of your house takes some persistence. In addition, we recommend a three-step method for preventing a rat problem on your property.
- Food: Rats are often attracted to food that has been left out overnight. Keep your food sealed and in the pantry whenever possible – although rats can still get into your pantry and chew through food containers.
- Access: While it is impossible to catch every possible access point, you can focus on vents, pipes, foundations, doors, and windows. Minimizing access points can go a long way toward preventing a rat problem.
- Trash: Rats are not fussy eaters, so keep your trash sealed in a container as well as your food. Properly secured trash will make your home less attractive to potential invaders.
If your prevention steps were not enough to stop a rat colony from taking up residence in your home, a professional wildlife or pest control service can help you deal with the infestation. When dealing with a rat problem in Fort Collins, we start by conducting a thorough inspection to determine the various access points in your home. Once your house has been sealed, we set traps to capture any remaining rats.
We never use poison to deal with rats for several reasons:
- Poisoned rats often die slowly, making many poisons an inhumane option
- A dead rat will get stuck in your walls and cause unpleasant odors
- Poison can be dangerous to household pets and children
- Rat colonies will quickly replace deceased members through reproduction.
- Poisoning rats is often just addressing the symptom rather than the underlying problem
Call First Choice Wildlife Services
Rat removal is a difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming task, so we recommend you call a professional to handle it for you. We have the experience and knowledge to do the job quickly & effectively and will provide all the services needed for rat control and proofing.
We service the areas of Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, as well as other cities and towns in Colorado. So give us a call at 970-460-4044 to schedule our services.
How to Remove Rats From a Roof
Rats are nasty, creepy creatures. Little wonder most people dislike them. But unfortunately, they do not need your invitation before they find their way into your house. Thanks to their body-stretching abilities, they can get in through holes as small as the size of a quarter.
In the roof, they wreak havoc – from tearing off insulation and wires to leaving a whole lot of droppings. They also pose several health risks to humans and pets, including rat-bite fever, tularemia, hantavirus, salmonellosis, and many others.
The only way to prevent any of the trouble is to get rid of them! In this post, we explore how our professionals at First Choice Wildlife Services get rid of rats from the roof.
Step 1 – Inspection
The first step is to figure out how the rats are getting in. Look for open holes and gaps that rats are using to get into the structure. This may include eave gaps, vents, roof lines, etc. Check from the ground up because rats can enter through any part of the building before settling on the roof.
Step 2 – Seal all holes.
Before you think about getting rid of rats, you must ensure there’s no way for new ones to get in. Ensure that you seal all the holes you discovered using steel wool or caulk. Avoid using wood, or any other material rats can easily chew through.
Step 3 – Get rid of the rats.
There are several methods for getting rid of rats. Let’s take a look at some of them and their level of effectiveness.
- Rat poisons
Although rat poisons have been around for hundreds of years, they are not the best method to handle a rat infestation. Why? Because the use of poison is simply inhumane. The poison damages the internal organs of the rats, leading to a slow and painful death. Even if you don’t care about that, finding the carcass of the dead animal can be challenging – and in the meantime, you’ll have to deal with the awful smell. Rat poison also poses a health risk to unintended wildlife, children, and pets.
- Traps
Rat traps are better alternatives for rat removal for one main reason. The captured rat will remain at the capture site, making it easy to dispose of the carcass. Some of the most common types of rat traps include:
- Snap traps
Snap traps are very effective for killing rats. They deliver a decisive blow once the rat steps on the trigger plate resulting in a quick death.
- Electric traps
These traps work by delivering a lethal electric shock to the captured rat. It is also effective and humane because it quickly kills the animal.
- Glue traps
Glue traps feature a strong adhesive on a hardboard. Once the rat steps on the board, the glue secures its feet. When using glue traps, you must check the trap regularly so you can kill the rat before it suffers for too long.
One final note: Effectively trapping rats requires an adept understanding of rat behavior. That’s why it’s best to work with professionals like First Choice Wildlife Services.
Step 4 – Clean up, Decontamination and Repairs
As mentioned earlier, rats are carriers of several zoonotic diseases. That’s why you must clean up all the waste after getting rid of rats from your attic. You also need to decontaminate your attic space to kill pathogens. Finally, ensure you carry out all the necessary repairs. This may include replacing the insulation, wires, or pipes.
Need Help Getting Rid of Rats from Your Roof?
You’re in luck! Why? Because with decades of experience in rat removal, First Choice Wildlife Services have achieved outstanding results for thousands of our clients. Call us today to get started with our rat removal process!
How to Keep Rats Out of The Wall
Those who have suffered a rat invasion will understand why they must ensure all means to keep rats out of their walls, even if it means tearing the wall. However, while we will not be tearing down any wall, we will be doing something similar in other aspects.
Rats are insufferable creatures, and they can survive just about any extreme condition and even reproduce on an exponential scale.
Rats can chew up almost anything in the house, including utility wires, papers, sheets, and trash. They also carry various diseases and viruses that they spread through their bites or droppings on stored foods. Therefore, you must make a conscious effort to keep them out of the home.
How do Rats get into the walls of the home?
Rats rely on cracks, holes, and sometimes unsealed entrances/exits to access the homes. Once in, they look for a suitable place to nest. If the walls are weak or cracked in many places, they will capitalize on this and create a complex labyrinth of entry and exit.
Usually, they also map out a clear pathway from their hiding place in the wall to their food source.
Dealing with rats is not an easy task, depending on the level of infestation. It is usually daunting dealing with them during the breeding season. Although most methods here are DIY, don’t hesitate to call our services for professional help.
- Inspect the home
You never can tell, a stray rat may run into the home. However, with proper and regular inspection, you will be able to isolate it and chase it off before it can return with its family. The assessment also ensures that there are no leftover foods, scattered trash, or anything that will interest a rat.
- Seal the Gaps
Rats love to explore those cracks and gaps in the homes. They don’t mind starting a parallel family within yours by renting a space within those walls. The best way to keep out the rats from your walls is to seal them up. Ensure there is no linkage from the outside walls to the interior parts.
- Cover drain openings with Wire gauze/Mesh
Rats can also enter walls through plumbing or outlets that are left open. You can seal such outlets with strong wire gauze to prevent Rats from exploring such holes. Other ventilation bricks should also have wire mesh protection to Prevent Rats from nesting there.
- Install traps at the entry and exit of these holes
Either gum or live traps are the best for catching rats. They should be placed either at the entrance/exit of the wall cracks or along the usual paths for the rats. Most people abstain from deadly traps due to local laws and the repulsive smell of rat carcasses.
- Use Rat repellents
Although rats can survive even the most frugal of conditions, they still dislike certain substances. You can repel rats from your walls or other holes by spraying any or all of;
Peppermint oils,
Cayenne pepper,
Black pepper,
Cloves
Around any of the suspected entrances or exits of the cracks/holes. Generally, these substances are irritable to Rats and will prevent them from entering places where they smell them. However, if you suspect them of having entered such areas already, you can sprinkle crushed pepper inside the hole or area.
- Secure Pets feed
Rats usually camp near places where they can get access to pet foods. If you leave pet feed around indiscriminately, you call for Rat’s trouble. To avoid this, quickly dispose of leftover pet feed, and store other food items properly.
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