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Surprise Homeowner’s Guide To Effective Rat Control

October 07, 2021

rat outside

Rats are one of the most troublesome pests to encounter around your Surprise home. Effective rat control is an essential step in keeping this pest off of your property for good.

The Problem With Rats

Rats have lived alongside humans for hundreds of years, with many species forming a dependent relationship with the humans living near them. A nocturnal pest, rats, can be found mostly at night scavenging for trash in garbage cans. During the day, they can be found in underground burrows resting.

There are several different types of rats in the Surprise area that you may encounter on your property:

  • Norway Rat: Also called brown or sewer rats, Norway Rats can grow between 13 and 16 inches long. They have a grey underside with a reddish-brown or black coat on top of their body. They are most likely to be found in urban areas with plenty of access to human refuse and prefer to live in burrows underground or in the basements of homes.

  • Roof Rat: Roof Rats are also called black rats and are smaller than the Norway Rat. Their underside will be a greyish to white color while the rest of their coat is uniformly dark. This type of rat is a climber and prefers to live in attics, walls, or cabinets. They will often move inside your home in pursuit of insects to eat.

When your home becomes infested, rats can bring a few serious issues. Most notably, the risk for disease is that rats carry typhus, hantavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis, and leptospirosis, among other illnesses. They can destroy homes by gnawing on furniture and internal structures and leaving behind claw marks and droppings. Rat urine and feces are also vectors of disease and may contaminate your home’s food supply as they are left behind after a night of scavenging.

Surprise Rat Prevention Tips

To deter rats from entering your home, there are a few prevention tips that you can follow:

  • Make sure to seal up any cracks or gaps around windows, doors, and your home’s foundation. Rats can get through holes as small as a dime, so be sure to take your time and thoroughly seal any entry points.

  • Rats can chew through anything, including wood, drywall, brick, cinder blocks, and sheetrock. Try to rat-proof your property by reinforcing your home's foundation and entry points with rat-resistant materials such as solid concrete, stone, and hard metals.

  • Keep all pet food and trash both inside and outside of your home properly stored. Open trash cans and unsealed food containers are sure to bring rats onto your property as they search for food.

  • Clean up your yard and ensure that the grass is trimmed low and any debris removed. This will prevent rats from hiding out around your property. You may also want to trim back overhanging trees to stop rats from jumping from the branches onto your roof.

  • Adopt a feline friend – while cat ownership may not be for everybody, just the scent of a cat alone can deter rats from entering your property.

Professional Rat Removal

Though prevention tips may help reduce your risk of rat invasions, the most effective and safest way to handle an ongoing rat infestation is to contact the professionals at Green Home Pest Control for professional rat removal services using safe products and practices.

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