San Bernardino County, San Bernardino Rat Control Situation:
Hi. I hired a Pest Control Company in San Bernardino on Feb 14, 2012 to come out and find what was going on in my walls behind my pillows where I sleep. I mentioned it first to my neighbor and told her that it sounded like birds making a nest and this awful chirping/screeching noise at night when I went to bed. It was very hard to sleep and after speaking with her, and her telling me that it might be roof rats, I called the Pest Control. They came out and inspected the property, went in the garage, walked the perimeter of the house, went into the attic, went into the walk in basement and found no droppings anywhere. He put 6 bags of poison in the basement and 6 bags in the attic. He hope that this would get them as he told me that they eat the poison and then go out to get water and they will die. This cost me $125.00 which I felt was fair as he was here over an hour. He said he would be back in on March 5th to see what had transpired as it takes that long for the rats to feel comfortable eating the bags of poison and go out and die. While waiting this period of 3 weeks, the noise never stopped and the rats were still alive and had eaten none of the bags of poison in either the attic or basement.. I called to tell him this and he took some of the poison and put it in a hole in the roof line where the gutter is and hoped for the best. He said he would be back to put all screening on anything that looked specious on March 19 and did so. He deodorized the attic and crawl space and sealed the structure/holes vents, wherever he thought they might be getting in...............He then put 2 live traps in the basement and the attic and would be back in a week. He charged me $460.00 more for this service. One week later, March 26th he sent another man to check out the live traps.................NOT TOUCHED. He put 2 sticky traps in the garage up high so the dog wouldn't get to them. It is now April 10 and they have travelled from my bedroom wall to the office wall that backs up to my bedroom wall. I hear them in the morning and even in the early evening. It is like they are on some kind of treadmill, right above the heater vent on the bottom of the wall. It isn't as noisy as it was, but then they are in the office wall now and not above where I am sleeping. He gave me a 24 month guarantee................but, I don't know what to do as I really didn't want my walls ripped apart to get to them...............and there are no droppings anywhere. He tells me they have to go out to get water.........but he screened any holes he saw, and was on the roof also. SO HOW ARE THEY GETTING WATER?? CAN YOU HELP ME? Thanks Sandy
San Bernardino Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Smart Animals?
Rats can be trained:
In studies on rats, it's been very easy to train these animals. Scientists have worked with rats to help teach them how to get through mazes, play fetch, train them to dismantle complex items to get a reward, and more.
Rats stick together:
Rats have high levels of emotional intelligence and they often communicate well with one another to warn each other of threats. In a borough of rats, each will work together to make sure that everyone can stay safe. With communications through their squeaks and noises as well as through pheromones it's possible for rats to continually relay information about the surrounding environment and work together to survive.
They have been shown to have personalities:
In observed behavior some rats are considered to be social, others are entertaining and some are fun-loving wanting to play with objects they find like toys. Each rat can have its own tendencies and display their own levels of intelligence.
Rats are social animals:
Rats live in groups and this makes them very social animals. Even though rats typically sleep 12-15 hours a day, they are social during the time that they are awake.
They can recognize each other and come when called:
Rats can be trained to recognize names, they can come when called and they can often tell more about rats and their behavior by watching them. Rats display recognition that goes far beyond what the average animal conveys.
Rats can smell and find their way into many spaces:
Rats have the power to make their way into many spaces. They are often some of the perfect creatures for making their way into your plumbing and they regularly travel through cracks and areas across the home to find food. They are tenacious creatures and they can be considered very smart when finding food.