Alachua County, Gainesville Rat Control Situation:
sir. first i want to thank you for all of this info. i have found one damn rat. i tried getting him out the door, but he ran right past me and up into the eves. very little or no evidence of him until i saw him. did i read they follow cockroaches? big palmetto style bugs. do they go after them to eat em? if so, ive many areas to address to seal. very fast son of a gun too. do u suggest i try baby powder at possible entry points for further evidence? ive only seen the one, but i know wheres one, more more than likely to follow. id love to shoot em, but the neighbors wouldnt like that. i reside in holiday florida. lots of work to do on eves and small openings, i just want to handle the lil bastard. thank you again. keith t. future rat murderer.....
Dear David, I am having a esculating problem with roof rats. I also have a disgruntled neighbor who I suspect of comitting malicious activity around my property. Is there anyway possible that acts of malicious behavior (such as tossing dog food, bird seeds ect. onto my property ) can be causing my rat problem. If so, how can I safeguard my attic from this invasion. The strange thing about the roof rat noise in the attic is that it is not consistent. My neighbor went on thanksgiving vacation and I did not hear the rat activity in the attic for one week. Upon his return, the problem returned. Is this possible and is there something I can do to safeguard the attic? I realize this is a strange situation.
Gainesville Rat Control Tip of The Week
New York City's Rat Problem
The Norway Rat:
The majority of rats in New York City are Norway rats, otherwise known as brown rats. Brown rats typically weigh 1 pound and they can grow up to 16 inches long. A brown rat needs just 1 ounce of food and water every day to survive.
Agile Creatures:
Brown rats are known for their ability to climb through pipes and get through small spaces. Even though some of the largest brown rats can be up to 20 inches long and weigh more than 2 pounds, it's easy for them to fit through a hole that's the size of a quarter. Rats have some serious superpowers and are capable of falling up to five stories without any injury and leaping up to 4 feet for climbing.
Going Through Any Material:
Rats also have extremely strong jaw muscles and quality teeth. There are rats in New York that are capable of chewing through cinderblocks and sewer pipes.
Where Rats Live:
Most rats will rarely travel more than 600 feet away from the area that they were born. Most rats like to nest and burrow in soft ground as well as below ground to live in colonies. A rat colony is usually between 30 to 50 rats and the number of rats in a burrow or family is usually between 8 to 12. Rats stay close to their food source and they can often be found just a few hundred feet from where they go every day to be fed. Public garbage areas, alleyways, and more can be a hotbed for rats and NYC produces its own information portal on areas where rats are heavily concentrated.
Massive Population:
It's estimated that there are roughly 2,000,000 rats in New York City and this means that the rat population in New York City sits around 25% of the total number of humans.