rat prevention Archives | Northwest Exterminating

Preventing Rats This Fall

Oct 13, 2021 | Pest Control

During the colder months, rats are looking indoors for shelter, providing them with warmth and a food source. Once inside, they can not only cause considerable damage to homes by gnawing electrical wires, but they can also pose health risks as they are known to carry bacteria, such as salmonella. To help avoid these pests, every homeowner should utilize preventative measures throughout their house for rodent control.

Keeping the exterior of your home well-sealed is the first step to prevent rats from the inside. Check around the outside of your home for any gaps or holes that are leading inside. Make sure to seal around any openings in the walls, especially utility pipes and vents. Consider installing weather stripping for the gaps in doors and windows.

While outside, look throughout your yard for debris such as piles of leaves or excess woodpiles. Rats will often use these to hide or take cover. Consider keeping your woodpiles 20 feet from your home. Try to keep your shrubbery away from the sides of your home and mow the grass frequently.

Rats are always in search of a food source. Eliminating access to food from your property is another great way to keep them from infesting. If you leave your pet bowls outside, consider bringing them inside to avoid attracting them. Make sure to keep all food, including pet and bird food, in airtight containers. Likewise, make sure your trash cans are sealed tightly and take the garbage out frequently.

Suspecting that you have a rat inside your house is always alarming. It’s best to contact a pest control professional who can inspect your home, identify the type of rat, and set you up with a comprehensive treatment plan.

Common Invading Rodents

Feb 10, 2021 | Pest Control

Unfortunately, we haven’t quite gotten over the cold weather yet. Lower temperatures means there are plenty of pests and wildlife creatures looking for warmth inside your home. Common wildlife, such as rodents, can be a major nuisance during the colder seasons. If found inside, these pests can damage electrical wires, insulation, and even spread disease. Identifying the type of rodents that have entered your home is the first step in the wildlife exclusion process.

Norway Rats

Norway rats are known as one of the largest species of rats, measuring about 10 inches in body length. These rats have thicker bodies with fur that’s usually brown with black shading. In addition to having a pale color underneath their tails, the tail itself is shorter in length when compared to their bodies. Norway rats, if desperate enough, will eat just about any food source they can find, although they prefer to eat meat. If they find food in a particular place, they will continue to return to that same spot. This can make baiting and removing them easier. These rodents make their habitats in burrows but can also be found throughout buildings and in sewer systems.

Roof Rats

Roof rats have gray fur with black shading and smooth coats. They are about 8 inches long with slender bodies. They have darker tails than Norway rats and they are usually hairless and scaly. These rodents are extremely agile and are skilled climbers. They often prefer higher levels of buildings or homes, hence their name “roof rat.” While they prefer to eat fruit, roof rats will eat any available food source they can find. Unlike the Norway rat, the roof rat will not go back to the same location for food, making them much harder to bait.

Prevention is the key to making sure these rodents don’t enter your home. Use these rodent prevention tips throughout your home to ensure these creatures stay out.

Repair any roof damage such as broken tiles or gaps under the eaves.
Seal around utility pipes with steel wool and use either caulk or concrete.
Declutter any areas where rats may hide out, including your garages, attics, gardens, storage sheds, and even warehouses.
Apply weather stripping to your doors and windows throughout your house.

10 Easy Tips for Preventing Mice and Rats

Jan 29, 2021 | Pest Control

Rodents are one of the most resourceful pests when it comes to getting into your home. Mice and rats can squeeze through the tiniest cracks to gain access and they require very little space to travel inside. Rodents seek shelter indoors, especially during the fall and winter months as they go in search of warmth, food and water. While a rodent sighting can be scary enough, these pests also pose serious hazards to your home and your health. They can gnaw through cardboard, paper, and even electrical wires, putting you at risk for fires. They are known to carry bacteria, like salmonella and hantavirus, and can contaminate your food, kitchen surfaces, and other areas of your home. Even rodent droppings are dangerous – helping spread these pathogens to you and your family.

The first step in rodent control in and around your home is to prevent them from getting inside in the first place. Here are 10 easy tips you can use for preventing mice and rats:

Use doorsweeps and screens on windows and doors. Make sure to keep them in good repair and replace them when needed.
Use screens on vents and chimneys, as well.
Seal up any cracks and holes on the exterior of your home with caulk or steel wool, especially around utility pipes.
Store food in airtight containers. Make sure to empty your trash often.
Clean up any spills and crumbs immediately. Don’t leave food out overnight, including pet food. Sweep, mop, and vacuum on a regular basis.
Keep basements, crawlspaces, and attics clean, decluttered and dry. Use plastic storage containers instead of cardboard when possible.
Check foundations and windows and replace any loose mortar and weatherstripping.
Check for sources of moisture and eliminate them (e.g. leaky pipes, clogged drains, clogged gutters). Make sure downspouts are directing water away from foundations. Consider installing a gutter guard system.
Inspect everything before bringing it into your home including grocery bags, boxes, packages, furniture, and appliances.
Keep piles of firewood elevated off the ground and at least 20 feet from your home. Keep grass mowed and shrubbery trimmed back so it isn’t touching the house.

