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 Rid Of Rats Outside My House?
Having rats outside your house disturbing your peace is indeed a big deal. Apart from being a nuisance outside your house by creating burrows in your yard or lawn, it's just a matter of time before they find their way into your home. This simply means getting rid of the rats outside your house is as important as getting rid of those in your house.
Have you been looking for the best way to do this in order to keep your environment free from rats? Right here, we will be taking you through some of the most effective and humane ways to get rid of the rats outside your house.
1. Traps
The use of traps in getting rid of rats is a method many people are quite familiar with. To use this method, all you have to do is to buy a trap from a store, bait it, and set them around the places where the rats frequent the most. Before setting this trap, make sure your pets are locked up in a compartment or restricted from moving around your yard to avoid injuring your pets instead of the rats.
2. Smoke Bombs
If the rats have successfully created numerous burrows around your house, using smoke bombs is the best way to get rid of them. To use this particular removal method, all you have to do is release the smoke bombs into all of their burrows. It is very effective, but you need to avoid using it on burrows that are close to trees and other flammable structures in order to avoid fire hazards.
3. Use Dry Ice
This particular removal method is the best option if you are in an urban area. Dry ice is a solid that releases carbon dioxide when dropped into the burrows of rats. When the dry ice is released, the carbon dioxide anesthetizes the rats and kills them. This particular method is very quick and humane.