Stark County, Canton Rat Control Situation:
HI there, Came across your website and found it very helpful and hoping you will entertain my question and perhaps direct me to someone in my area. My name is Shanna and I live about an hour north of central Ohio in the town of Canton OH. This summer we did some work on the outside of the house - replaced the sill plate and some of the clapboard. The house, unfortunately was open for quite some time and well, now I'm hearing sounds in the walls - movement, chewing, etc. I'm not sure what it is but here is what I do know: Sounds come at night I've identified where most of the sounds are coming from - unfortunately near my bedroom and they wake me around 2:30 and then again at 4:30 AM! My cat caught and left a juvenile rat on my porch yesterday over night I've not seen any rat holes around the property - I know what they look like from my zookeeper days. I'm assuming it's rats because of the cat but I'm not sure. I set bait traps this eve near the area where I think they are getting in (there are some remaining holes from the construction) and I stuffed insulation in those areas to check in the AM to see if it's been disturbed and if so, where. We will close the holes up ASAP!! Here's my problem and question - we don't have an attack as we've raised all the ceilings on the second floor so should we close all the holes and then look into the one way door or...? Also, I could use some help if you know of anyone in this area.
Canton Rat Control Tip of The Week
Reasons Why Relocated Rats Don't Survive Out Of Their Usual Territory
After trapping a rat in your home, you will have to decide either to kill it or relocate it. If killing a rat doesn't go down well with you because it makes you feel inhumane, you will be left with no other option but to relocate it.
If you have decided to relocate a trapped rat into a new territory, you need to understand the fact that it might not survive. Despite being a very smart household pest, rats find it very difficult to cope in a new environment for several reasons. The following are the reasons why a relocated rat won't survive out of their usual territory.
The first reason why rats won't survive in a new environment is that they are accustomed to their old environment. They have spent their entire life studying where they stay, knowing the exact place to find water and food in order to survive daily. Transferring this survival instinct to a new environment is a quite difficult thing to do for rats. As a result of these differences, they will find it difficult to locate food and water which they need to survive in any environment they are relocated to.
The presence of predators in the new environment is another reason why rats will find it difficult to survive. Animals like cats, snakes, and birds hunt for rats and will take advantage of the fact that the newly introduced rat doesn't know its way around to capture it.
When you introduce a rat into a new environment, it is going to meet other street rats that are already accustomed to that specific environment. Rats being animals that exhibit dominance in the form of hierarchy, where the submissive group is traumatized by the dominant rats, your rat will face multiple brutal battles and might end up in bad shape in the process. Over time, they will either get killed or too weak to look for food and shelter.
All these clearly show why any rat you decide to relocate might never survive the effects of leaving your home and being transferred into a new environment.
