Orange County, Anaheim Rat Control Situation:
David, I was able to find your article on rats in the walls which I think I have at my home. It is very disturbing because it is loud scratching of the walls in the mornings all different areas of the home. Do you make calls to homeowners to help find and help them with their problems? If so, what number may I call you to set something up to come to my home and help me? I have been told to call an exterminator. Thank you in advance, Sharon
David - I have been looking at your site and am very impressed. I live near the water in dense vegetation and have an ongoing rat problem. I have tried plenty and your site mirrors what to do and not to do. I have just spent 2 full days sealing the underfloor area of my house and am about to close off some air-conditioning pipe ducting. I would like to put a one-way funnel on the last access point for a few days before I then seal it off completely. Hopefully to help any unwanted residents to depart. I am wondering what size opening you have been using on your one way funnels? I know this is a difficult question, but any sort of guide will help.Traps are awkward for me as I have roofspaces that are inaccessable to humans without wall removal. Thanks so much. Stephen Anaheim CA.
Hi David, I have at least one rat in my ceiling with no way to get to it short of cutting through the drywall. I have a suspicion how they're getting in, and want to close it up, but I'd like to do so when the chances are greatest that he's out looking for water or whatnot. Is there a time of day or night when it's most likely that he'll be out? I live in Los Angeles where the weather is dry and increasingly warm. Thanks, Craig
Anaheim 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.
