Hennepin County, Minneapolis Rat Control Situation:
Hi, David, Thank you very much to establish your very educational and candid website. I bought a house half a year ago and it had rats in the attic and in the crawl space. I hired a rodent removal guy to take care of the problem. I spent almost $1000 but I still had rats - he didn't seal all the entry points. Anyway, I then did a lot of research in rats. lol. According to my rodent guy, there was about 10 rats living in my attic. But his trap caught none after sealing all the holes (He thought he did but there was two crawl space vent open). He then claimed that all rats gone because they are "scared". Later I set traps myself and I caught two large roof rats (really large, almost 12 oz each I would say). After that, no more caught. In October, I hired an insulation company to remove ALL the batt insulation from my attic. There was still thousands of droppings left on the joist bays. I painstakingly vaccuum them out (me wearing face masks). Now the attic is clean. However, I could not find ANY gnaw marks on wood, nor electric wires, nor on anything else. Why is that? How could it be? This house had tens of thousands of rat droppings in the attic, thousands of droppings in the garage and thousands in the crawl space. But I am not able to spot their damage other than the droppings? I thought rats have to chew on stuffs to keep their teeth from growing too long. I hope you could help answer this question. It always bugs me if there is something unexplainable. Thanks! Guangchi from Minneapolis Area
Minneapolis Rat Control Tip of The Week
Non-lethal Ways To Get Rid Of Rats
If you are the type that considers rats as small cute-looking creatures, you might feel bad for wanting to kill them because they are causing a nuisance in your home. The fact is, your feelings do count. But at the same time, you can't afford to continue watching as these little creatures destroy your home and put your life at the risk of contracting diseases.
We understand how you feel, which is why we will be sharing non-lethal ways to get rid of the rats in your home. With this, you will be able to get rid of the rats without actually killing them.
1. Get A Cat
Cats and rats are natural enemies. If you have a cat in your home, rats will try as much as possible to do all they can to avoid your home. The sound and smell of the cat alone will trigger the sense of the rats and will make them stay as far away as they can. With this method, you will be able to get rid of the rats in your home without even having direct contact with them.
2. Trap And Release
This is another way to get rid of the rats in your home, the only issue with the use of this method is that cannot be used in a home where there are many rats. This is mainly because rats are smart and will end up figuring out that it's a trap after they see it capture one or two other rats. To trap and release a rat, all you need is a live trap and bait.
Also, you need to understand the fact that when you capture a rat and release it into another environment, its chances of survival are very slim.
3. Use Natural Rat Repellent
Just like other animals, rats are sensitive to some smells and they will do all they can to stay away from those areas. You can take advantage of this as well and use it to get rid of the rats in your home. A mixture of cayenne pepper and peppermint will help you get this done.