Kanawha County, Charleston Rat Control Situation:
Hello David. I have a problem at my West Virginia home & not quite sure how to resolve it. I hear scratching noises between a wall in my house. I believe it's a rat. How do I get it out?
Thanks for your useful information about rat in the attic. I have tried to find and seal up all entry points as possible, but the rats still can get into the attic once in a while. You mentioned about vent, and I'm thinking about the roof splashing vent from the bathroom. There is big space under the "umbrella" covering the opening of the splash and I wonder if they can climb or jump up and get into the attic. Please advise. Thanks.
Hi David, I enjoy your website. It is very informative. I found your website after noticing a couple pieces of rat feces in the attic and, what looked like a hole burrowing down in the insulation. I got paranoid, and set a trap with peanut butter but have not caught anything in 4 days. I did not think there were any entry areas as our roof was just replaced a few moths ago, BUT after I did an inspection I did find what looked like a half-circle chewed where the wood meets brick. I couldn't believe it! I patched that with steel the next day and became paranoid there were other holes. After a complete roof inspection I found a couple gaps between brick and wood that could be entry points. I completely repaired/closed all entry points... My question is how long should I leave that trap in the attic if I haven't caught anything? I don't think that rat stayed in the attic???? Thanks again and very informative website!
My name is Julio and I am worried becuase I always hear running noises in my bedroom cieling. How do I get rid of these mice . Where should I look for holes ? Can I call an rodent exterminater. Thank for the article.
Charleston Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can Rats Kill Mice?
Before providing an answer to this question, first of all, you need to be able to differentiate between a rat and mouse. As you must already know, they are both rodents and are quite identical. Without precisely knowing the differences between these two rodents, it will be quite difficult to know how they relate with each other and if rats do kill mice or it's just another myth.
To help you understand this in the best possible way, we will be taking a look at some of the qualities possessed by both rodents. After which we will address the main topic which is whether rats are capable of killing mice or not.
Rats
Rats are medium sized rodents with sizes bigger than that of mice. They have long tails and are very active compared to mice. The most common household rat is the black rat and this particular specie of rat is bigger than mice and also very active.
Mice
On the other hand, mice are smaller rodents with a pointed snout and small round eyes. These rodents have uniform traits; hence they often tend to look very identical. They are very docile when compared to their rat counterparts.
Having shared all these, by now you should categorically be able to differentiate between rats and mice. Coming back to the question above, the fact is rats are capable of killing mice. This habit is only exhibited when rats are faced with starvation and the only option left is to kill and feed on them.
Also, a change in environmental conditions can trigger their hunting senses and make them kill mice. Apart from any of these conditions, rats killing mice doesn't usually occur. You might have rats and mice in your home at the same time causing a nuisance.