Harris County, Houston Rat Control Situation:
Dear Pest Control Agency, My name is Juan and I am working on my doctoral dissertation in Biology at Rice University, Houston, Texas. I have an undergraduate researcher who helps me with my research, and we both work in the laboratory of Prof. Michael. We have studied rats and mice in Europe, and we use the information to study a number of questions, including how rodent populations are connected between continents or within countries. One part of our work deals with the question of whether rats and mice in the US have developed resistance to rodent poisons, about which little is known. Our hope is that during pest control you will be able to obtain the tail tips (about 1 inch) of rats and mice that can be found at rodent infested sites. These could be collected from dead animals, and of course, we would send you everything you would need (scissors, tubes, gloves, prepaid shipping, etc.). If you decide to help us in our research, we would like to offer you a Domino's giftcard as a thank you for your efforts! We have received a large amount of support from a few pest control agencies so far. It would be wonderful if you would also consider helping us! Attached is a simple spreadsheet where a few details on the sampling are described. We do not need any specific information regarding locations where sampling was done, and no names of owners or of employees, etc. are needed. However, if you would like we would be more than happy to promote your company name in our research paper! Please feel free to contact us by email or phone if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you so much for your consideration, and I hope to hear from you soon! Sincerely, Juan
Houston Rat Control Tip of The Week
Will A Rat And Her Babies Nest In An Attic?
If you have a possible rat infestation in your home, chances are that rats and her babies are nesting in your attic. These rodents have a special liking for dark places with small holes where they can reproduce and there is no better place to do that in your home than your attic.
Unlike other parts of every home, attics are places with little to no source of food. So you might be wondering why they would go all the way there just to stay. Once the rats in your home decide to move into your attic, their primary objective is to go and give birth to their babies. With their short gestation period of just 22 to 28 days, you will be having an average of 10 babies from just a single mother. This shows how rapid rats can breed in your attic when allowed to.
Having realized this, you need to get rid of the rats in your attic whenever you seek out to remove other animals nesting there too. Apart from breeding in your attic, rats are very destructive. Within just a short time, they can wreak havoc in your attic by creating cavities in and around your attic.
To remove the rats and her babies nesting in your attic, all you have to do is search your attic carefully. Although, this can be a very difficult task because rats are good at creating hideouts when they want to nest. As a result of this, you might need to consider other removal methods such as the use of lethal traps, rat poisons, and sticky traps which are often inhumane methods.
If you are not too comfortable with the use of these methods, the best thing you can do is hire a wildlife removal expert to help you get rid of the rat and her nest of babies.
