Fairfax County, Fairfax County Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Came across your web page and thought i would ask you some rat advice. We bought our home 2 years ago and we renovated for 2 months, so no one lived here for those two months. When we moved in, maybe about a week into living here, our bedroom bathroom had a rat in the toilet. I was in there cleaning, heard water splashes in the toilet and bam a rat, after about 30 flushes it went back down and we never saw a rat around again. Today, I'm walking down my hallway, I hear splash in the hallway bathroom toilet and there I see the rat peaking its head out. I close the lid and again I flushed it about 20 times. Currently waiting for the boyfriend to get home from work to handle the rest. What is your advice? We have a 3 year old daughter who constantly is using the restroom on her own, and it makes me sad that I now feel like I have to a toilet check before we let her use it. Do we have a rat problem? Plumping problem? Thank you for your time and any advice.
Hi David, I live in Fairfax County VA. When my husband was alive we seemed to be able to control the rats (for periods of time) in our non-insulated crawl space in our ceiling. We used the rat zappers and would kill 4 or 5 in about a weeks time and have months with no scampering in and out. Now, they are back and just aren't going for the zapper (bait remains untouched). So, I read your website and will try to find trails and buy some snap traps. It is difficult crawling up there as the ceiling tiles are not that strong and I would have to remain on the beams or fall through. Before we would be able to lure and catch them close to the ceiling hatch access. No such luck now. I hear them scamper in on the living room ceiling, be quiet all day and scamper out same way coming from the opposite side of the house. In other words, they seems to run the length of the house. My husband used to try and find outside access but had no luck. I am 68 years old and some what hesitant on the ladder. I could not find wildlife removal agencies on this Island except through regular Wildlife Control type agencies and I'm not sure how knowledgeable they are. So, maybe you have some ideas or will happen to be vacationing in the area soon. Ha, ha. There are tons of macadamia nut orchards and avocado trees on this street, so, rat heaven. I would appreciate any suggestions you may have,
Hi, thanks for your helpful info on your website. Do you know how to detect where the rat urine is? Or should I spray everywhere?
Fairfax County Rat Control Tip of The Week
How To Deal With A Rat On The Roof
Also known as a homeowner's furry little nightmare, rats are a kind of household pest no one wants to have in their roof. These pests can keep you up at night with their scurrying sound, contaminate your environment with their feces and nesting materials, and spread all kinds of diseases.
Unlike having rats in other parts of your home, their presence in your roof can be quite difficult to deal with. The roof is a difficult place to reach and inspect. If you have to remove them from your roof, you will have to either hire a professional to help you or carry out a difficult process by yourself.
If you feel you can deal with the rats in your roof without the help of a wildlife removal agent, there are certain things you need to put in place before going ahead to remove them. First, you need to find a way to put away all the things attracting them into your home. The major things that attract rats are the availability of food and a hiding place. To make your home unattractive to them, you need to keep all the food in your home in a place that is inaccessible by the rats and keep your house clean. When you do this, they will find it difficult to stay in your home and will not find their way into your roof.
The best way to handle rats in the roof is to set multiple snap traps in the roof, bait them with attractive baits, and place them in different locations on the roof. These traps will help trap as many as possible humanely. If you are considering using poison to help kill the rats in your roof, you will be causing yourself more troubles. Having shared this, you need to use only snap traps when it comes to removing rats from your roof.