Lucas County, Toledo Rat Control Situation:
Hi David- Thank you very much for your site. It has been extremely helpful. I caught my first and I hope only rat tonight (I know that's doubtful) due to your trapping advice. That said, I need advice on how to deal with rats burrowing into dirt basements. I have a half basement with a dirt crawl space and a narrow dirt trench around the perimeter for drainage. We found a rat a week ago and saw it has burrowed two holes outside down into the basement. Obviously it opened it up after we filled it in. Short of getting a new foundation I have no clue what to do. The best advice I have found was to put hardware paper down but that would be difficult in the crawl space. I spoke with a professional trapper in Toledo OH and he said there wasn't much I could do about them getting in other than keeping the traps set. We have lived here 8 years and never have seen a rat before. Mice yes but we have worked hard to close up the holes but clearly this is a different ball game. We are in a rural area and there are no dumpsters and the neighbors are clean etc. So I do not think it's a matter of cleanliness. Any advice you could give would be more than appreciated. And again, thank you for your site!!
I have sent a picture of the droppings I found, is it from a rat? I have set 2 traps in my attic and rat poison in saucers some of which has been eaten, but still have the rat or rats. I don't know what to do next buy some more poison? as I've run out. I did not want to pay a pest control company as I think normally they just use poison anyway, but if I cant get rid of them will have to. Shall I put the traps where the droppings were seen. This is terrible I can hear it or them at night in the attic, and would appreciate your advice.
Hi David! Thanks for your site and all of the useful info. I searched for the following for days, and still have nothing. How long do diseases remain "alive" in rat feces ? I have evidence of rat nesting in my outdoor storage shed that I first noticed about 6 months ago. I plugged the point of entry with steel wool and have not seen any activity since. I plan to clean the disturbed area and discard the damaged things. My question is, considering the age of the feces, is it and the contaminated area still potentially toxic or just ugly dirty !?
Toledo Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Are Some Symptoms Of Rat Diseases In Humans?
Although rat-transmitted infections can have different causes, they usually have common symptoms. The difference in each infected person will depend on the type of condition, mode of transmission, and the urgency with which treatment has been sought.
From the moment we confirm the presence of rats in our home, it is essential to get rid of these rodents before they start filling the house with unpleasant smells and dangerous secretions full of bacteria and infections that are harmful to our health.
Common Symptoms
Some of these common symptoms can be general malaise, fever, dizziness, nausea, headache, chills, and muscle pain, among others. However, depending on the type of infection or disease, bacteria, or virus, the symptoms can be even more severe and need more drastic treatment.
Among the most common diseases caused by rats, we have:- Tularemia: an infection that can cause excessive sweating, eye irritation, joint stiffness, skin rash, and weight loss.
- Leptospirosis: an illness whose symptoms include nausea, fever, body pain, and irritation. This infection can become complicated, causing Weil's disease, meningitis, and pulmonary hemorrhage.
- Hantavirus: an infection whose most common symptoms vary from fever, chills, dizziness, pain throughout the body, and digestive problems.
- Bubonic Plague: known as the Black Death, it is a high-risk bacterial disease that can cause death. It has symptoms such as coughing up blood, diarrhea, vomiting, and delirium.
- Salmonellosis: an infectious disease whose symptoms include vomiting, cramps, diarrhea, dehydration, and blood in the stool.
- Typhus: a high-risk infectious disease that includes body pain, rash, cough, and vomiting amongst its symptoms.
Each of these infectious diseases can be contracted in different ways, either through direct contact with some contaminated element, through an open cut that has come into contact with rat secretions, or through a rodent bite. The latter could be one of the most worrisome, since this way it is much easier for the infection to enter the body.
