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
The Proper Way To Clean Rat Feces Out Of Your Attic
If you already know the dangers of having rat feces in your attic and coming in contact with it, you are most likely going to get scared and confused about how to clean it. When it comes to cleaning rat feces, you can't afford to do it the wrong way. Refusal to follow the due process might cost you more of what you are trying to prevent.
Since rat feces is a major carrier of bacteria and other disease-causing organisms, the first thing you need to do when planning to clean out the feces from your attic is to protect yourself appropriately. To do this, you need to start by ventilating your attic for as long as possible before entering. By doing this, you are simply expelling the contaminated air and allowing fresh air to go in. This protects you from breathing air that is contaminated with rat feces while in the attic. Also, you need to have equipment such as a facial mask, gloves, plastic bags, and a strong disinfectant in place before going ahead to clean your attic.
Just like every other part of your home, cleaning your attic is not that difficult. Provided you have all the supplies listed above, you will find it quite easy to do. To start, wear your facial mask and gloves properly and carefully pack the feces into the plastic bag. After that, dispose of the plastic bag safely.
When you are done with that, you need to soak the floor of your attic with a disinfectant and then scrub the floor until all the remaining feces are removed. Leave the disinfectant on the floor for 10 minutes to allow it to kill all the pathogens and bacteria deposited by the rat. After doing all this, your attic will be completely pathogen and bacteria-free.
If you find any of these is difficult to do, you can hire a professional to help you out with the cleaning.