Norway rat infestations are never pleasant. Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that you will lower the odds of one happening in your home.
The causes of a rat infestation
To start, rats will enter the home seeking warmth and shelter. As the temperatures drop, rats have a harder time surviving in the wild, so they will seek warmth and shelter from the elements. As it turns out, a human home is the best way to get both of these things. Rats are also looking for food. If you leave food out, or if your trash and pet food is not in sealed containers, rats will have all the food that they need indoors. Water sources are another element that ensures that the rats will survive. These could be present wherever you have standing water or leaks on your property. Finally, rats will need to have easy access into the home. Rats are very agile and enterprising, so if there is a gap or crack large enough in the exterior of your home, rats will find a way to reach it.
Lowering the odds of an infestation
To lower the odds of an infestation, the first thing that you need to do is to make sure that there are no easy entry points into your home. It can be hard to find all of them, and a pest control company will usually offer services to rat-proof your home, but if you can seal all these entry points, rats will have no chance of getting inside. You then want to make sure that all the food and pet food inside the home is kept in sealed containers, and that both your indoor and outdoor garbage containers are lidded. You can also use peppermint, both as essential oil or plants, to repel rats from the building, and to make it a little bit more uncomfortable for them inside to be inside your home.
Working with a pest control company
Once a rat infestation has started, you will likely need the help of a pro to remove it completely. Rats are quite smart, and they will escape trapping or baiting efforts if they are not implemented correctly. If you have a rat infestation, give us a call, and we will set up an appointment for an inspection process to find out just how bad the infestation really is.
