Montgomery County, Clarksville Rat Control Situation:
Thought I had a red squirrel in my 6 inch cottage attic space as I caught one before in a live trap on the roof. Never heard noise after that for a while. Now the noise is back. However I just read that red squirrels aren't nocturnal, is that true? It stirs in the night and sets my dog to barking.... but usually around 4:00 am though. Tonight about 2:00am I heard something in the kitchen and now there are feces on my kitchen counter and on the toaster over. They are black and look just like mouse droppings only very large. Do you think it may be a red squirrel or a rat? There are lots of red squirrels and mice in this remote area but I have never seen a rat.
I've been reading your site and really appreciate the info. If I don't have the stomach to handle this, or I don't trust my husband to do a thorough job, what should I expect to pay an exterminator? I live in Clarksville TN. The vermin are in a place in think is probably very difficult for humans to access.
I was reading your very informative article, and I'm having a problem locating the access panel for my new double wide mobile home. Which is really a pre-fab home with regular 6 inch walls. Is it possible that the crawl,space is accessible through the roof? I have looked very closely in both rooms, and closets. No luck. I've had a professional trapper come to my condo last week to set traps in the ceilings of my kitchen and 2nd floor bathroom. He sealed up any entry points outside. So far I've only caught one rat but I think I still hear scratchings at night. I haven't caught any for a whole week now. what should I do?
We recently started noting rat dropping in our house.. we live in a townhouse and most of the droppings were on stairs leading to first floor.. we immediately called pet control and they kept bait in the kitchen , 1st floor and attic..however rat is still coming in.. we are unable to locate the entry point and since sealed 2 places.. sides of dish washer and kitchen exhaust(lamp cover is open) ... we still see it coming.. place we live in is newly built townhouse.. 4 yrs old.. i cannot find a place in the ground floor as point of entry.
Clarksville Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can Rats Kill Mice?
Before providing an answer to this question, first of all, you need to be able to differentiate between a rat and mouse. As you must already know, they are both rodents and are quite identical. Without precisely knowing the differences between these two rodents, it will be quite difficult to know how they relate with each other and if rats do kill mice or it's just another myth.
To help you understand this in the best possible way, we will be taking a look at some of the qualities possessed by both rodents. After which we will address the main topic which is whether rats are capable of killing mice or not.
Rats
Rats are medium sized rodents with sizes bigger than that of mice. They have long tails and are very active compared to mice. The most common household rat is the black rat and this particular specie of rat is bigger than mice and also very active.
Mice
On the other hand, mice are smaller rodents with a pointed snout and small round eyes. These rodents have uniform traits; hence they often tend to look very identical. They are very docile when compared to their rat counterparts.
Having shared all these, by now you should categorically be able to differentiate between rats and mice. Coming back to the question above, the fact is rats are capable of killing mice. This habit is only exhibited when rats are faced with starvation and the only option left is to kill and feed on them.
Also, a change in environmental conditions can trigger their hunting senses and make them kill mice. Apart from any of these conditions, rats killing mice doesn't usually occur. You might have rats and mice in your home at the same time causing a nuisance.
