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
Where Outside Should I Relocate A Trapped Rat After I Have Sealed The House?
For many homeowners, getting to know that the rats in their homes are finally trapped will come as a big relief. But what to do afterward is usually another challenging phase they will have to face to make sure their rat removal process is finished.
Have you also caught a rat in your home and you are bothered about where you should relocate the rat after you have sealed all their possible entry holes into your home? When it comes to relocating rats, you have to think through the best way to get it done. But first, you have to figure out the best place to relocate it.
A fact about rats is that they are accustomed to their environment and only have a slim chance of surviving in any new environment they are being introduced. Whichever place you choose to relocate the rat you caught, you need to make sure the place is far away from your home to prevent the rat from finding its way back to your property.
Your choice of where to relocate the rat should also depend on the availability of possible shelter and food sources. If the environment you choose to relocate the rat has these factors in place, its chances of survival will increase. While making your choice of where to relocate the rat, you need to also understand the fact that relocating it within a populated area automatically puts other homes close to where it was released at risk. This simply means that you have to choose a remote area that still has the potentials of providing some food and shelter for the rat.
After finding a place to relocate the rat, you need to go back home and disinfect your home properly. The best way to do this is to hire a professional wildlife agent to help you with this process.