Saint Louis County, St. Louis Rat Control Situation:
Hi David! I have a quick question that I'm hoping you can help me with. My husband and I are hearing noises in the attic and we noticed that the outside vent to the dryer has been pulled away from the house. We have some contraction going on in two rooms and after we put Sheetrock up, the next morning a hole was chewed where the ceiling meets the crawl space between the first and second floors. There were also rat droppings on the floor. We went out and bought snap traps (6) and set 2 in the room with the hole, one in the laundry room, 2 in the main attic, and one in the smaller attic above the room. The next morning half the traps were triggered but nothing caught. We reset all the traps and the next morning all the traps were triggered and empty. The rat had also gotten into the pantry during the night and found a bag of dog treats and tried to pull them out under the door. The reset all the traps, wrapping the trigger with gauze and coating it with peanut butter to make it harder for them to just lick it off. For three weeks now the traps have been untouched. We don't have much activity in the attic either. Last night I took some of the dog treats and put it with the peanut butter as added incentive and we finally caught one... A big one. My question is, is it likely that there are more or that we only had the one? We have two dogs inside and it boggles my mind that rats would be ballsy enough to roam the house when there are dogs around! Should I keep the traps out and see what happens or do you think we got it? Only the one trap with the rat was triggered. Thanks so much for your time, Zui in St. Louis MO
My response: If the traps were triggered with no trap, you were definitely using the wrong traps for the animal you were dealing with. So if it was definitely large rat traps that you were using, then you didn't have a rat - maybe an opossum or something. And if it was rat, then you used the wrong traps - did you you mouse traps, by chance?
St. Louis Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Able to Swim, or Do They Drown?
Though rats are not the most desired animals to have around your home, you will be amazed by the incredible survival instincts these rodents have. One of these survival instincts is their ability to survive in water. Rats are excellent swimmers, with their legs, tail, and rhythmic body movements, they can wade in the water for up to three days without drowning
These special skills allow them to be able to survive in water if by circumstance they find themselves stuck in a bucket of water, bathtub, or toilet. In cases where the water body is not restricted by a container or an object, rats use their swimming skills to find their way to dry land close by.
If you happen to find a rat stuck in water, the best thing you can do is to remove it and relocate it somewhere far away from your home or anywhere you are. Refusing to do this and expecting it to drown will only cost you your time because the rat will try as much as possible to survive.
Rats do drown in water, but that will only happen after 3 days when the rat has exhausted all of its energy swimming with no way out. Only a few rodents have this special kind of survival instinct, this clearly shows how smart and intelligent rats are.
Nevertheless, you shouldn't allow rats to run around your house and make your home their nesting place. If you find rats in the water around your home, you need to get them removed and relocated somewhere safe and far from your home to prevent further reentry. Rats are a menace to your health, so you need to look for the best way to get rid of them quickly.