Madison County, Huntsville Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, I found your website online -- very informative for removing rats and squirrels from attics. My problem is the animal(s), which I'm guessing are rats or mice because they only scratch at night, is in the ceiling, but there is no attic or crawl space. The structure is a two story condo and the scratching sound is in the same location for the past 2 - 3 nights: in the ceiling of the small landing between the two upstairs bedrooms. There is a recessed light in that ceiling, and removing the light cover does provide a small access into the ceiling. The actual hole is about 6 - 7" wide, but there is an old-style light can in the hole, which only has a few small openings in it. Last year prior to painting the ceiling we removed the light cover and down came some animal droppings. Even though we weren't hearing any animal noises at that time, we set two Victor mouse traps which we were able to fit inside the small openings. We didn't catch anything so eventually, we just put the light cover back on. Now, there is very active scratching in the ceiling a few inches from the light so there is definately something alive in there. If it's a mouse, we can probably set a trap like we did before and I believe there is enough of an opening to remove the trap with a mouse in it. If it's a larger critter like a rat, we may or may not be able to set the larger trap and/or remove the trap with the dead animal because the opening may be too small. Even if we are successful at trapping and removing the animal, there is little access to remove the droppings or see if they've done any damage in there. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Nicole in Huntsville AL
Between floors is hard. If you can get a trap inside, great. You still need to Inspect the house and find out how the rodents are getting inside and seal up every single last entry/exit hole and gap with steel.
Huntsville Rat Control Tip of The Week
What To Do If A Rat Got Inside My House?
Rats are considered as one of the most dangerous household pests due to their destructive nature and their ability to carry diseases and other disease-causing organisms. If you happen to have a rat invasion in your home, you need to find a way to get them out without any further delay.
Rats are naturally sneaky and will always find a way to move around your home without being noticed. As a result of this, getting them out of your house might be quite difficult to do. To help make this easy for you, we will be sharing the simple steps you can take to handle the situation if rats get inside your house.
1. Locate All Their Entry Holes
Rats getting into your home means there are holes around your home big enough to allow their easy passage. Having realized this, the first thing you need to do is to find those holes and seal them up. By doing this, you will be preventing more rats from getting into your home.
2. Clean Your House
Even though rats do infest the cleanest of houses, it important for you to make sure your house is unattractive to rats by clearing all dirt and clutter in and around your home. To do this, take your time to clean your kitchen floor, clear out hidden places that you don't clean regularly, and vacuum the floor of your home to remove food particles. Also, when cleaning your home, you need to make sure your food is kept in a rat-proof container or cupboard.
3. Keep Their Natural Predators
When it comes to getting rats out of your home, one of the best ways to do this is to get their natural predators in your home. For instance, you can get a cat to help hunt them down and keep them away.
4. Trap And Remove
Although the use of lethal traps is an inhumane way to get rid of rats in your home, it is the most efficient method to use. To use this method, all you have to do is get traps from a local store and place them along the route of the rats.
Repeat this same process until you can remove all of the rats in your home.
