Rats, rats, rats and more rats.
Where do rats live? Where are the rats coming from? We get these questions often when our seasons change so here are general pest control tips for these pesky rats!
When the weather is cold outside, rats will move into your home or other enclosed buildings from hiding outside in shrubs, under groundcover, in trees, under wood piles and generally, in clutter seeking warmth in order to have their young born in protected places. This is important since one female rat can give birth to 25 to 40 young per year (6 litters). It only takes a hole the size of a quarter to get into a protected structure, smaller (nickel) if you are a mouse. When hot they will move outside looking for cooler temperatures and hide in shrubs and cluttered areas.
General pest control tips. What to do?
With the recent rains, be sure to remove any of the excessive overgrowth (harborage) in your desired plants and any weed growth. Neighboring locations with messy landscaping (overgrown weeds) gives many food sources (insects) and places for rodents to hide. It is imperative to have good communication with your neighbors, helping out if need be, to lessen the locations that rats hide since rats can travel anywhere from 100 feet to 300 feet each night.
Because rats will live in trees, in order to protect your home and attic space, keep all tree branches trimmed back a minimum of two feet from your home. Rats can easily jump 2 feet from a branch to a roof. Skirt your shrubs and plants so that there is at least 12” to 18” of trunk only, not leaves or stems. This makes the rodents feel less secure because predators then be able to capture them. Eliminate any wires, if possible from telephone poles to your roof. If you notice rats running on wires, walls or fences this is their freeway system in order to stay away from any of the predators that may be found on the ground.
AIPM provides free estimates and would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding rodent control and where rats live. Please feel free to call 888-344-6567 or send an email to happytohelp@myaipm.com.
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