If you have rats under your house, it is most likely Norway rats. Norway rats, also known as brown rats, have an instinct to burrow and dig underground tunnels and seek shelter in various spaces beneath a house, such as crawl spaces, basements, and under porches. These dark and secluded areas provide rats with the ideal conditions for nesting, breeding, and hiding from potential threats. Effectively identifying and addressing these specific areas is paramount in implementing successful rat control measures and ensuring the well-being of your home.
Rats can squeeze through an entry point as tiny as a quarter, making it easy for them to get into the narrow space between your home’s first floor and the ground.
Signs of a Rat Infestation Under Your House
- Squeaking noises are heard through your floorboards.
- Holes dug around the foundation of your home.
- Capsule-shaped fecal droppings around the outside of a burrow or along their runways.
- Dark, greasy smear marks along your foundation.
- A strong, musky odor caused by their frequent urination.
- Tufts of fur caught on foundation plantings.
Prevent a Rat Problem Under the House
Proactive rat control can save you time, money, and energy. Make your property less attractive to rats.
Keep the Area Clean
Rodents tend to avoid well-kept areas. Tall grass, piles of wood, and yard waste such as leaves and branches all provide excellent hiding spaces for rats. By keeping a trimmed lawn and disposing of natural yard waste, you can eliminate the sense of safety to which rats are attracted.
Remove Rat Food Sources
Rats are omnivorous scavengers who gravitate to areas with a food source they can reliably count upon. Clear fallen fruit from fruit trees regularly. Fence in your vegetable garden. Don’t leave pet food and water in the yard. Keep trash cans tightly sealed. And, if you enjoy feeding the birds, make sure to clean up fallen seeds.
Rat Repellents That Don’t Work
Rats reproduce so quickly that even one rat can turn into an infestation within the blink of an eye. When researching how to exterminate rats on your own, you’ll probably come across DIY solutions that sound great but aren’t up to the task.
Glue traps might catch some problems but will not eliminate all of them. In addition, they are inhumane because the rat does not die quickly.
Rat pellets are not recommended because they have a delayed effect, leaving wildlife such as owls or foxes susceptible to ingesting a poisoned rat.
The recommendation to use essential oils like peppermint oil, citronella oil, eucalyptus oil, lemon oil, tea tree oil, or sage is a popular all-natural rat control alternative. But, these oils are not effective. Rats may hate these smells but they dissipate and lose effectiveness quickly.
How to Get Rid of Rats Under the House
It’s imperative to exterminate rats under your house. They pose health hazards and can cause costly damage to your home.
Rodents carry parasites such as ticks, fleas, and mites. In addition, diseases such as Hantavirus, Leptospirosis, and Monkey pox can spread to people who come in contact with rat feces, urine, or saliva.
The underside of a home provides rats with ways to get inside. Once inside your home, the damage they cause by contaminating food and gnawing on wood and wires can become extensive and costly
Seal Entry Points Under House
Homes are not built airtight. Even newer constructions have gaps and openings for proper ventilation or to allow utilities to enter the home. Sealing all gaps is key IF you do not currently have a rat population. Before you can install exclusions, you need to have control of the rat problem.
Most Common Rat Entry Points
- Cracks & gaps in foundation or walls
- Vents and pips
- Openings around utilities & pipes
- Gaps under doors & windows
Rats can gnaw through most home construction materials. If you attempt to install exclusions, use the correct material. Steel wool inside the caulk can fill in the smaller gaps. Installing metal flashing around the perimeter of your foundation can also deter rats, as they cannot chew through it.
Set Rat Taps
The best rat extermination method is snap traps. Place them close to locations where you see rat droppings or have seen rat activity. Rats love peanut butter, which makes it the perfect bait. These traps efficiently kill rodents instantly. Bait stations are another type of trap that works well. These are boxes that allow the rat to enter to eat the bait but restrict any larger animals or birds’ access.
Let Trutech In to Get Rats Out
Rats can be a difficult pest to control on your own. They reproduce at a tremendous rate which requires an aggressive rat trapping strategy. They leave pheromone trails that other rats follow.
Trutech Wildlife Service provides integrated pest control for rats. During a free inspection, we identify the scope of the infestation and create a custom rat control plan. With Trutech, you will be 100% certain that all the rats have been eliminated. Once we have established control, our rodent control maintenance program will stop a rat infestation from starting again.
