Albemarle County, Charlottesville Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, My name is Nancy my family and I live in Charlottesville Va. and we have had a rat problem in our house. We hired a company for rat removal and got rid of the rat problem for now. However the rat(s) were living in the ceiling in the basement laundry room. There is feces in the ceiling and the removal control recommended we pull down the ceiling which is just thin wood paneling, in order to remove the feces, and take away a place for them to hide in the future. After reading your website we are concerned about having my husband do this work. I'm pregnant an we have a small child in the house as well and don't want to be stirring up potential illness or problems. Also there are a lot of electrical conduits attached to the ceiling which we are concerned about. Do you think we can do this ourselves, or do you think we should hire a professional if you recommend a pro, how do we find someone to do this work? Everyone we've found just seem to be about removal of the rats, not clean up.
Dear David- Help! Need man. However, I am a single gal of retired age -semi rural. I am about to use a cylindrical attachment for drill to cut a 2 " drywall plug out of bathroom wall. This bath was added on. The noise does not always come from the same "section" so I am about to guess and go along the wall avoiding studs and taking plugs out (under counters) until I get to him/her. Then I will put a live rodent trap up to the hole and hopefully remove it that way before it dies. Question: Does this approach make sense? If I wait for a man to come help I fear it will die in the wall.
Dear David, We had heavy rain this past spring in the Charlottesville Virginia area ( so much for the drought) and there was a huge exodus of rats and mice into all of our homes. It was so widespread that traps were sold out in a 50 mile radius. Recently I pulled the bottom cushions of a sleeper coach up to turn them and discovered large clay colored dropping ( it was almost the size of rabbit food pellets) all over the back part of the seat area. Then a mouse or rat ran out a few days later. I believe it was in the mattress for some time. They also came up from a heating vent in a little used room. I am concerned about using the heat since they are under my house in the crawl space. What kind of company could I call to remove and dispose of the mattress safely? Would I be able to use a fabric safe disinfectant to save the couch and then replace the mattress? It is a very expensive couch that I wish to keep. I had my ducts cleaned a few years ago and I wonder if that loosened them and made it easy for the rats to get in.Thank you
Charlottesville Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Rats Smart Animals?
Rats can be trained:
In studies on rats, it's been very easy to train these animals. Scientists have worked with rats to help teach them how to get through mazes, play fetch, train them to dismantle complex items to get a reward, and more.
Rats stick together:
Rats have high levels of emotional intelligence and they often communicate well with one another to warn each other of threats. In a borough of rats, each will work together to make sure that everyone can stay safe. With communications through their squeaks and noises as well as through pheromones it's possible for rats to continually relay information about the surrounding environment and work together to survive.
They have been shown to have personalities:
In observed behavior some rats are considered to be social, others are entertaining and some are fun-loving wanting to play with objects they find like toys. Each rat can have its own tendencies and display their own levels of intelligence.
Rats are social animals:
Rats live in groups and this makes them very social animals. Even though rats typically sleep 12-15 hours a day, they are social during the time that they are awake.
They can recognize each other and come when called:
Rats can be trained to recognize names, they can come when called and they can often tell more about rats and their behavior by watching them. Rats display recognition that goes far beyond what the average animal conveys.
Rats can smell and find their way into many spaces:
Rats have the power to make their way into many spaces. They are often some of the perfect creatures for making their way into your plumbing and they regularly travel through cracks and areas across the home to find food. They are tenacious creatures and they can be considered very smart when finding food.
