The first sign of a rat problem is noise. Rats will make scratching noises that can easily be heard from within walls and attics. Listen for their scratching and rustling noises after dusk when rats are most active.
Next, look for rat droppings. You can usually find droppings around food sources like pet dishes. The droppings will be small, capsule-shaped, black and glossy. You should also look for rat burrows and nests.
You will find burrows in gardens and under places like compost piles. Look for nests around boxes, inside of drawers and near woodpiles.
A couple of other signs of a rat infestation are grease marks along beams and rafters (caused by a rat’s greasy fur) and gnawing marks on boxes and wiring. If you have any of these signs, you probably have a rat problem and should contact a professional rodent removal services Phoenix exterminator.
If you do not have a rat problem, you should think about preventing them. Preventing them mainly involves keeping them from entering your home.
To prevent an infestation, keep debris piles away from your home. Piles of debris can serve as homes for rats and mice. Also, seal any entrances to your home that are larger than a quarter of an inch. Seal any holes you find with caulk or expanding foam and make sure all of your doors have good weather stripping in place. Following these simple steps should keep your home rat-free.
The general types of these rodents that exist in your home can include the Norway rat, the roof (or black) rat, and the house mouse. Roof rats usually stake out attics or cabinets and can climb quite well.
Norway rats choose to live in the ground by digging burrows against foundations, tree trunks, and gardens. Their burrows can lead into crawl spaces and small openings around pipes which can enable them to inhabit your kitchens and bathrooms.
No matter the type of rat that lives in your home, you can be sure that it will be attracted to any food item you have in your pantry, especially high-quality food products such as meat and fresh grain. If you have pets, be extra cautious about foods being left out, because rats will smell and detect dog food that is sitting out.
Rats need one-half to one fluid ounce of water every day when consuming dry foods. They have extremely sharp senses of taste, hearing, and smell. Once they are aware of what is within their reach and given their keen senses, rats will do anything to get to food or shelter. Overall, rats are able to enter a building through openings that are wider than half an inch across. Rats have a very short life span — most die within a year.
However, rats can breed rapidly, so even though they die off quickly, their young will survive them. Female rats produce five or six litters of about half a dozen to a dozen young each year.
Now that you know a little about the rat’s habits, how can you tell that you have rats living alongside you in your home? Spotting droppings or visible signs of fresh gnawing should be an obvious indicator of rats.
Rat tracks can appear on dusty surfaces or mud, and they usually build runways and burrows to get into your home and they can be found next to buildings and under debris and low vegetation.