Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, great website and thanks for all the tips. I got a couple questions related to a rat trapped in my garage for the past 6 weeks. He got in because the garage door was left open and can't get out. I've place 4 snap traps baited with peanut butter in areas that he frequents as well as along walls. I've also placed glue traps in similar areas. This rat has avoided all these traps so far but he did trigger a bunch of smaller snap mouse traps that I placed weeks ago when I thought he was a mouse, and not a rat. Questions: 1.) how long do I wait for him to trigger a snap trap? I think he's pretty hungry since I took out any potential for food for him out of the garage. 2.) should I move my cars out of the garage for fear of him gnawing at the hoses/wires? 3.) do you think I can "flush" him out...remove all cars, boxes, stuff, places for him to hide and chase him out of the garage? 4.) can they gnaw through metal pipes? I still don't know where he is getting his water source? 5.) any other ideas/suggestions? Borrow my neighbors cat? Thanks for your help.
My response: That's very strange. If a rat wants to get out, it can get out. Why not leave the garage door open for a few minutes? How do you know it's still there?
Don't know if he wants to get out now that he has a warm place to live. I still see his poop and pee that he leaves every night. I actually saw him face to face as I was surveying the damage he is doing to stuff inside my garage. I am contemplating on trying to "flush" him out by moving all my boxes out so he has nowhere to hide. What do think about that option? Or should I just buy more snap traps? Or borrow a cat?
I guess you could try to borrow a cat, but that doesn't always work. Sounds like your current snap traps aren't working. Maybe a live cage trap?
Charlotte Rat Control Tip of The Week
Do Rats Bite Human Necks?
Rodents are omnivorous animals. Their diet is mainly based on seeds, insects, and small animals. In order to hunt, they usually bite their victims' neck to neutralize them and suffocate them until they finally die. Seeing this behavior, some people think that rats will also bite human necks, but this is extremely uncommon.
There are cases where a rat has bit a child's face, neck, and hands. This type of aggressive behavior is often seen when rodents feel that the child's movement could be a threat. On the other hand, sometimes this happens when children are dirty and have food remains on them, thus confusing the rodents.
Complications Of A Rodent Bite
A rat bite can hardly suffocate a human being, but it can have other serious complications produced by the bacteria they carry. Symptoms appear within 3 weeks after the bite when the infected wound heals.
An infectious disease can begin with increased body temperature and chills. Within 3 to 4 days after the onset of the fever, there could be rash, systemic damage to different organs such as heart or brain, and visible swelling of the lymph nodes.
Bites are not the only way a rodent can transmit diseases. Direct contact through scratches produced by infected rats is usually quite harmful as well. However, it is more common to become infected by ingesting food or water contaminated with an infected rats' feces or urine.
Pest control is necessary to look after one's own health and that of your entire family, including household pets. There are cases of domestic animals such as dogs and cats that, when biting rats, can also become contaminated with these diseases which can be deadly.
