Suffolk County, Suffolk County Rat Control Situation:
I am writing from England. I am sure we have rats and/or mice in our bungalow in Islip Long Island. The problem is that I haven't seen them. I am constantly being woken up at night hearing noises, but I try to tell myself that I was dreaming or imagining it. I have long scratches on my leg (from my ankle for about 3 inches up my leg). I do not know what has caused them but they happen overnight. I am scared and do not know what to do. I cannot remember the last time I had a good night's sleep. My husband says that there are no droppings so we can't have unwanted visitors. I did buy one of those mice repellent things and all was well for a while but now the winter is here, the noises are happening again. I do hope you can help/advise me.
Hi David, We live in Ronkonkama, we had some rats in our attic last year and I think they are gone. At least I do not hear them any more and I found a dead one. Our attic has areas where they had nests and lots of paths through the insulation. I also found where I think they came in which was where one of our roof lines is not sealed. Do or who could we get to seal this area and clean up spots in the attic to prevent them from wanting to visit again? About what would something like this run to have done?
Suffolk County 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.
