Clarke County, Athens-Clarke Rat Control Situation:
Dave, I just wanted to thank you so much for the great site on dealing with rats in the attic, as well as listing pest control companies that deal with rat issues. I thought I had mice in the attic, but I now think it's rats. I set two mouse snap traps almost three days ago. Early this morning, I was awakened by the sound of plastic banging in the attic. My only thought is that I've caught something, but I don't think it's a mouse. A mouse would have died instantly. Anyway, I do have a few questions for you. First, do you think the mouse trap killed the rat, or will kill it, or is it just injured? Second, any tips on safely climbing in the attic to prevent getting bit by a rat? I noticed your pics on your site about having to get into tight spaces. I would worry about encountering a rat by doing that. One last question, any tips on accessing tight areas for a tall guy? I'm 6'3" and I wasn't able to get close to the soffit area in one area of my home. The particular area has a cathedral ceiling and the roof gets closer to the rafters as you get closer to the soffit area. I attempted to move down in a particular area where I've heard noise, but my legs began cramping really bad.
Athens-Clarke Rat Control Tip of The Week
Humane Ways To Kill A Rat
You might be thinking of the best way to get rid of the rats in your home without making them go through prolonged and excruciating pain. There are several ways to get this done, but first, you need to make sure all the possible entry points of rats into your house are sealed. Failure to do this will only make you continue to repeat the whole process of rat removal without getting the desired result.
To humanely kill the rats in your home, you need special rat removal devices like live traps and snap traps. These traps are designed to capture rats without making them suffer or go through pain before dying.
The best part about the use of these traps is that you won't even watch the rat die. All you just have to do is set and bait the trap properly. When you are back to check it, the trap will have caught and killed the rat.
Snap Traps
The use of a snap trap is one of the oldest yet most effective ways of removing rats from homes. This trap is designed in a way that captures the rat by the head and kills it instantly. Apart from being an effective way of trapping rats, setting it up is very easy. All you have to do is bait it using good bait. While the rat is trying to take the bait, the trap will be triggered and the rat will be caught. But this trap will only work when the whole head of the rat is inside the trap.
Live Traps
If you are looking for an alternative to trapping rats humanely without actually killing them, the use of live traps is a good idea. This type of trap is designed to help capture rats without causing them any pain or stress. However, for you to make sure this trapping process is humane, you need to check the trap frequently to avoid starving the rat before actually relocating them.