Hamilton County, Chattanooga Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, I hope this email finds you doing well. I am really hoping you can help me... We have a dead rat in our attic. My husband works from home, and when he walked into the den (next to our bedroom) he smelled the odor. Because he works from home, he'll be smelling this odor until it goes away. I keep calling several numbers but I don't get someone on the other end and I haven't received any call backs. Is there anyone you can recommend in Chattanooga TN??? Please help! Any suggestion are welcome. Any way we can disguise the odor in the meantime or perhaps make it a bit more tolerable given my husband works from there? Many thanks in advance!
We purchased a new 2014 Ford Edge Limited with all the bells and whistles about 4 months ago. My with drives like a road warrior as she just had the 20000 mile checkup completed about two weeks ago and no rats. Tuesday morning she started the car and all the lights and warning lights stayed on so she took it to the Ford dealer in Temple, Texas where she was working. The service tech opened the hood and said they would take it back and check. When the mechanic started moving stuff out came a Hugh rat about 8" long (including tail). The damage was extensive to wiring harnesses. He told my wife they get about 4 of the per month on the new cars now! Apparently some idiot tree hugger decided to use "Soy" based wiring instead of rubber or poly as insulation in all the new cars! Rats love it! He said the rats was probably only there a few days and maybe only one night ! $1200 to fix this damage but if the rats show back up it could continue to cost more. The insurance we have covers this damage with a $250 deductible. My question is how do we prevent this from happening again? This is apparently a big problem on all new cars made in the USA. Feeling lost without a solution.
Chattanooga Rat Control Tip of The Week
Rats And Black Pepper
Rats eat almost anything. In their search for food, they can gnaw on plastic, wood, and even electrical wiring. A rat presence in your home can cause a lot of economic damage.
When this expense is added to the health problems rats' body fluids can cause, the best thing a person can do is getting them out of the house as soon as possible. The most common extermination way is using traps or rodenticides. However, there are more natural methods such as the use of peppers that cause unpleasant odors and tastes for the rodent and quickly drive them away.
Odors That Repel
Using repellents with unpleasant odors for rats is a way to keep them away from you in a friendly way. The advantage of not having to deal with the rodent's carcass can be worth the effort of constantly using these temporary methods. Rodents use their sense of smell to socialize as well as to survive. An odor such as ammonia often drives them away because it is very similar to the urine of large animals that could devour them. Spicy odors are perceived as dangerous chemicals that are also often avoided at all costs.
Black Pepper
Spicy food odors are unbearable for rats, thanks to their high capsaicin content. These natural compounds give the food its spicy effect, but they are also often very irritating to the mucous membranes and lungs of rodents. If ingested, they can cause a burning sensation in the taste buds and olfactory glands. Pepper is known to be able to scare away rats temporarily although this is not scientifically proven.
For all those people who are afraid of having to deal with poisons or homemade traps, finding new and less harmful options is a headache; however, homemade repellents like black pepper avoid harming other animals and humans, being a perfect choice. In any case, even if they are harmless odors, it is advisable to seek the advice and follow the instructions of a professional in the field.
