Fulton County, Atlanta Rat Control Situation:
Hello, I ran across your article rats in the Attic online earlier today. I have some type of critter that moved in a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was a squirrel until I read your article that said squirrels are diurnal in nature. The thing in my attic is most active around 11pm, I can hear it move around a little bit and chewing on something-it sounds like a handsaw operating, and then again about 6am when it chews much more often and much louder. Is this symptomatic of a squirrel or could it be something else? You say rats live in the attic at night, but I don't even want to say the word rat. I live in Southeast Atlanta Georgia, so I'm not sure it's a flying squirrel, and it's definitely not big enough to be a raccoon or a opossum. Any help you could offer me would be very much appreciated. Thank you!
My response: Sounds like rat activity to me. Maybe you should have a wildlife expert come out and inspect your attic. You've got to find out how the rats are getting in, and seal those areas shut with steel.
Hi, I have a rat in my mini van and I can't get rid of it. I have tried traps - they didn't work. Poison - I think this rat thrives on it . I‘ve clean the van of any food and as it is a newish van there isn't anyway to get in. Help! Minnie
David, I live in Atlanta, not near you in Orlando, but I was looking over your photos of the rats. What are you using for bait on the snap traps or does it vary? Specifically dealing with roof rats and have you used traps outside? I'm fairly sure that I have most of the roof rats (sealed all points and it's been a while) but I feel like making sure by setting a few traps. Any hints would be greatly appreciated.
I bait the traps with a thin spread of peanut butter. But the location of the traps is 10x as important as the bait. Set the traps in areas of high rat activity.
Atlanta Rat Control Tip of The Week
Reasons Why Relocated Rats Don't Survive Out Of Their Usual Territory
After trapping a rat in your home, you will have to decide either to kill it or relocate it. If killing a rat doesn't go down well with you because it makes you feel inhumane, you will be left with no other option but to relocate it.
If you have decided to relocate a trapped rat into a new territory, you need to understand the fact that it might not survive. Despite being a very smart household pest, rats find it very difficult to cope in a new environment for several reasons. The following are the reasons why a relocated rat won't survive out of their usual territory.
The first reason why rats won't survive in a new environment is that they are accustomed to their old environment. They have spent their entire life studying where they stay, knowing the exact place to find water and food in order to survive daily. Transferring this survival instinct to a new environment is a quite difficult thing to do for rats. As a result of these differences, they will find it difficult to locate food and water which they need to survive in any environment they are relocated to.
The presence of predators in the new environment is another reason why rats will find it difficult to survive. Animals like cats, snakes, and birds hunt for rats and will take advantage of the fact that the newly introduced rat doesn't know its way around to capture it.
When you introduce a rat into a new environment, it is going to meet other street rats that are already accustomed to that specific environment. Rats being animals that exhibit dominance in the form of hierarchy, where the submissive group is traumatized by the dominant rats, your rat will face multiple brutal battles and might end up in bad shape in the process. Over time, they will either get killed or too weak to look for food and shelter.
All these clearly show why any rat you decide to relocate might never survive the effects of leaving your home and being transferred into a new environment.
