Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach Rat Control Situation:
Hi there! I am your neighbor in West Palm Beach! We live in a historical neighborhood here and have just dicovered we had rats coming into the house and eating from some birdfood I put next to the washer (whooops! ) Prior to this I have never seen any rats and I immediately removed this food source...yuck! My landlord has hired a company to get rid of them they come and set traps but they didn't seal up the house for 3 weeks..it's been 2 more weeks and we can still hear them gnawing under the cupboards! HOW can we get them to go away? I have been calling the rat guy constantly and he says "it's a long process" but it's been a month and a half now and they seem to be getting more determined! I have removed all food and garbage from the house but I am going nuts will they give up eventually if theres no food?!? Any light you can shed on this would be great I cannot believe that the landlord paid for this IN FULL the first week now this lazy rat guy just comes once a week to set a few traps and disappears the rest of the time...I could have gone to home depot and done this!! HELP!!
David, I have enjoyed reading your articles on rat control. I found some droppings in my attic this past fall and immediately set some snap traps and bait stations. I caught one rat and they ate almost all of the bait. I thought I had the problem under control and then recently found dome droppings in another part of the attic. I have set more traps there today and they have already eaten some of the bait. There has been no other activity as far as droppings in the original area they were seen. Do rats move from one area to the next in a house? Do you have any more suggestions. I am getting 2 trees removed that hang over my roof. I am also getting a new roof in the next month. Hopefully this will help in the situation. Thanks, Mike
West Palm Beach Rat Control Tip of The Week
Do Rats Feel Pain?
Rats are one of the few animals with a developed brain and a sense of empathy. When handled with care, they can be playful and tickled. But when handled without compassion or roughly, they showcase a high level of anxiety and express their pain in a special kind of way. This clearly shows that just like every other animal, rats also feel pain.
When it comes to expression, rats express their pain in a special kind of way. They do this by slightly changing their facial appearance and making a grin that clearly shows that they are in discomfort. Apart from this, rats also show that they are in pain by narrowing their eyes, puffing out their cheeks, flattening their ears, and rhythmically increasing the size of their nose.
If you want to know if a rat is in pain or not, you will have to pay attention to its facial expressions. Since they are inaudible animals, waiting to hear them make excruciating sounds is a no-brainer. But with visual clues shared above, you will be able to know when a rat is in pain and when it is not.
Rats are sensible animals with a high level of empathy. Another way you can know when a rat is in pain without actually studying its facial expressions is when you see another rat showing concern for the isolated rat. This behavior in rats is also exhibited when one rat is wounded or ill. In situations like this, other rats will come around the indisposed rat to show their concern.
Having shared this, you can be certain that rats also feel pain. Therefore, if you notice any rat around exhibiting any of the signs above, the rat may be hurt or ill. Also, you need to understand the fact that rats are major carriers of diseases, hence you should avoid having direct contact with them.
