Anne Arundel County, Annapolis Rat Control Situation:
Interresting site very helpful info. I had stored furniture in a storage facility and and went into remove yesterday .. And found rats had been nesting I there. I removed a table and chairs and two couches .. Which had rat dropping on. I didn't see much urine but I'm sure it's there. I'm concerned and extremely grossed out because I HATE rodents more than anything In this world. And I have a four month old baby. I want to throw the couches away, my boyfriend and friends tell my I'm exaggerating but by your site I think not. Can you tell me is it still safe to use the couches , their made with slip covers for easy clean up. What type of cleaning should I do to use again or shall I toss them.
Hi David, Great site-very resourceful. We have a night time visitor in our attic. We called a pest control company and they have put traps in our attic and sealed his entery hole. With that said I have a few questions: Its been over a week and he has yet to be caught! We still hear him at night. is that normal? Further, we have a small half inch open gap going around the entire perimeter of our roof. We recently replaced our roof and gutters and I think there was some miscommunication between the contractors. I just have to lift the roof shingles and I can see the opening. With that said, I was thinking of going up and stuffing the perimeter of the house with steel wool. Will that keepp rats out or will they push through and end up in our attic? I was only thinking steel wool 'cause "chicken wire" would be a more labour intensive project. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Annapolis Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Have Rabies?
Rats have powerful bites:
Rats can have very powerful bites and are capable of damaging the skin quickly. A rat can bite through cinderblocks to get into an area if it needs to. Rats could bite through clothing or manage to break the skin even unintentionally with a very quick bite. Handling rats with care or using heavy gloves is recommended if you have to remove one or relocate it. It is ultimately best if you avoid handling rats whenever possible.
Many people are bitten each year with low rates of infection:
Rats bite over 50,000 people in the USA each year. Rabies vaccine shots are very rarely delivered in these cases and the risk for other types of diseases that rats carry can be far greater. Going to see a doctor about a rat bite can be wise if you are starting to feel some of the secondary symptoms or it looks infected.
Rats do spread disease:
Rats do spread a series of diseases including rat-bite fever. It can be transmitted through a bite or through pets. Rabies can be a deadly disease but most of the diseases that rats pass on are only able to cause the chance for fever and infection which carry lower rates of mortality.
Other animals can be much riskier to receive bites from:
If you are bitten by other animals like raccoons, coyotes, woodchucks, or skunks, this will give you a much riskier chance of receiving something like rabies. When bitten by a rat, you should be concerned but you may not have to run to get the bite checked out with the same urgency.
The main theory of low rabies cases:
A rat would have to survive a bite from a predator in order to become a carrier of rabies. As coyotes and larger animals will be likely to kill a rat in an attack, this leads to the chance of rats not being able to spread rabies at all.
