Denver County, Denver Rat Control Situation:
Wanted to first thank you for the information on your site. A couple of days ago we started to house sit for someone for a couple of weeks. We noticed some evidence of mice the first night we were here and set some traps. Within 15 minutes we caught a mouse behind the stove. We hoped that was the end of it but had our doubts. Sure enough the next morning we heard some running around below the floor boards of the attic which we were sleeping in. We had eight traps set throughout the house but for a couple of days there was no signs or catchings other than a little pitter patter in the morning under the floor boards in the attic. Well just tonight we came back from a day long excursion and sure enough we had another mouse in the trap. We had our concerns though that we may have killed the parents to an unknown number of little mice. Sure enough a few hours later we are hearing little squeeks coming from beneath the floor of the attic. We are not sure how young these little kid mice are but we are curious about what your experiences is in the responses little mice would have when their parents no longer are available to them. We figure the younger they are the more dependent they are on their parents for survival, but what does that mean? We suppose if they are very young they won't survive very long and it may be difficult to get to them before or after their demise. If they are older though, hunger may overcome them and they will start to work their way out of the safe envirenment they have been accostomed to. How long could this process take and even if they do come out would they be up to feasting on the traps? Looking forward to your response Thanks
My response: Jeez, I have no clue. There are probably several adults. The young may starve then die. They'll be so small that they won't cause an odor. You need to seal your house shut to stop the mouse problem entirely.
Denver Rat Control Tip of The Week
Reasons Why Relocated Rats Don't Survive Out Of Their Usual Territory
After trapping a rat in your home, you will have to decide either to kill it or relocate it. If killing a rat doesn't go down well with you because it makes you feel inhumane, you will be left with no other option but to relocate it.
If you have decided to relocate a trapped rat into a new territory, you need to understand the fact that it might not survive. Despite being a very smart household pest, rats find it very difficult to cope in a new environment for several reasons. The following are the reasons why a relocated rat won't survive out of their usual territory.
The first reason why rats won't survive in a new environment is that they are accustomed to their old environment. They have spent their entire life studying where they stay, knowing the exact place to find water and food in order to survive daily. Transferring this survival instinct to a new environment is a quite difficult thing to do for rats. As a result of these differences, they will find it difficult to locate food and water which they need to survive in any environment they are relocated to.
The presence of predators in the new environment is another reason why rats will find it difficult to survive. Animals like cats, snakes, and birds hunt for rats and will take advantage of the fact that the newly introduced rat doesn't know its way around to capture it.
When you introduce a rat into a new environment, it is going to meet other street rats that are already accustomed to that specific environment. Rats being animals that exhibit dominance in the form of hierarchy, where the submissive group is traumatized by the dominant rats, your rat will face multiple brutal battles and might end up in bad shape in the process. Over time, they will either get killed or too weak to look for food and shelter.
All these clearly show why any rat you decide to relocate might never survive the effects of leaving your home and being transferred into a new environment.
