Bexar County, San Antonio Rat Control Situation:
In mid July of 2008, a friend brought me a 4 week old baby girl rat that she found by the garbage. I live n San Antonio TX. I kept and raised her, she was my little girl and she was a sweetheart. I fell very much in love with her, but not until after I released her to the outside world. In December I started taking her outside for a couple hours each day until she got to the point she wanted to sleep in the tree. She was outside for about four months until April 1st, when she didn't come home. Everyday for those four months she came to me when I called her name, until that morning she didn't show up to get her breakfast. My husband called her for lunch that day, but she never came and I tried again at dinner time, but no show. We tried to find her for two weeks after that, but she was no where to be found. I wish I would have never let her outside and kept her as a pet. I loved her very much and she loved me, we would play together for a couple hours everyday, she was different from the other squirrels. I would like to find another baby squirrel if I could. I see that you trap them and relocate them, do you ever come across any that are special needs and if so what do you do with them? Or do you know who I could contact to see about getting one for a pet? I feed the rats in my back yard everyday and my husband now has a girl squirrel that comes to him for peanuts, she is very cute. I could set and watch them all day. Can you help me? Thanks, Candace
San Antonio Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Mice or Rats Easier to Trap?
Intelligence:
Mice can often be much easier to trap because they are naturally curious creatures. It often takes just one or two days to capture a mouse after setting up a mousetrap. If you're having difficulty trapping a mouse you could consider moving it to a different location. Rats can be extremely intelligent and they communicate with each other meaning that any new objects will often bring about suspicion.
Reproduction:
Rats often reproduce at a much faster rate and this can make it difficult to control a rat problem if it's been going on for a long time. Most mice have around eight litters per year with around 5 to 6 pups in each litter. Rats can have between 6 to 12 pups in their litter.
Diet:
Rats can often be ravenous eaters and often require meat or a more substantial food source in order to remain satisfied. This can often make rats very difficult to trap because they can be so fussy about their food.
Size:
Rats have a definite size advantage over mice and this often means using much larger traps and some extra measures when it comes to keeping them in a trap. Because of the extra costs of these larger traps and the need to be more careful with where you set them, the requirements to trap a rat can be considerably higher than what it takes to trap the average mouse. Most rats can reach a length of between 7-10 inches and weigh up to a pound whereas the typical house mouse maxes out around 8 inches including its tail.
Tracking:
It's often easier to track rats because they leave larger footprints and they can cause a bit more destruction with their added size and strength. This can make finding rats throughout your home a bit easier.
