#NuisanceNovember: Rats
The most common pest at this time of year, rats are a massive risk to public health. As well as carrying illnesses such as Wiels Disease and Salmonella, rats can also cause serious damage to homes and properties from their digging and gnawing.
Rats are most active during the night, so it is often easier to spot their presence through signs rather than seeing the actual rat. Keep an eye out for some of these signs that could indicate that you have a potential rat problem:
Scratching Noises: Rats are agile climbers and often found in lofts, meaning that you might hear scratching noises coming from your ceiling at night.
Holes: Rats will dig extensive burrow systems for shelter, food storage and nesting.
Rat Nests: Materials such as loft insulation, cardboard and other soft items make for great resources for rats to make nests.
Droppings: Rat droppings are on average 12 mm long, roughly half an inch, and are typically described as spindle shaped (that is, tapering to a point at one end or both ends). Droppings in your property are a massive giveaway that you have a rat infestation.
Marks on walls: The grease and dirt on bodies of rats mean that they leave smudge marks on walls and surfaces as they push their way through your property.
Footprints: Rats leave feet and tail marks in dusty, less-used areas of buildings.
We understand that finding signs of a rat infestation may be distressing to you, and that you will want to act quickly before they cause damage to your property. Our fast call out service means that we are able to quickly identify the extent of the infestation, implement treatment and proofing solutions, and safely get rid of rats from your home or business.
By conducting a thorough survey of your property, we can identify how the rats have gained access to your premises, and we can advise you how best to get rid of them. All our treatments for rodents and rats are based on at least three visits. After a thorough survey on our first visit, baits will be placed in tamper resistant bait boxes, and we will regularly check baits and replenish them when needed, remove rodent bodies, and eventually remove the bait boxes. We would then conduct a final check survey, and your treatment would be complete.
Your premises should then be proofed against a further infestation, and any building work carried out to stop rats from accessing your property again. All of the baits we use are secured in a temporary bait station, which help ensure that pets, children and any non-target wildlife are not harmed by the rodenticides during treatment.
Do you think you have a problem with rats? Get involved in our #NuisanceNovember hashtag, send us a tweet with any questions you might have about pest control!