Wayne County, Detroit Rat Control Situation:
Please can you offer me some free practical advice to eradicate rats from my roof space, I am English but now reside in Brazil. Here in Brazil there are no such associations, councils to exterminate vermin, the only choice is either to employ local labour and hope he is being truthful about his qualifications, quality of workmanship, formal training etc. or to do the job properly do it yourself. For several months I have heard pattering of tiny feet in my roof space, the roof space being the area between the bottom of the tiled roof (pantile type tiles) and the top of the plastic false ceiling with only about 4 inches, 100mm in between so snap traps are not practical, I live in the apartment directly below the area contaminated and have not seen any rat droppings in the apartment, the area is approx 9 meters x 15 meters =126 square meters , 29ft x 49ft = 1421 square feet. The apartment is a first floor level approx 4 meters= 13 feet from ground level with no adjoining buildings. Am I correct in assuming that the rats enter up through 4 inch, 100mm plastic rain down pipe from the roof guttering? or up through the toilet sewage system through the u bend in the bowl and then climb a wall to enter the roof space, or do the rats scale the outside 12 meter = 39 feet wall and enter the roof eves. I am considering to remove all the plastic false ceiling to gain access to the infested locations but am concerned firstly that if I disturb the rats they will disperse and then return the same way they originally entered the area, secondly, if l remove the false ceiling will l be the unlucky victim to receive their bite, what do you suggest I do? Poison the visitors first? then if quiet after a week or two remove the ceiling and completely sterilise? (with what can you recommend). I am not concerned with the humane topic of eradicating my guests, they pay no rent. (KK KK ). Also it is my intention to fully enclose the rafters and eaves on the outside with either aluminium or galvanised steel mesh. If you can take time out to advise me, I will be very grateful. For your information a cross section sketch of my roof is enclosed to help you understand the constructional theme of my roof. Would it be practical to remove the plastic ceiling room by room, first destroying the nests if any, then sanitising ,sealing all access points of entry, then to move to the next room etc.? I would really appreciate any advice you would furnish, unfortunately I can not afford to pay your expenses etc. for you to submit a quotation, I can offer you though if you ever visit Brazil a nice glass of cold Chopps (Brazilian draught beer). Fondest regards and in anticipation of a reply many thanks.
My response: Yes, your plan to seal off the roof with galvanized steel mesh should work. But you have to seal 100percent of the openings. Then, trap, properly trap on rat runways, ALL the rats, and remove them from the house.
Detroit Rat Control Tip of The Week
Steps To Make A Rat Trap
Catching a rat is a pretty easy job if you have the right tools. Without a doubt, rat traps are one of the oldest and simplest methods that could be used when catching these nasty rodents.
Homemade traps are very effective for catching rats, and making them is really simple. There are infinite options. Below, we will explain all the steps to make a rat trap.
But before doing that, here are some points that you should take into account:- Evaluate your materials: depending on the materials you have, you can make different types of traps. This time, we will make a homemade trap whose main materials are a plastic bottle, newspaper, cardboard, and rat glue.
- Define specific points: there are places in your home that can be very attractive to rats, especially those that provide food or shelter: the kitchen, dining room, or holes in the walls.
- Building the trap is really simple: you can cover the surface on which you will place the trap with newspaper, and you can place a piece of cardboard on which you will put rat glue, leaving a space in the middle to place the bait, -which could be a piece of cheese-. This bait will attract the rat and it will get stuck.
Sounds pretty easy, right? But...
What Happens If The Rat Evades Your Traps?
You may be dealing with a rat that has learned to survive in the most dangerous environments, so they will completely avoid all those things that could be a threat. In this case, you must add poison to the list of materials.
If you use the same technique, it is likely the rats will evade it again. So change the strategy; you can keep the traps with rat glue but poison the food this time.
It is important to note that poisons may have a delay in taking effect, so it is important to locate the rat after it ingested the poison. If not, it might die in places that are difficult to access.
