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
How Likely Is It That A Rat In The Attic Will Have A Nest Of Babies?
Rats are among the most common pest animal species that people may have to deal with around the home, and because they are quite small they can often be quite elusive little animals to deal with as well. They are quite good climbers when it comes to moving around a domestic property, so if you are worried about rats, they won?t necessarily be around ground level. Because the attic or roof space of most domestic properties is rarely used, it can often be the dark quiet place where rats can get a foothold and build a nest without being noticed by the people living beneath.
Do Rats Have A Mating Season?
Like most wild animals, rats in the wild do have a mating season, where they will normally copulate and impregnate female rats in the spring, and then the female will then give birth a few weeks later, and can then have a few litters over the summer. However, the reason for the mating season is that in rural areas there are limited food sources available during the winter months, so it is impractical for rats to mate during these months. However, over recent decades, a growing number of rats are actually giving birth throughout the year because food sources are also present throughout the year, so whatever time of the year you discover rats in the attic, you may find there are babies there too.
How Often Will Rats Give Birth?
Because of how quickly rats can go from mating to giving birth to a litter of baby rats, a female rat can often be back and ready to mate again within a few weeks from giving birth. This means that in some cases female rats can give birth to up to ten litters a year, so the population of rats from one breeding female can increase very quickly. It is also worth noting that a baby female will actually become sexually mature herself after around six weeks from birth, so the possibility for a rat population to expand very quickly where there is sufficient food is certainly there.
Dealing With Rats In The Attic
When it comes to dealing with a rat infestation, the first step is to identify where in the attic the rats are active, and while taking the appropriate precautions, look for areas where there is a buildup of rat droppings. You should then place several rat traps in these areas of the attic, along with a small amount of food as bait, and the next step is simply to watch and wait. You should remove any rat carcasses as they are caught in your traps, and then re-lay the trap with a new serving of bait, and you should then continue this process until you no longer see any signs of fresh rat activity, and when you are no longer catching any more rats. You will then need to carry out the appropriate repairs.
What To Do With A Nest Of Baby Rats
In some cases you may actually find a nest of baby rats in the attic, and if they are very young they will often be unable to look after themselves, and will ultimately die if they have to live without the support and feeding from their mother. Because of how common they are, baby rats are rarely suitable to be looked after by a wildlife rehabilitator, so in this case the most humane thing that you can do will be to kill those baby rats as humanely as possible.
