San Francisco County, San Francisco Rat Control Situation:
I found you my doing a web search and happen to see that you used everything I have used, but I have not had the success you have had!!! Please David I hope you can help me. I live in San Francisco in the Oakland area on the cities eastside. I live in a gentrified neighborhood where they are tearing down abandoned homes and this is when the rat problem seemed to start. I started having a rat problem about 2010. Our street once upon a time had at least 8 feral cats, but now you hardly see any now. We at one time had zero rat problems. I have always owned cats but when my cat died in 2007 I switched to dogs. Now the male dog I have is a good ratter. I've seen him stomp rats to death. However, the problem is superseding his ability and on any given night I will see rats running around my kitchen 2 or 3 around the same times. I also think I have roof rats as I see rats upstairs that look and act different than the rats downstairs. So I'll sit and wait with my BB gun and hope I will hit one, which is rare. They almost seem to be able to read our minds and anticipate our next tactic. I have tried the Vector rat traps, baiting them with peanut butter, marshmallows chicken grease and they will eat the bait of and leave the trap untripped. I bought the cage traps, baited with dog food and the first few times did catch some but then the dilemma was I couldn't kill them like that, so resorted to poison and at first was killing them great then I started finding their droppings with the green in it and they were still running around. They soon learned to avoid the cages and poison. I brought a zapper; it was great for the mice I caught , but zero rat has been caught!! They also got into my basement by digging along the sewer line. My son has a red tailed boa ,which we thought about putting there, but it's too risky he would escape somewhere. I tried electronics and that just doesn't work at all! These ghetto rats are SUPER SMART. i went to a professional exterminator and he was telling me that this was probably one rat doing this and that some of the things I was telling him they do just wasn't true so i didn't use his exterminating services ,but, did buy the poisons from his retail store and place it as he instructed w/o relief of this problem. They steal too. When all their food sources were dried up, they came in my living room and nawed a rat head sized hole in the stiff plastic bag and stole 1/2 of a 1# bag of hard ginger candy and took it somewhere. There wasn't a trace. I stored my dog's food in a lidded tupperware container and they knawed right through that. My camera is missing, which was on my kitchen table,. Yesterday I was looking for my dish towel and they had put it under the kitchen sink as they had [artially pulled it through the kick plate., They stole paper $5 money from my son's table and it was found inside a hole in the wall. I found where they chewed through mortar so remortared those areas only for them to do again. They are destroying my home and my peace and I am almost ready to just burn this house down (figurative speech). I see them outside like squirrels looking at us and I've called the city and they have done nothing! Is my house possessed by rat demons or is this a living earthly rat infestation that can be eradicated? Can you please give me some advice and direction, please?? Thank you, Ellen
My response: I have had rats steal my camera in the past too. I think it's probably a living earthly rat infestation. You need to find out how they are getting into your house, and seal those holes shut.
San Francisco Rat Control Tip of The Week
Dealing With A Rat Infestation In Your Attic
Black Rats are small rodents that are common in almost all areas across the United States, and because of their smaller size they are considered to be less of a threat and a pest than Norway rats, their larger cousins. However, rats also carry a range of different diseases and can also pose a health risk to you and your family, so if you do find an infestation, it is worth dealing with is promptly. Rats are also good climbers, so finding them nesting in your attic is not uncommon.
Identifying That You Are Dealing With Rats Rather Than Other Pest Animal Species
The first step to dealing with an infestation is to ensure you are dealing with rats, as the sounds of scratching from the attic can sometimes be other animals such as rats, squirrels or even raccoons. The best way of identifying that it is rats you are dealing with is to check on any rat feces that you can find. These small pellets of poop should be significantly smaller than rat droppings, and will be around the size of a small grain of rice, and is black when fresh, turning brown and then grey after some time.
Precautions Before Carrying Out Rat Control Work
Going into a confined space where pest animals are present can be dangerous as there are often diseases that can be transmitted by rats. Wearing long sleeved clothing and gloves will help protect you from any nips from animals and also prevent direct contact with feces of urine. Another smart precaution is also to wear goggles and a breathing mask, as some diseases transmitted by rats can become airborne, and can then prove to be a dangerous problem if those airborne particles are then inhaled.
Laying Traps To Catch Rats
By far the most common and affordable way of dealing with a rat infestation in the attic is to lay traps to catch the little animals. The standard snap traps on a wooden base are cheap to buy and just as effective as more expensive options, and can be re-used, which is particularly useful if you have a larger rat infestation to deal with. When laying traps in the attic, make sure to lay them near the areas where you see the greatest buildup of rat feces, and also near any entry points they may be using to get in and out.
Removing Carcasses And Monitoring The Rat Problem
Once you have laid the traps, the next step is to monitor all of the traps over the next few days, to see how effective the traps are at dealing with the problem. With any rat carcass, you can simply bag it and place it in the garbage, or it can also be incinerated as well if you have the facility. Keep re-setting the traps and continue to monitor until you are no longer seeing any signs of rat activity and you are no longer catching any rats in your traps.
Repairs Required After A Rat Infestation
The key step to take after catching and dealing with all of the rats is to seal the attic, as they will often have several entry points to help them get in and out of the area. These should all be sealed using metal flashing or a suitable filler to prevent other rats from being able to get back into the area again. You should also try to remove any feces that you can, and if insulation is heavily soiled then that should also be replaced. One wise precaution is also to fumigate the attic after your repairs, to kill off any remaining bacteria or other particles that could be harmful to anyone going into the attic in the future.