Multnomah County, Portland Rat Control Situation:
I have had a serious problem with rats in my house--kitchen, bedrooms, in the walls, etc. I believe they began coming in from the garage which has been filled with junk for years. They ate through parts of my wooden door, through drywall, and even through wood along the sliding glass doors. I have been zapping them with the Rat Zapper, but I keep finding their feces all over and know it is dangerous. I am taking steps to arrange for the garage to be emptied and cleaned and have cleaned out my pantry, cleaned off all the lids, jars, etc, but I still see rat droppings in the living room and in two of the bedrooms. My kids are coming home to stay and I am fearful of disease. Can you clean those areas up and work simultaneously on sealing out entryways? Is it okay to use a dry vacuum to vacuum them up if I spray them well with Clorox first and then throw the vacuum away. I do not have the fancy masks, only the white ones. Is that dangerous. Please let me know what you recommend and costs for your services.
Hello sir. I need your advice. Me and my wife just bought our very first house in north Portland Oregon. My wife is due to give birth and we're to move in to this house by end of this month and there's no turning back since we already gave our landlord notice to move. This house requires some work but I'm emailing you mainly of one thing, rat infestation problem. We just took out an old stove from the kitchen and behind it, we saw about thousand rat droppings on the ground. And the house and detached garage smells. I'm not sure whether it's because house has been abandoned for over a year or what but we need rat problem resolved asap. On your website you mentioned using snap trap is the best way to get rid of rats. Where should I set up the traps? How many should I put? What kind of food should I put on the trap? Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.
Portland Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Nocturnal?
Biologically, rats are nocturnal. These animals come out at dusk to look for food and carry out other activities, then go back into hiding at dawn. Their choice of coming out at dusk is dependent on many things that have to do with their natural behavior and biology. Right here, we will be taking you through some of these factors.
The first factor is that rats are silent animals and will prefer to operate in an environment with less noise. Their involvement with humans and special liking for staying in places close to human settlements will make them want to stay in hiding during the day time because the activities of humans during the day causes noise that they can't cope with.
Another factor that modifies rats to being nocturnal is the fact that their instinct only makes it possible for them to feel relaxed and active when there is less danger. This is nearly impossible during the day time as many of their natural predators will be active during that exact time.
Third, rats like are sneaky and will always prefer to operate in hiding without the occupants of the house knowing. The night has limited light and the occupants are most likely to be at rest during this time. This gives rats all the time and opportunities they need to carry out their rat business without any form of interruption.
However, rats are also capable of moving around during the day if they have a safe route through which they can travel. The routes are usually dark and safe even during the day when there are noises and disturbances from humans.
