Berks County, Reading Rat Control Situation:
David, Thanks for having such an informative website. We've recently gotten over our second round of rats in the basement. We have had a pest control group helping us, pretty much with bait throughout the basement. It's certainly worked, but boy is it not fun to follow the smell to the dead guy. It seems we have been free from seeing any droppings for a few weeks or any signs of activity. The strange thing is that in the past week we have had hundreds of house flies that we are dealing with in the basement. I'm assuming the problems are related. We've been going down to vacuum all visible flies (every 4-6 hours). Each time we easily find another 20 to suck down. We aren't smelling the familiar smell of a dead rat, is it possible it's there but beyond the stench phase? Any suggestions? The flies aren't congregating in one spott, they tend to hover around the windows. Any chance you service Reading PA? Could really use someone as yourself to complete the inspection of the basement for possible other entry points and removal of any additional insulation that may be harboring feces. Ok, I appreciate any input you could provide.
We have 5 cats, three are usually indoors all the time. Sometimes they bring in a mouse or rat and it gets away. And then the rodents can live in the house for a long time and the cats don't care one little bit unless the rodent just happens to make a dash across the room in broad daylight - and gets spotted. Otherwise, it's home sweet home for the rodents until I snap-trap them into oblivion. I would add that if you know you have mice or rats, deal with it as soon as you can. We had a mouse get up inside our washer and chew through 7 of the little control wires to the control panel, killing the washer and necessitating a $50.00 replacement part, and later causing a flood from a leaky hose that cost me $200.00 to fix. Had we taken care of him earlier this could have all been avoided. I agree with you about glue boards. Seems needlessly inhumane. Just put yourself in the position of the rat: you want to go out quickly or be stuck on a glue board until you starve to death?
Reading Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Can I Get A Rat Out Of My Car?
Clean Up Your Car:
When a rat no longer has access to the food inside your car it will no longer have a good place to nest, sleep, or find food. Rats always nest close by to where their food source is and if you have a large amount of garbage in your car or items that can be fed upon, they're much more likely to stick around.
Trim Back Foliage From Your Car:
When you notice branches that overhang your car it's possible that you can have problems with a number of uninvited guests. Trimming back the items around your car can be a crucial way that you can prevent pests like rats from having a direct line to get into the vehicle.
Close Up Your Car:
Make sure that you are closing up your car. If you have a window that is open, a sunroof that opens, or a door that doesn't quite close, a rat can make their way in quite quickly and easily. A rat only needs around half an inch to get into a space and even though it may not seem like there is that much room, a rat can make it into the area easily.
Remove Moisture And Damp Clothing From Your Vehicle:
If you have paper, damp clothing, or other items across your vehicle, they need to be removed quickly. Damp clothing can be an ongoing problem when it comes to attracting rats and keeping them in your car.
Set Down Some Traps:
A quick set trap that you place in your car in the evening or a metal pedal trap can be a great way to manage a rat problem in your car. Making sure that you can trap the rat in your vehicle can be crucial to building a better method of keeping rats out of your vehicle.
