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
The Steps To Get Rats Out Of A Wall
Rats are sneaky pests and will often find their ways through the cavity of walls. These cavities are usually their hideouts and pathways as they move around your house. But there are instances when they get stuck and are unable to find their way out.
Do you have a rat problem in your house, whereby a rat is stuck in the wall and you are looking for a way to get it out? This is no doubt a very difficult task to do, but right here we will be putting you through the process on how to get it out.
The Following Steps Will Guide You On How To Get Rats Out Of Your Wall:
1. When it comes to getting rats out of a wall, the first step you have to take is to look out for every possible entry and exit point around the wall. You intend to remove it, so don't allow it to get away by leaving those holes open. If you find any hole around the wall, you need to block it temporarily.
2. After ensuring that there are no surprise exit points, the next thing you need to do is to find the location of the rat in the wall. Figuring this out is quite easy. All you have to do is knock the wall and wait for the rat to make a scratching noise. Do this repeatedly until you can find its precise location in the wall.
3. The next line of action is to find a way to remove the rat. Ideally, there are two ways to go about it. But your choice of method depends on the location of the rat in the wall. If the rat is at the upper part of the wall, all you have to do is look down into the cavity with a bright flashlight from the top of the wall or the roof space and try removing the rat using a grab stick.
On the other hand, if the rat is at the bottom of the wall, you need to cut a small hole through the wall at the exact location of the rat and carefully remove it without allowing it to escape.
Finally, you need to seal up the hole you created and every other hole leading to the cavity of the wall to prevent this problem from repeating itself.
