Hampden County, Springfield Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Saw your site on the internet. Most informative. My concern is as follows: My wife regularly puts out a tray of bread crums on the outside (rear of house) path for the wildbirds. To day at 2.30pm while at the kitchen window she saw a 'rat' about 8-11 inches long (and as fat as was big) feeding off the breadtray then running into a cavity in an adjoining wall & repeated this a number of times. The rat after its last feed then ran down towards the rear of the garden which adjoins some other gardens and disappeared. I purchased rat poison from our local store and placed it in a covered runway at where the rat disappeared. I would appreciate your views / advice on any of this.
Hello my name is Linda and I have a problem, you are so kind to offer advice through email. I am a single middle aged woman and have just purchased my first very small home in Springfield MA. I live just barely from paycheck to paycheck or I would call a pest control so I am looking for a way to do it myself....uugh! If that is possible. Anyway the problem is I am hearing scratching in one place above my infrared heater that apparently used to be a fireplace but has been closed off under the mantle and the gas heater was hung. It has been going on for a few weeks and I hit the wall to make it stop. However, today I began to hear the scratching and then after hitting the wall I heard scratching on the wall across the room, when I hit that place I heard the running through the wall. It has calmed down now but I know this is not good. Do you have any suggestions that will not be to expensive or something that I myself may can do. Thank you for any advice you may have!!
Springfield Rat Control Tip of The Week
Why You Should Never Poison A Rat
Whenever people have a rat problem in their house, the first solution that does run through their mind is to poison the rats. Apart from being an inhumane way of getting rid of rats, the use of this method of rat removal has more disadvantages than the quick solution that it offers.
Are you also thinking of poisoning the rats in your home? If yes, you need to take a look at the following reasons why the poisoning of rats is a bad idea.
A Danger To Pets And Non-target Animals
Rats poisons are usually mixed with rat baits or food substances with a strong smell in order to help attract rats. Alongside attracting the rats in your home, this poison will also attract your pet and any other animals. When consumed, this could lead to the unfortunate death of your pets.
Apart from that, when rats are poisoned and improperly disposed of, scavengers like a hawk that feeds on dead rats can also get poisoned when they feed on a poisoned rat.
Danger To Your Home
When you poison rats, never expect them to die where you can easily find them. When rats are feeling unwell, they tend to isolate themselves in places that are hidden. As a result of this, when rats die in your home, you will have to search your house thoroughly before you can find them. And if you can't find them, you will have to cope with the horrible smell of the decomposing rat bodies.
There are even instances where homeowners have to break into the wall of their house just to remove a poisoned rat.
The indiscriminate use of rat poison can also contaminate your food when rats consume the poison and begin to feed on other things in your home as they move around.
Having shared this, you need to consider other ways of removing rats in your home to keep your environment safe.