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In short, yes, rats do destroy insulation in an attic. Even when you have those spaces of attic insulation that haven't been touched by the rat or rats you have inhabiting the place you rarely investigate, you will still more than likely find that you need to replace the entire lot. There are a lot of diseases spread through rats, and many of them can still be passed to humans and other animals long after the rat itself has gone, left in biological matter.
Feces and urine are the worst culprits when it comes to the spread of disease. Leptospirosis and salmonella are just two conditions that are present in the waste matter of these rodents, and if you don't remove everything these animals came into contact with, and cleaned the areas that you can't remove, that threat of disease is still very much present. This means that not only are you going to do a serious amount of scrubbing once you have sealed up all entry points and remove (trapped) all of the rats, but you may need to replace entire sections of your attic insulation, and in severe cases, perhaps even all of it. As you can imagine, this can be rather expensive, and that's before you even begin to think about the insulation in your walls, and the wall cavities in which the rats could have inhabited without your knowledge.
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Rats will use insulation for a number of different things. They will pee and poop as they run, causing a mess, an odor, and also a disease threat that you will need to then clean up. They will also tear and chew the insulation to use later on whilst building their nests and bedding areas. All this moving around of the material - it reduces how insulated your home is, and this means that your energy bills are likely to go up.
In short, rats destroy insulation and a whole manner of things inside your home, cause a number of disease threats, cause damage that could run into he thousands of dollars to repair, and cause your heating bills to go up. You should really give us a call today to get rid of those rats the right way!
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Nobody wants rats in their attic. Many people are afraid of rats for the diseases they carry, the damage they cause, and the rate at which they can multiply their population. If a rat is in your attic, it can cause serious damage to many different parts of your attic. One of the items they destroy the most is insulation. It is imperative to get these rats out of there as soon as possible and to also seal up any entry points into the attic. Continue reading this article for a look at how rats can ruin your attic, and specifically your insulation.
Contamination
Rats do not so much destroy insulation in this way, but they definitely cause health issues. When rats urinate and release droppings onto the insulation, the insulation absorbs both of these, causing stains and odors. The really big deal is that rat droppings carry all kinds of diseases in them. Hantavirus is a very serious disease that can be caused by the handling of rat feces, and this disease does not have a treatment. It is a viral infection that has to take its own course, and in many cases, can be fatal. Another disease that can be received from rat feces is leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that can, luckily, be treated with antibiotics. As can be seen, the damage rats cause to insulation through their urine and droppings is a very serious health concern.
Nest Materials
One of the biggest reasons that rats destroy insulation is to build their nests. They love using insulation because it is warm and comfortable. They want to protect themselves and their young from any cold weather and the elements to ensure that they survive. The way in which rats gather insulation is by ripping and tearing up the insulation into small chunks. This can cause a lot of damage to the insulation in your attic.
Attic Damage
Rats cause a lot of damage to many more materials than just insulation in your attic. The first way in which they cause damage is simply by entering your attic. If a rat can find a weakened spot or a tiny hole to enter your attic, they will gnaw at it until they have gained access. They will make multiple entry and exit holes in your attic. They also chew through all kinds of electrical wiring, potentially causing a fire hazard. Rats will chew through boards and potentially drywall until they get into the walls of your home, further causing insulation and wiring damage. There’s a chance that if you let the rat infestation go on long enough, that the rats would chew through enough material to gain access to your living quarters.
As you can see, rats can cause serious damage not only to your insulation in your attic but to your entire house as well. By eliminating access to your attic, you can stave off the potential for disease and destruction in your attic and home. If you do have a rat infestation, it is important that you have a professional come to assess the damage, as they will be able to do so safely and effectively.
