McLennan County, Waco Rat Control Situation:
Hi David,We are struggling with mice in our garage. We've caught 2 on plain sticky traps (both actually caught on the same trap), did a thorough clean out, left about 5 other various styles of traps around the garage and there was no sign anything for about a week and a half. I had some suspicions (although, I didn't see any droppings) so I put another plain flat sticky trap near the area where we caught the other two and a few days later...bam...another one. Now I'm a little freaked out that there is some sort of colony living in the garage walls and/or garage attic. When we were putting stuff back on the garage shelves after the deep clean we thought we heard a scratching or scuffling sound but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Can you give me an estimate on the cost of having your team come out and track down the source? It should all be relatively easy access.
Hello my name is Henry from Waco TX. We have been hearing cracking noises in the ceiling at night. Mainly in the master bedroom bathroom. I don't know why. Could it be a water source. I will set traps in the attic. I was thinking of cutting a hole in the drywall placing posion there. It says that rodent will not smell. Please any advice will help.
I have found two burrow holes on either side of my front door. One smells of urine and the other I watched a chipmunk disappear into. I am not entirely sure if they are in the house now, but I know that they were and those entry points have been sealed. So a few questions....... What do I do to eliminate the burrows at front door? How to get rid of that horrid urine stench? Do chipmunks share tunnels with rats? If they are going under the deck should I set traps? I have a lot of vine coverage in the back yard, what should I replace that with? Do the rats dislike a certain type of mulch/woodchips? I am in the process of removing the vine coverage, but what else should I do? Thank you for any suggestions and guidance!!!
Love your site. Just curious why you don't talk about crawlspaces and only attics? I assume it's the same concept, but I never saw anything about it mentioned.
Waco Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Have Rabies?
Rats have powerful bites:
Rats can have very powerful bites and are capable of damaging the skin quickly. A rat can bite through cinderblocks to get into an area if it needs to. Rats could bite through clothing or manage to break the skin even unintentionally with a very quick bite. Handling rats with care or using heavy gloves is recommended if you have to remove one or relocate it. It is ultimately best if you avoid handling rats whenever possible.
Many people are bitten each year with low rates of infection:
Rats bite over 50,000 people in the USA each year. Rabies vaccine shots are very rarely delivered in these cases and the risk for other types of diseases that rats carry can be far greater. Going to see a doctor about a rat bite can be wise if you are starting to feel some of the secondary symptoms or it looks infected.
Rats do spread disease:
Rats do spread a series of diseases including rat-bite fever. It can be transmitted through a bite or through pets. Rabies can be a deadly disease but most of the diseases that rats pass on are only able to cause the chance for fever and infection which carry lower rates of mortality.
Other animals can be much riskier to receive bites from:
If you are bitten by other animals like raccoons, coyotes, woodchucks, or skunks, this will give you a much riskier chance of receiving something like rabies. When bitten by a rat, you should be concerned but you may not have to run to get the bite checked out with the same urgency.
The main theory of low rabies cases:
A rat would have to survive a bite from a predator in order to become a carrier of rabies. As coyotes and larger animals will be likely to kill a rat in an attack, this leads to the chance of rats not being able to spread rabies at all.
