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
Why Don't Repellents Work Well To Get A Rat Out Of The Attic?
The urgent need for people to get rid of rats in their attic has made many consider humane removal methods apart from trapping and killing, one of which is the use of repellents. But here is the question! Do repellents work in getting rats out of attics?
The main idea of a repellent is to make the environment unsuitable for rats. This is achieved by using several techniques such as, scents and sound emissions. Although there is a wide range of repellents to choose from, the fact is that the use of repellents might not give you the kind of result that you desire in the long run. It might help keep them away for a while, but when the effects of the repellents subside, they will come back.
Let's take a look at some supposed effective rat repellents and how they were designed to work. With this, you will have a clear picture of the result you might get when you choose to use repellents to get rid of the rats in your attic.
Scent repellents are one of the most common repellents that are readily available in stores. This repellent is designed to use intense scent to either irritate or nauseate the rats. When used the first time, this might help repel the rats as intended. But with time, these rats will get used to this scent and will tend to stay until they get accustomed to it.
Another commonly used rat repellent is mechanical repellents. Apart from being ineffective, they are also very expensive. These repellents are designed to use sound and light waves to repel rats in the attic. This will also not give the desired results simply because rats are intelligent animals and will figure out that the mechanism can't cause any harm to them.
Having realized this, the best thing you can do to repel rats in your attic is by making it less appealing to them. This can be done by cleaning out the trash and making sure there are no hiding places for the rats.
