Onondaga County, Syracuse Rat Control Situation:
Hi. I have recently noticed poop in one area of my garage which is also right next to where I have piled up a bunch of stuff I planned to sale at a yard sale so it is very possible there is more that I am not seeing easily within that stuff. We live next to a lot of undeveloped wooded land where we know there are a good bit of deer and presumably many varieties of wildlife and some cats we see around our house have killed a few rats lately but I looked at your rat droppings and what I saw in my garage doesn't seem to fit into the rat poop pictures or descriptions I found on your site. I an sending in separate email to see if you can tell me what I am most likely dealing with. My house is in a rural area outside Syracuse NY.
David: I live in Northern New York State and recently purchased a home that has have roof rats, and I've been told when the rats are beaten back some, the mice will come. There is already evidence of this, as I've noticed half eaten mice carcasses at various points. I hired a pest control company to trap the rats moving forward, but their plan is not as systematic and comprehensive as yours, so I want to do the sealing up myself. Though the task is daunting because I live in the country and my house has a Spanish tile roof that many describe a porous, I have done this before and think I can at least slow the problem to a light crawl. That said, I'm interested in equipment recommendations. I notice you use full body jump suits and face masks. What brands do you use? And your vacuum, does it require a hepa filter. You mention multiple speeds, will I need various vacuums to do the job? Can you recommend people who do this in Sonoma County (Santa Rosa City), California? thanks, John
Syracuse Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are rats hibernating creatures?
Rats are nocturnal:
Rats sleep a lot even without cold conditions. The average rat will sleep between 12 to 15 hours a day and in colder conditions they will often seek warmth so that they can sleep safely for this amount of time. Because rats often walk around at night, detecting them can be somewhat difficult. Making sure that you can detect them often means checking into areas where they could nest or remaining somewhat attuned to what is going on in the night time when they are most active.
Rats breed throughout the year:
Even in the wintertime rats are continuing to breed, make their nests, and live without any issues. They don't hibernate during winter. Instead, rats will continue to breed. Most rats are able to wean a litter in about one month and leave the babies to fend for themselves after that period of time.
Rats will seek spaces to live:
Even though they don't hibernate, rats will seek warm and safe conditions. This means that in the wintertime it's likely that they will be looking for space inside your home where they can spend time sheltering throughout the winter. Spotting areas were rats can get into your home can be important to preventing an infestation.
Food gets scarce in winter:
If you are in an area where the climate gets cold this can lead many rats to find an area where they can access food much easier. Rather than getting stuck with very little food supply over several months, they can detect food that's in your home and then stay close to it.
