Suffering From Rats and How to Deal With Them

We have to state an obvious fact but rats are everywhere. You might not see them but they are especially common in the UK and generally only come out during the night or when they cannot be spotted by predators. They are extremely intelligent and can squeeze into small spaces while they also like to breed quickly as they can produce up to six litters each year, producing up to 10 rats with each litter. So, as you can see, the number of rats can grow rapidly.

Unfortunately, we also have the right breeding grounds for rats as well as put out waste food and we have shelter that they take advantage of. This means that the rat population is increasing quickly which means that human intervention is needed and pest control services may be your best option.

Protecting Your Home From Rats

During the winter, rats look for warmth and food and they like to get inside buildings where possible. In order to prevent rats from entering your home, you need to learn about the signs that indicate that rats are present. 

You should also look for rat nests close to your home and near bins, compost heat and even in sheds. If you can learn the signs, it will mean that you can spot them before you see the rats. Furthermore, the quicker you determine that you have a rat problem, the sooner you can take action. Once rats enter your home, they will hide and breed and before you know it, you are facing a significant infestation.

Signs of Rats

You will see rat droppings that are around the size of a grape and urine puddles that have a sharp smell. It’s also possible to hear scratching sounds of rats behind walls, especially at night when they are active. You might also spot footprints in dust and gnaw marks as rats have to gnaw to grind their teeth down. 

It is highly likely that you will also notice a foul smell. As rats breed, they defecate, die and decompose and that can result in a foul smell that doesn’t go away. This smell might come from underneath floorboards or even behind walls. It’s also possible to find nesting materials as they like to shred paper, fabric, cardboard and plastic to make a nest. This material will often be spotted outside holes. 

Finally, if you do spot rat droppings, you should not touch them as you could become infected with a number of severe diseases such as Hantavirus and Leptospirosis which can be fatal. It is also possible for dogs to become infected with a number of infections too.

Time to Deal With the Problem

If you have spotted the signs above then it could be time to call in the pest control experts. Rats are pests and they can cause a lot of damage to your property too, not to mention the potential infections they carry. So, even if you see one rat in or around your home, it is safe to assume that there are more, so you should call in the experts to tackle the problem.