Are Rats Making Your Home Their Home?

If you think you may have rats in your home it is best to act fast! Not only do rats carry diseases, they will also eat their way into your pantry and contaminate your food by leaving droppings in things like sugar, flour, cereal, etc. Rats will gnaw their way through your house, damaging drywall, wall studs, electrical wiring, and plumbing along their way.

The biggest danger that comes along with rats is the fact that they can be the root cause of house fires. They bring all kinds of things in from outside such as twigs and leaves (which are extremely flammable) and then they chew on electrical wiring. If that causes a spark, your whole house can go up in flames.

There are numerous ways to get rid of rats, but the best way to keep them out is to prevent them from getting into your house in the first place. This is a cheaper and much more successful way to keep out your unwelcome guests.

• Examine your home: The best way to keep rats out of your home is to seal off all entry points. This can be very difficult since rats are able to shimmy through very small openings. Investigate your house to see if you may have any broken windows, busted sills, or any cracks in the siding or foundation. You need to have these problems fixed in order to prevent rats from entering.
• Inspect areas around pipes, stoves, and dryer vents: These are all areas that can potentially have gaps for rat entry. If you have vents in the foundation of your home you may want to replace the screens with something more durable to prevent rats from entering.
• Keep the outside of your home clean: Trim the shrubs and bushes outside of your home away from the ground so that nothing can hide underneath them. Also, be sure to store firewood at least a foot off the ground and do not make brush piles in your yard as this makes a perfect home for rats.
• Tidy up your Garage and Shed: If you like to garden make sure to keep your plant seeds and fertilizer stored in a sealed container as these are viable food sources for rats. Also, do not store firewood in your garage or shed, as this is a potential nesting site for rats.
• Conceal your garbage: It is important to make sure that your trashcans have tight-fitting lids and are preferably made of metal. If you have to use plastic trashcans, you should at least make sure that there are no holes in them.
• Store your pet food properly: Pet food is a delicious treat for rats, so make sure to store your pet food in a container with a tight lid.

These tips should help you prevent the infestation of rats in your home, but if you do have rats in your home be sure to contact a wildlife control professional to remove them. A rat infestation comes with an increased risk of property damage and potential injury, so it may be dangerous or inefficient to try to deal with it on your own. Contact Lookout Pest Control, formerly Any Pest Inc., today for a free estimate!