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 Do Wildlife Rehabilitators Deal With Rats?
Even though rats do cause a nuisance in homes, they also need to be treated humanely when indisposed. In a situation where you find a stray and injured rat in your home, the best thing you can do is to contact a wildlife rehabilitator to help evacuate the rat immediately. While waiting for the rehabilitator, you need to avoid any physical contact with the animal, as rats are often carriers of different kinds of pathogens and diseases.
Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed professionals that help to evacuate animals from people's home, treat them if they have health issues, and release them back into the wild. Unlike other animals, wildlife rehabilitators handle rats specially.
Since stray rats do find it very difficult to survive on their own if relocated into the wild immediately, the first thing wild rehabilitators do is to nurture the rats for days or weeks to ensure that they are in good health. To do this, the rats are introduced into a box filled with woodland debris to make them feel comfortable and are properly fed with good food. This nurturing process continues until the rats can survive on their own without the help of anyone.
After successfully nurturing them, the wildlife rehabilitator can then go ahead and release the rat back into the wild. The release of the rat into the wild is not just done indiscriminately. Wildlife rehabilitators look for areas with a possible place of shelter for the rat with an abundant source of food.
Wildlife rehabilitators make sure evacuated rats stand a chance of living. Therefore, don't hesitate to contact a wildlife rehabilitator if you have stray, injured rats in your home.
