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
Why Don't High Pitch Sound Deterrent Machines And Strobing Lights Work Against Rats?
The first thing you need to understand about high pitch sound deterrent machines and strobing lights is that these machines have been officially announced as being fraudulent by the Federal Trade Commission. This is enough proof that the efficiency of these repelling devices is self-proclaimed and that they don't have anything to offer when it comes to repelling rats from your home.
Have you been wondering why these devices don't work against rats? Right here, we will be sharing all you need to know about them and why you should consider other means of getting rid of the rats in your home.
High pitch sound deterrent machines or strobing lights that are designed to repel rats using mechanical means. The former uses high pitch sounds that don't affect humans and is not audible to the human hearing to irritate the eardrums of small animals like rats and make them stay away from the areas the sound is coming from. While the latter is designed using a short wavelength of light rays to scare rats away in the night whenever they try to move around.
These devices might seem like a perfect way to repel rats, but the fact is that neither of these devices work. Rats are smart animals and can easily figure out if something poses a serious threat to them or not. Once they figure out that it doesn't, they will continue with their activities and withstand the effects caused by these devices.
Having shared this, you must consider other ways of getting rid of these rats in other to avoid wasting your hard-earned money. Neither of these devices will give you the results that you desire.
