Knox County, Knoxville Rat Control Situation:
I own a 2 story w basement corner row house in Knoxville. Last night while asleep on the couch in my first floor living room, noise in my ceiling by the front wall woke me up. Sounded like the scurrying of 1or 2 mice. Joists run the width of my house, from the outer wall to my neighbors house, so that space leads to nowhere. No food, water, or other openings are available. Should I be concerned, should any (?) action be taken?
One story concrete slab house with rats in attic. I have sealed up every hole to the attic I can find. The last thing I did was put the 1/2" wire mesh on all the vent pipes on the roof. The wire mesh on all the stacks, seemed to fix my problem, but about 2 months later they are back. I put up some security cameras in the attic and at bottom of a double wall space for plumbing, and can see the rat coming down and going up at bottom of a 2" pvc vent pipe obscured by a wall between two bathrooms with a tub on one side and shower on the other. The vent pipe is for the tub and shower. From the top of wall in the attic, I was able to cut out around the pipe and see down the wall about halfway down the 2" pvc vent was split (offset) maybe broke during construction where 2 pipes were joined together. Could not see actual chewed off part, but is probably there. I can see that the rat could get in there, but my question is where or how is he going outside besides into the sewer? The top is sealed with the wire mesh. I can fix the split pipe easily by tearing out the shower wall, but do you think that would fix the entry problem? How long can rats stay in attic without going outside for food? Do attic rats tunnel under a concrete slab house for entry?
Knoxville Rat Control Tip of The Week
Do Rats Enjoy Cold Locations?
For human beings, winter means dealing with a drop in temperature, but for animals like rodents, it might mean a whole change in their metabolisms and lifestyle. Rodents prefer warm places with easy access to food. Weather change for them might be deadly, so the best way for them to survive cold locations is to find an ideal refuge.
Burrows In Your House
During summer we can find burrows anywhere in the woods or other outdoor land, but with the arrival of rain, many of these shelters are torn apart. Rodents must leave in the pursuit of a new home with food, a warm environment, and away from the wetness of the outdoors.
Rats are innate explorers and are able to enter any living area because they have a very flexible bone structure able to pass through a crack. They also have claws to climb any surface. Their appearance in homes is more common with the start of cold, snow, rain, or even cloudy days.
Just One Rat Can Cause Immense Damage
Rodents love to gnaw. It is known that their teeth never stop growing and if they stop chewing, they can die. On the other hand, it is also known that due to their capacity of chewing hard things it can open up an opportunity to get their treasure: food. Food is enough motivation to keep biting anything.
When there are rats and mice appearing all over homes, there is plenty of damage that might be hard to fix. Economic losses can be alarming and because of this, it is necessary to take preventive measures such as eliminating areas that facilitate a shelter for rodents in your home during cold and humid seasons.
If you do not only want to prevent but also exterminate, you have a great advantage during winter since rodents' reproductive capacities slow down by not having adequate conditions for pups to survive. So, if you exterminate a population, chances of regeneration are minimum.
