Wake County, Raleigh Rat Control Situation:
How can I tell if I have rats or mice hanging out in my walls/attic? We haven't found any signs of anything getting into the main part of the house, but every once in a while we hear them scurrying around in one spot. We only hear them in the evening, and we haven't heard them very often (tonight is the first time I have noticed them in two weeks, but I'm also not home every evening). First we thought it was mice, but I am starting to worry that they might be rodents nesting for the winter. I checked outside and couldn't find any visible entry points, nor any footprints on the roof. I also looked under the roof overhang on that side of the house and there are no holes there. I can't tell if I am hearing squirrel chirping or mouse squeaking--it's almost a squeak-like chirp (real helpful, I know). If we can't find any holes for them to get in, it makes me think mice, but if we haven't seen any signs of them in the house and only hear them in one spot, it makes me think squirrels. Whatever it is has had access to this spot for quite some time, so if they are rats, I think we need to act ASAP, as per the damage reports I've seen on websites. Any and all advice you have to diagnose what we are dealing with would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your help! - Kristin
My response: Sounds like mouse or rat activity to me. Squirrels are active in the daytime, and people usually hear a lot of morning noise. If you inspect the attic, you can tell by the droppings left behind.
Raleigh Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Equipment Do I Need To Trap A Rat?
Trapping a rat is not as difficult as it seems, provided you have the right kind of equipment. Rats are a highly intelligent household pest with prior knowledge of your unyielding intentions to either get them killed or captured. As a result of this, they will try as much as possible to run for their lives whenever they get the chance to.
For you to outsmart them and make your plans to trap them successfully, you need good quality traps set up at the spot the rats in your house pass through the most and the right process of setting these traps.
Have you decided to trap the rats in your home and you are looking for the equipment to use and the right way to go about this? The first thing you have to do to achieve your objective is to discover the exact routes of the rats in your house. These are the places you will be setting your traps once you are ready to capture them.
After that, the next thing you have to put in place is the right kind for bait. A good bait should help attract rats and not any other pest or animal in your home. If you just chose a random food substance as bait, you might end up trapping the pets in your home instead of the target pest.
After putting all of that in place, the most important piece of equipment you need to trap a rat is a good quality trap. Your choice of trap depends on whether you want to kill the rats with the trap or just trap them and later release them far away from your home.
If you choose to kill them directly with the trap, a lethal rat trap will be most appropriate. The only issue with the use of this trap is that you will have to get multiple traps and set them at different locations because this kind of trap can't trap more than one rat at a time.
On the other hand, if you choose to trap the rats and release them afterward, a one-way entry door trap will also be most appropriate. Also, while setting up either of these traps, you need to protect yourself at all times from the bacteria spread by the rats by wearing a pair of gloves and a protective mask.