If you do find signs of rodents in your home, best practice is to remove them and prevent re-entry as soon as possible. This is best accomplished by a professional pest control company who can not only eliminate the nuisance pests, but help identify nesting sites and points of entry to help prevent reinfestation in the future.

You May Also Be Interested In:

Don’t Forget the Forgotten Rooms

Avoiding A Winter Wildlife Invasion

9 Energy Saving Tips For Winter

Should You Enclose Your Crawlspace in Winter?

8 Reasons You Should Install a Gutter Guard System

Signs You’ve Got a Rat in the House

May 12, 2020 | Pest Control, Wildlife

Homeowners can all agree that the idea of having rats inside your home can be very alarming! These rodents can easily sneak into your basement, walls, and even in kitchen cabinets. At first, rats may not reveal themselves to you. However, there are a few clues to look for when you start to suspect you might have rats roaming inside your house.

One sign that you possibly have rats is seeing gnawing marks. Rats are known to sneak behind walls and gnaw on wires. This can be especially dangerous as it can increase the risk of a fire in the home. Make sure to check out any exposed wood inside or around your house for gnawing marks.

Another common sign of rats is seeing their nests. Rats usually prefer to nest underground or in attics and you’ll typically find them in dark secluded areas hidden from any possible disturbances. They commonly build their nests using paper products like cotton, fabrics, wall insulation, or any soft material found in the environment. Rats are also known to leave tracks or rub marks throughout your home while following a trail from their nest to food sources. They will usually leave dark grease or dirt marks along walls and floorboards.

A major sign you’ve got a rat infestation is seeing their droppings. Rat droppings usually measure around 1/8-1/4” long and are generally left behind randomly, but are often found in places where food is stored, such as cabinets or pantries. You can also find droppings inside cardboard boxes, along baseboards, and even on top of wall beams. Seeing rat droppings could indicate that its time get rodent control help from a professional pest control company. Professionals are able to inspect the home and begin the best method of treatment.

How to Avoid a Rat Invasion During a Pandemic

Apr 9, 2020 | DIY, DIY Wildlife Prevention, Pest Control, Wildlife

As the corona virus continues to spread, people around the world are drastically changing their daily routines. Tourism has come to a grinding halt. Restaurants are closed and people are staying home. What many don’t realize is this change in our daily lives is also affecting the ecosystem within cities. As there is less urban traffic, there is less food for pests and rodents – like rats. According to experts, if rats lose these established food sources (e.g. trash in cans in the park or dumpsters outside restaurants) then they will start fighting over any food that remains, even going so far as to kill each other in order to survive.

Because rats are having to get creative in finding new food sources, there is now a trending surge of rats invading homes and essential businesses in search of their next meal. Rats will follow the smell of food into homes, being as bold as necessary to find food in their effort to survive. Rats in homes pose serious risks – they will chew through wires and cables putting you at risk for fires and they carry diseases of their own which can easily be transmitted to you and your family. While there is no evidence that rats themselves can become infected with corona virus, there is some risk for spreading it to humans. Rats are known to crawl through sewer pipes containing human feces which has been shown to contain the virus. They then make their way into your home and contaminate any surfaces they touch with the virus-laden feces, potentially allowing humans who come in contact with these contaminated surfaces to contract the virus. The CDC reports that although this scenario is possible, the risk of transmission by feces is actually quite low.

To protect your family and/or essential business, the following rat prevention tips can help to prevent a rat infestation, limit the spread of disease, and keep your environment a safe-haven, during shelter-in-place orders and in the future:

Use outdoor trashcans with tight-fitting lids.
Seal any cracks under doors and other openings to the outside.
Apply weatherstripping to doors and windows.
Seal around utility pipes with steel wool and either caulk or concrete.
Repair any roof damage such as broken tiles or gaps under eaves.
Keep limbs and branches trimmed back to they are not touching your home or business.
Declutter any areas where rats may hide including garages, attics, gardens, storage sheds, warehouses, etc.
Keep food stored in metal or glass containers with tight fitting lids.
Clean up spills and crumbs immediately.
Sweep, mop, and vacuum often.
Don’t leave pet food and water out overnight.
Clean up spilled pet food and bird seed and store in containers with tight fitting lids.
Keep toilet lids closed as rats have been known to swim up damaged pipes and into toilets.
Use tightly fitted metal grates or screens to cover drains, especially in basements.

If you notice a rodent problem in your home or essential business, contact a professional pest control company. Rats can cause serious health risks to your family or employees, as well as the risk for fire and other structural damage to your home and property. A licensed wildlife exclusion company will inspect your home to identify your animal problem, determine where they are getting in, remove them, and prevent the animals from getting into your home in the future. They can also inform you of any existing damage or contamination and provide you with a recommendation for repairs or clean-up.