Charleston County, Charleston Rat Control Situation:
Hey David, how do I get rats/mice out of a single wide trailer home? There is maybe 4 inches of space between the ceiling and roof. There is scratching sounds in the walls, and pee stains in the ceiling tiles. There's no way to get into the ceiling. Will I need to gut the ceiling tiles to set traps? There is also a tree that hangs over the trailer house. I heard that rats can use trees to get on the roof, is that true? My girlfriend wants a humane way to remove the rats/mice but I have no way to set cages in her house because there is no attic. Any suggestions?? Thank you for your time and your website is very helpful.
I just read your article about how to remove rat in the attic. The company I talked to told me he has to suck all insulation in the attic out to get rid all the babies, disinfected the attic & spray the new insulation. All this will cost several thousand dollars, does it sound right to you?
We have found a dead rat on our garden. Can you come and take it way for us? Do you charge? Can we take it to the local refuge centre in Charleston? We don't know what to do?
Hi David, After reading your excellent article, I wrote you a long Email and it didn't go through so this is really a test. I've tried numerous ways to get rid of rats in my house i.e., 1. Attack Wave, 2. traps with peanut butter and beef sticks or both, 3. Glue traps. 4. Electronic zapper etc., and the only thing that worked for a while were the Victor traps with peanut butter and beef sticks. Lately, nothing seems to work and I thought I'd try to get some new ideas from you. I read your comment about peppermint oil on the Victor traps but I wasn't sure whether you were being facetious about your having success with this method. Were you?
Charleston 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.
