Muscogee County, Columbus Rat Control Situation:
Hello David. We live in Georgia in a double-wide mobile home, & are having a problem with rats underneath in our insulation. A few years ago, my daughter lived in our mobile, & when we moved back in, we discovered that, because of her habits of leaving food & garbage around, our house was terribly infested with roaches, & that we also had rats in the house. After trying lots of roach traps & sprays, we still had roaches, & finally got rid of them with boric acid. Now we turned our attention to the rats. My husband came home with poison & snap traps, but because of fear for my pets, & also not wanting to kill them because I keep pet rats, I bought a humane trap. Well, we caught a couple of babies, but because I tried to transfer them to another container so I could catch more before trying to release them, they escaped, & then they became too leary of the trap, so we caught no more. Then I bought an electronic zapper, which does kill them quickly, but only one at a time, but it seemed to have gotten them out of the house, that & cleaning up food messes. Now we are having a problem again. I have them in a small travel trailer, & also in the insulation under our mobile home. They must also be in the walls because I found droppings coming out of the crack between my tub & shower wall. Since there are many openings in the skirting, it is easy for them to come & go, & even if we were to fix the skirting, I'm sure they would find a way in. It is very difficult to go under the mobile because it is not very high, & you have to snake crawl most of it, & a lot of the insulation is torn down. Another problem is money. In these difficult times, money is very scarce, so we don't have hundreds of dollars to pay a pro. Treating this problem in a mobile home is a lot different then treating an attic. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can handle this problem?
Columbus Rat Control Tip of The Week
Where Do Rats Live During The Summer?
Rodents have been able to colonize most of the earth's habitats. Different species of mice and rats are found from warm deserts to tropical mountains. Polar zones are considered the only place without rodents.
During summer, their survival instinct takes rats to shelter in place in which food is abundant and easy to get. The favorite places for rats are country houses and barns that provide them plenty of food. On the other hand, in the cities, most of the rats live in sewers where they feed on fruit, meat, and bread residues that are discarded in the garbage.
The Urban Plague
Rodents are big and repulsive. The two most known species are the gray rat or sewer rat, (Rattus Norvegicus), and the black rat or roof rat (Rattus Rattus). Although there are different species, they are both characterized by their lack of hygiene, as they live in filthy areas.
These creatures have the ability to acclimatize in urban environments because with the arrival of summer, they reproduce and start to invade people's homes to find food and shelter. Rats are among the animals that proliferate the most during summer since proper conditions for the pups' development are warm and dry conditions.
Inside Homes
Rodents will look for food and residues left on the floor. Also, places with plenty of holes and clutter. From a small crack in the wall to a space behind the fridge or the washing machine, these will be perfect places for a rodent to find refuge to save its food, live comfortably, and reproduce.
To prevent invasion problems, it is advisable to call a specialist in pest control. Proper rat extermination should be combined with actions such as tightly closing garbage cans, cleaning of the house, and other preventive measures.