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 Scare A Rat Away From My Property?
Scaring off rats from your property can seem like a simple task, but you must not forget that these rodents can completely take over a territory they feel safe in; wherever they can get food and shelter, they will stay.
If you want to scare away all rats, you must fix the problem from its roots. This means making a complete inspection to evaluate which are the potential hiding places for them and how many rats there could be on your property. Once you have answers to these questions, you can pick the method that suits your situation the best.
How To Avoid The Presence Of Rats On Your Property?
While there are many reasons why a rat may decide to enter your home, the most common cause of this may be a lack of hygiene; not regularly doing deep cleaning in potentially exposed areas. Another reason these rodents may be attracted to your property is the presence of accumulated garbage or improper food packaging.
Natural Solutions To Keep Rats Away
There are many ways to scare rats away. You can use classic methods, placing rat traps and poison at specific points on your property, or hiring a pest extermination agency. Another option, -and the healthiest one for both the rats and your family-, is based on using natural remedies to scare off rodents.- Mint: It has a strong smell, ideal for scaring away rats. You can simply make a mint tea and use it to aromatize different areas of your house, specifically access points to the property.
- Hot Sauce: Spreading hot sauce in some areas of your home could also keep rats away. However, you should be careful where you apply it in case you have pets or small children.
- Onion: Placing containers filled with onion pieces in areas of your property can also be a good way to repel rats.
The rats' incredible sense of smell can be your best chance to scare them away from your property. Regardless of the option you choose, it is essential to maintain proper hygiene in every space in your home.
