Tag Archives: rat control

Top 10 Signs Of Rats

top 10 signs of rats

During autumn, animal pests like to enter your home, seeking shelter and food. In rural areas, when fields are plowed, rats lose their habitat and make their way indoors. In urban areas, the cool weather drives them into your home. Regardless of where you live, rats can cause big problems. Aside from the numerous diseases and parasites they carry, they can cause major damage. If you have a hunch that you have a rat infestation, check out our lists for the top 10 signs of rats:

TOP 10 SIGNS OF RATS

  1. Scratching in the walls – Scratching or rustling sounds in the walls is one of the early, subtle signs of a rat infestation. They run through the walls to and from food sources. In addition, if they are building a nest, they will be moving materials between the walls.
  2. Rat droppings – Rat droppings are small, brown, and rice-shaped. A single rat leaves between 10 and 30 pellets a day.
  3. Grease marks – Rats have an oily fur that leaves grease or dirt tracks. You may notice them along floorboards or across counter tops in your house.
  4. Footprints – Their tracks have front and hind paw marks plus a tail print. You may notice them in dustier areas of the home.
  5. Rats holes – Brown rats are great burrowers and may leave holes as evidence.
  6. Rat nests – Rats make nests with cardboard, straw, and other soft items. You may notice them in your attic or basement, depending on the type of rat in your home.
  7. Rodent odors – You may notice a musky smell with the presence of rats.
  8. Urine stains – Their urine stains glow under UV lights.
  9. Chewed wires, floorboards, & boxes – Rats’ teeth are continuously growing, which means they gnaw on plastic, wood, and anything hard to keep them filed. You may notice gnawed floorboards, boxes of cereal, or walls.
  10. Rat sightings – If you’ve seen a rat, dead or alive, in your home – you may have an infestation.

If some or all of the top 10 signs of rats apply to your home, it may be time to call pest control. Attic solutions can safely and effectively remove rats from your home and repair damage caused by rats.

Working Cats In The City

working cats

The Rat Problem

Chicago’s rat problem has grown over the past few years, with complaints up in 2016. Though the mayor is working to address these issues, some residents are taking matters into their own hands. As a result, people are using working cats to combat the rat problem. The Cats at Work Project pits cats against rodents, providing a home for the cats and humanely eradicating rats.

Working Cats

Through this program, felines are put to work by controlling the rat population through their presence and hunting. They are vaccinated and sterile, and often come from former life-threatening situations. This option allows the them to stay out of the shelter system while providing a rodent elimination service from their natural behavior. The felines will hunt the rat pests, not eat them, and keep your home and yard free of animal pests. There have been over 225 working cats successfully placed. Many who have used the program claim to see an immediate rat population decline within a week of having working cats.

Does it Work?

Some criticize the working cats method. Experts say that cats may reduce the number of rodents spotted, but not diminish the number of pests. Because of the cats’ presence, rats may behave more secretively. Experts suggest that there may not be concrete science to back up the eradication of rats due to cat presence. In addition, cats may cause harm to the bird population. They hunt rats, mice, birds, chipmunks and many other small animals. This means, a working cat likely will not discern between animals and target rats, specifically. Lastly, experts are concerned that cats could cause exposure to parasites through their feces. Consequently, the felines would become pests.

How to Get Rid of Rats

Experts suggest limiting the rats’ access to food, water, and shelter. Rats can be tricky to remove though, and breed incredibly quickly to restore any population loss. If you are experiencing a rat problem, contact pest control to take care of the solution safely and effectively immediately.