Here's one of the more important things I'm going to address on this website. If you are unable to take care of the rat problem yourself,
and you need to hire a professional to help, it's very important that you carefully address the matter of who to hire. Not all rat
removal companies are the same. In fact, they are vastly different, and
there's a huge rat removal industry that hurts more than helps: exterminators.
A traditional exterminator is in the business of killing bugs. Exterminators use poison. It's a whole different approach to vermin control.
Exterminator man from big company. Sprays, spreads poison. Rarely actually inspects attic.
Exterminators tend to treat rodents like bugs. But of course, rodents aren't bugs. They are mammals. Taking care of a rat problem is much more similar to solving a raccoon problem than it is a cockroach or ant problem. Insects are tiny, in huge numbers, and they can get into the house through miniscule gaps. They carry poison back to the nest, to the queen. Yes, insects can be controlled by spraying poison. But only controlled, and never permanently removed. But rats do not work that way. They are animals. They need a sizeable gap to get into the attic or house. They aren't huge in number. And yes a rat problem can be solved permanently, in a matter of days.
Here's the deal: the regular exterminator company doesn't want to solve the rat problem permanently. They want to do it their normal way - with a never-ending quarterly or monthly treatment contract, and keep taking money from you forever. And that's fine for insects, because insects will keep coming. But you can solve a rat problem for good in one shot, and never worry about it again, by doing what I say on this website - sealing shut all the entry holes into the house. If you get that done, your rat problem is solved forever, and you don't have to keep paying for it.
And that's not all - the poison approach sucks. Just plain sucks. Not only does it not solve the problem, it creates problems! I have to go to so many houses to remove stinking dead rats, and clean up after the mistakes of lazy, ignorant exterminators, it's amazing. Read all about: the problem with rat poison here.
It's crazy how extermination companies have tried to make a mammal, rats, fit the mold of insects, and fit their business model. That said, many exterminators have discovered that the poison doesn't always do the trick. So yes, some exterminators do use other methods, such as snap traps, or glue boards (which as I show here, are horrible: How To Trap a Rat). But still, they don't have the right approach, because they want that service contract to never end. Your property remains at risk due to a rodent problem that never gets solved, even if you think you're handling the problem. Exterminators don't do the real work - sealing the rat entry holes. Even if you already have a regular, trusted extermination company doing your insect work, do not hire them for rat removal projects.
WHO SHOULD I HIRE TO SOLVE MY RAT PROBLEM, THEN?
Hire a nuisance wildlife control operator, not an exterminator! Yes, a person who knows how to remove wildlife from attics - such as squirrels, raccoons, opossums, etc. That is the person best equipped to remove another wild animal, the rat, from your house or attic. The technique, while certainly not easy, is very clear-cut:
- Inspect the house and find out how the rodents are getting inside.
- Seal up every single last entry/exit hole and gap with steel.
- Trap, properly trap on rat runways, ALL the rats, and remove them from the house.
- Clean up the attic space or home once they are all gone for good.
THE SAME APPLIES TO MOUSE EXTERMINATION
Although I wrote this site with rats in mind, such as the Roof Rat and
Norway Rat, the same principles apply to other rodents, such as the
house mouse. Mice behave very similarly to rats, they're just smaller.
Email me if you have any questions about mouse exterminators, or rodent extermination methods.
