Los Angeles County, Los Angeles Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, I'm in southern California. I have at least one rat in my ceiling, maybe two or more. I've read your website and really appreciate the great insight you're providing. Based on your advice, I've caught 3 rats around the outside my house (over the last 2 months), trimmed trees back (3 days ago), and plugged all the access holes I could identify (3 weeks ago).
Yet I still have at least one rat in my attic. Though I've place several snap traps (baited with peanut butter and bird seed) in the attic, I get no nibbles. I also cannot find any evidence of their paths. I've moved the trap several time with no success. From inside the house, I hear them in sections of the attic (about 3:00 am) that are completely inaccessible to me (because of firewalls.)
So I hired a pest extermination company. For $275 they put some poison bait stations outside, and three snap traps in the attic that are baited with a beef jerkey substance. The traps are near the attic access panel - not near the rat noise activity. The guy's reply was that the scent would lure them. He also reviewed my hole-plugging and said it was fine. He didn't get onto my roof. It's been three days and I check the snap traps in the morning and around dusk each night.
My questions are:
1. Is it safe to assume that the rat(s) sleep in my house during the day and at night they are coming and going outside? Does this mean I've missed an access point?
2. Considering the inaccessibility, is it common to drill a hole in the ceiling (like a 4" hole for recessed lighting) to place traps in the attic for those inaccessible places? If I drill a hole, then I can stick a camera up there and take pictures to look for evidence, place the traps, monitor them, etc. But then I've got a hole to deal with.
3. Is it worth parking myself on the roof and patiently waiting to see where the rats are coming and going?
4. Have I given the beef jerkey snap-traps enough time to do their thing? Any other advice? Thanks for your help!
Los Angeles Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Do I Inspect My Home For Rat Entry Holes?
Rats can be tough to manage when they get access to a property. Their population will increase quickly and they will cause a great deal of harm to pretty much everything chewable insight. Truly, they lead to a major issue for homeowners, yet their activities can be controlled and they can be removed if managed properly.
It is of the most extreme significance while dealing with a rat infestation to identify their entry points and block them. Otherwise, they will return every time you try and expel them. Investigating a house for rat passage openings can be cumbersome as the list of spots to check is seemingly endless, especially when the house is big.
Attics, space vents, dividers, kitchens, cupboards, soffit vents, pipes, roofs, rooftop vents, etc. are some of the spots to assess. The following will help you in doing an exhaustive investigation of your home.
1. Have Fundamental Information On Rat Science
Information on their nature, habitat, appearance, diets, and behavior will help you figure out where their entry points are likely going to be in your home.
2. Information On The Architectural Plan Of The House
This also is significant. Finding out about the house's plan would help identify those shrouded spots where openings may exist in parts of the house, and these gaps might serve as rats' openings.
Having watched every one of these, property holders must check everywhere, including foundations, vents, rooftops, soffits, and so on. Anyplace there is a gap, regardless of how little it is, is a potential entry point. It may surprise you that rats can enter through holes as small as a quarter of an inch.
