Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City Rat Control Situation:
Good day. From where are you? I have A LOT of rats in my roof. Traps DON'T work. The rats/mice are moving around in my house as well. I need to get rid of them ASAP. Can you help? I just bought a new house. I called a guy listed on your website, and he came out right away, which I appreciated very much. He said I had attic rats and set 2 traps. He said there were mice up there too. A friend told me that rats don't cohabitate with mice. Is that true? Also, after reading your website, it says to block all entrances first before trapping, so was wondering why he would set traps first? Thank you!
My husband and I have been dealing with mice in the attic and walls of our bedroom of our new house for about a month now. We have blocked all entry points (to our knowledge). We are currently using glue traps. We tried snap traps, but they kept eating the peanut butter off them without setting them off. We have caught 5 mice with the glue traps. I haven't been waking up to scratching in the walls for about a week. So I'm optimistic we finally blocked everything off. But how do you know when they are completely gone? We have been catching them in the attic, but I can only hear them when they are gnawing in the walls. We haven't ventured far into the attic, since there's no floor. How would you suggest going in there and cleaning? Any information will help. I'm trying to nip this in the bud before it becomes an infestation. I had rats about 2 years ago, and I believe I got rid of them. But I think there are still feces and urine in the attic (about 1700 square feet). I would like to have it cleaned up but was just quoted a price that is out of my range. There is no insulation in the attic. How much should I expect to pay for this?
Oklahoma City Rat Control Tip of The Week
New York City's Rat Problem
The Norway Rat:
The majority of rats in New York City are Norway rats, otherwise known as brown rats. Brown rats typically weigh 1 pound and they can grow up to 16 inches long. A brown rat needs just 1 ounce of food and water every day to survive.
Agile Creatures:
Brown rats are known for their ability to climb through pipes and get through small spaces. Even though some of the largest brown rats can be up to 20 inches long and weigh more than 2 pounds, it's easy for them to fit through a hole that's the size of a quarter. Rats have some serious superpowers and are capable of falling up to five stories without any injury and leaping up to 4 feet for climbing.
Going Through Any Material:
Rats also have extremely strong jaw muscles and quality teeth. There are rats in New York that are capable of chewing through cinderblocks and sewer pipes.
Where Rats Live:
Most rats will rarely travel more than 600 feet away from the area that they were born. Most rats like to nest and burrow in soft ground as well as below ground to live in colonies. A rat colony is usually between 30 to 50 rats and the number of rats in a burrow or family is usually between 8 to 12. Rats stay close to their food source and they can often be found just a few hundred feet from where they go every day to be fed. Public garbage areas, alleyways, and more can be a hotbed for rats and NYC produces its own information portal on areas where rats are heavily concentrated.
Massive Population:
It's estimated that there are roughly 2,000,000 rats in New York City and this means that the rat population in New York City sits around 25% of the total number of humans.