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 Do I Inspect My Home For Rat Entry Holes?
Rats can be tough to manage when they get access to a property. Their population will increase quickly and they will cause a great deal of harm to pretty much everything chewable insight. Truly, they lead to a major issue for homeowners, yet their activities can be controlled and they can be removed if managed properly.
It is of the most extreme significance while dealing with a rat infestation to identify their entry points and block them. Otherwise, they will return every time you try and expel them. Investigating a house for rat passage openings can be cumbersome as the list of spots to check is seemingly endless, especially when the house is big.
Attics, space vents, dividers, kitchens, cupboards, soffit vents, pipes, roofs, rooftop vents, etc. are some of the spots to assess. The following will help you in doing an exhaustive investigation of your home.
1. Have Fundamental Information On Rat Science
Information on their nature, habitat, appearance, diets, and behavior will help you figure out where their entry points are likely going to be in your home.
2. Information On The Architectural Plan Of The House
This also is significant. Finding out about the house's plan would help identify those shrouded spots where openings may exist in parts of the house, and these gaps might serve as rats' openings.
Having watched every one of these, property holders must check everywhere, including foundations, vents, rooftops, soffits, and so on. Anyplace there is a gap, regardless of how little it is, is a potential entry point. It may surprise you that rats can enter through holes as small as a quarter of an inch.
