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
Are Dogs Good at Keeping Rats Away?
Having rat problems automatically comes with the need to get rid of them. If you have a similar challenge in your home, chances are that you are already thinking about getting the natural enemy of rats to help keep them away. While cats seem to be the most commonly used animal when it comes to keeping rats away, dogs can also play a similar role and even do it better.
There is no denying the fact that cats are great at keeping rats away, but these animals are opportunistic hunters, which simply means that they only kill rats when they see one. Also, as they become older, they begin to develop a lackadaisical attitude towards the hunting and catching of rats.
But in the case of dogs, their hunting spirit becomes fiercer each passing day, and they can be quite aggressive hunters. Also, when dogs become familiar with you, they become territorial and will do everything possible to satisfy you. The moment the dog figures out that you want it to help keep rats away, it will work tirelessly to get this done and will always be on the lookout to catch a passing rat.
To take advantage of the supreme hunting skills of dogs, all you need to do is to get a breed of dog that is very active and train it to follow your commands. Once you can do that, the dog will help keep rats away from your home.