Pima County, Tucson Rat Control Situation:
David, Can you please help me with some advise and maybe a referral for a local professional in Tucson AZ? I live in a mobile home and hear rats in the walls and ceiling at different time including during the night. I had a professional general contractor put very fine metal chicken wire called "hardware cloth" all around the bottom of my mobile from the edge to the ground attached to the stackered white bricks with screw drilled into them. There might be some very small gaps in different places, but no sign of rats getting in like black marks from their fur, rat droppings or urine stains any where outside. I even put screening around the the very small roof vents. I also previously had a friend come by who is in the pest control business and he looked all around the outside and just could not find where the rats are coming in at. I was using Decon for about 7 or 8 months, but now switched to a very strong blocks of rat poison from a local Do-it-Yourself Pest Control store. I always put the poison out under a small hole under the very fine metal hardware cloth in two different places and then block the hole off with a brick. I bought a 9 pound bucket for $39 and they already ate about 2 1/2 to nearly 3 pounds of it and I am still hearing them. *** Why is the strong blocks of poison not working, do they get amunity to it? Last year I even brought Rid-Ex Plus that turns your whole house wiring into a sound they do not like. It worked for a while, but not does not seem to affect them at all. It comes on for 3 minutes and then shuts of for 3 minutes (so they do not get use to the sound waves) and keeps repeating the cycle 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
How in the rats world are they still getting in my walls and ceilings voids? Can the rats be possibly tunneling or travleing through the underground the sewer pipes? *** Why is the strong poison not working? Do the rats get amunity to it after eating it for awhile? *** If there are dozens of them, would I not at least see one outside once in awhile or some signs of them? Where is there food supply? A few doors down are a few fruit trees, but would they not move closer to them? A tree right next to my place has these really small berries, could that be what they are eating? Should I move out for a while and not use any air conditioning, so the walls will get to hot for them to live in? I am at wits end and really need your advise and/or a professional to probably come out and help me get rid of these rats.
Tucson Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Able to Enter a Property Through the Plumbing?
Rats are able to swim:
Rats are surprisingly flexible and they have some excellent swimming abilities. Even if they have to make their way in through your pipes, it won't take long for them to make their way into your home if they are located under it in the groundwater. A rat is a perfect size to get through most water pipes or sewage pipes and this can mean easy access into your home.
There are dry spots throughout your plumbing:
Depending on the way your plumbing bends, it is likely that there could be some dry spots within your plumbing or within the inner workings of your home. Rats may enter into your plumbing and may even build nests throughout these dryer areas.
Rats can damage your plumbing:
As well as being able to scurry through your plumbing, rats could potentially damage your plumbing or even clog up your pipes. If there is a major rat problem or a nest nearby, you could be risking the chance that you could damage your neighbor's pipes or have an ongoing rat problem in your own home.
Rats easily enter in through broken lines:
If there are areas of your plumbing that have fallen into disrepair, make sure that they can be properly fixed up. Broken sewer lines or tree roots in your plumbing can often be the perfect place for many rats to make their way into your property.
Check grates and drain covers:
Installing mesh or making sure that you have a proper cover for your drain covers can be important to keeping rats from invading your space. Regularly looking at all of your drains and making sure that a rat can't make their way inside can be very important.
Close your toilet lid:
Closing a toilet lid could be a simple practice you could use that can stop rats from entering your home.
