Rats, Rats, Rats!!!!
Now I know what you're thinking. No one has rats these days. Well, throw that thought out the window! My family lives a very clean life, and we have a clean household. But due to construction nearby, those unwanted elements are coming down to our house. And they are coming in force!
So, for months, I thought that voles were attacking my exterior house plants in my yard and on my patio. Cactus spilling over a pot rim, cascading down, are now just chewed stubs. Holes were found next to established plants that are wilting. And dug holes in side yards under concrete. All of these are signs of critters, actually, rats. A completely harmless tracts of dirt pushed out from behind a set of stacked rock steps. What you're not seeing is the activity that made the dirt pile. It is, or was, rats. A whole family of them. Sitting quietly, unobscured from sight. Now, here is another photo of their work. This is a trash receptacle storage space. The little black spots found on the concrete are their poop. Multiple sets of teardrop-shaped black spots.
These signs tell you a rat was here. So what can we do to reduce this unwanted invader?
Well, contracting a home service for spraying for ants, spiders, and cockroaches should certainly work and is one viable option. Especially if you do not want to take care of the problem yourself. The services are regulated because California laws do not permit the use of poison outright in the open environment. So, they lay out trap boxes which the rats can go in, get trapped, or eat poisoned food. The only problem here is the rats can get out of the trap, wander off and die in an exposed space. Then, either cats, dogs, snakes, or birds-of-prey stubble along and eat the critter. If it is a house pet, then they need to be taken to the veterinarian's office for immediate treatment. Then what other options do we have? Well, since my house was showing signs of rats, I went to the local hardware store and purchased traps, specialty traps, poison bait, and various other items.
Pest Control Services:
Environmental pest control services were discussed previously in this article.
Poison Bait:
It is best purchased online and sold in a small bucket. For this article, we used “Tomcat Bait Chunx”, a 4.25-pound bucket of green poison bait. We placed the bait where rats are digging holes for shelter, where they are eating plants, or where there were signs of rat travel. Remember where you placed the bait and check it often. It was discovered at several locations to have been chewed on, or it disappeared altogether. Both of these are good signs that it's going to work. We got good results
Devices:
We chose “Supercat”, a spring-loaded trap, which, when set by the space well traveled by rats, voles, or gophers, snaps the rat dead. Similar to, or much like, a regular rat trap. Word of caution: DO NOT use your fingers to red test triggers. It will snap hard but should not break the skin or finger bones, but you will walk away with a few cuss words. There are other rat trap devices on the market; we chose this one due to past success from neighbors. We got good results.
Regular Rat Traps:
Using a large rat trap, place a small amount of peanut butter on the little flat trigger before you arm the trap. Place it near a dug hole or again at a well-traveled path of travel and check it 2-3 times a day. It was found to do the job. Be aware, rats can smell the human scent from setting up the trap, and may pass on visiting the peanut butter treat. So, it is suggested to use garden gloves when setting up this trap.
Record:
Our record of success was 6 rats in 10 days. We were surprised to find that there were many in and around our yard! 3 rats were found dead in the open from the poison bait, and 3 from using Supercat. We had none from the old-fashioned spring-loaded rat traps.
So, it's up to you which trap you would prefer to use. A pest control service, Supercat, rat traps, or poison bait. This study does not replace scientific studies. It does provide you with:
1. Inform you that we have a rat issue locally due to uphill construction.
2. This was just a cross-section of various options on the market.
3. What can be done to cut down the current rat population explosion.
4. If in doubt, the homeowner can always solicit the use of a professional exterminator.
If this is a current problem for your resident, honestly, best of luck in tossing the critters out. However, we hope this helps anyone who is up in arms with the current rat invasion.
