Westchester County, Westchester Rat Control Situation:
HI FROM WESTCHESTER COUNTY NY. DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP. ALMOST every night rats come into our motor home under the hood. SOME nights they eat 2 or 3 blocks of poissen other nigh they eat 8 or 9 blocks of poison. IF its on the market we have probably tried it. THEY chew up the wires and everything under the hood. SO far all we can do is just keep putting out more poissen. THE neighbor has many bird feeders out so he is just feeding the rats. HE just laughed when I talked to him. WE are the only ones on the block seemingly bothered with them. WE live close to farms in this area. PLEASE is there anything we can do to keep them off this property? WE ARE DESPERATE. THANK YOU
Hi David, I was just on your site and I really, really wish we had some companies in this area that will help 'resolve' the problem once and for all, rather than come back and keep charging me insane prices to trap my rats and tell me they have no idea how they're getting in my house!! I've cut down my hedge, and done numerous other things to keep them away, but they still come back. Other than rip the vinyl siding off my house (covers up the old stucco) to find out where the little devils are coming in, I'm lost in Victoria Any help or suggestion you may be able to offer would be so appreciated. PS: I love your website - very thorough
Westchester 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.