Cuyahoga County, Cleveland Rat Control Situation:
David, Thanks for the informative site. We live on the meadow, near Cleveland, Ohio. We have rats that have done significant damage to our cars. Our house is well sealed, and have had none inside the house that we are aware of. Below the house we have about 20 traps set with peanut butter, but after 5 days, have not caught a single rat. Some traps have no bait left, a couple have been tripped, but no rats were caught. I understand poison is not a good choice. How do we stop them from damaging our cars? Interestingly, we've lived here for 9 years and never had a problem before this year, can't figure out what changed. Thanks for any advice. Best, Gerry
Hello. I have rodents in the attic/under gutter. When can I have someone come out to remove them and how much is it? Other option is trying to remove them ourselves. Were do we find a trap? We have squirrels entering our attic through the exhaust fan. Although a screen was placed over the fan about six months ago, the squirrels rendered that ineffective. What can we do?! I thought I'd let you know that the device I used worked perfectly, and the squirrels exited the attic, and so far, have not gotten back in. I'm going to give it another day or so, and seal the hole and remove the 'cage'. It was much preferable to climbing a ladder daily to release trapped rats. Mitch
Would appreciate your professional advice on: 1) removal and installation of attic insulation; a local pest control company partially removed, sanitized and installed new insulation around 6 years ago but problem persisted; we cannot get rid of bird mites or rat mites in the house; sent specimen to pest control lab who identified pest as bird mites; we've had rats in the attic as well; can removal and installation of new attic insulation solve the problem? can you recommend a company in Cleveland OH to do this? 2) gophers, who have taken over the ravine behind the house; how does one control these pests? gardener has used poison but they keep coming back & multiplying. Thanks for any assistance you may offer.
Cleveland Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Do Rats Fit In Small Holes, Do They Have Bones?
Rats Can Truly Fit In Small Holes:
A rat needs a space of just about a half an inch to get into an area. Rats have been known to climb through pipes, through areas in the ceiling, and more. Rats can do quite a lot with very little space and this will lead to the chance that they could end up in your home.
Rats Have Joints And Cartilage Like We Do:
The joints and cartilage that rats have can be very similar to the systems that we have. Rats can often work at strengthening their cartilage and joints when they scurry through small spaces. They strengthen their abilities by dashing through small spaces and this ensures that as long as they stay healthy, they can make it through small spaces.
As They Gain Weight They Face Challenges:
As a rat gains weight from staying close to its food source this can lead to the chance that it can no longer fit through holes roughly the size of a quarter. This can make the process of getting into these areas much more challenging. As a rat improves the size of its abdomen, it often loses its ability to fit through tight spaces.
Rats Sense If They Can Fit With Their Whiskers:
Rats are able to fit through areas because their bodies are extremely flexible and cylindrical. The shape of a rat is designed for burrowing and fitting into tight spaces. Rats are able to determine if their body can fit into an area by using their whiskers. This makes every judgment on going through a tight space much easier.
Rats Don't Have Softer Bones:
The skeleton of a rat is just the same as many other rodents. They have hard bones that don't bend and this will often limit the size of the spaces that they can crawl through.
