Muscogee County, Columbus Rat Control Situation:
Hello David. We live in Georgia in a double-wide mobile home, & are having a problem with rats underneath in our insulation. A few years ago, my daughter lived in our mobile, & when we moved back in, we discovered that, because of her habits of leaving food & garbage around, our house was terribly infested with roaches, & that we also had rats in the house. After trying lots of roach traps & sprays, we still had roaches, & finally got rid of them with boric acid. Now we turned our attention to the rats. My husband came home with poison & snap traps, but because of fear for my pets, & also not wanting to kill them because I keep pet rats, I bought a humane trap. Well, we caught a couple of babies, but because I tried to transfer them to another container so I could catch more before trying to release them, they escaped, & then they became too leary of the trap, so we caught no more. Then I bought an electronic zapper, which does kill them quickly, but only one at a time, but it seemed to have gotten them out of the house, that & cleaning up food messes. Now we are having a problem again. I have them in a small travel trailer, & also in the insulation under our mobile home. They must also be in the walls because I found droppings coming out of the crack between my tub & shower wall. Since there are many openings in the skirting, it is easy for them to come & go, & even if we were to fix the skirting, I'm sure they would find a way in. It is very difficult to go under the mobile because it is not very high, & you have to snake crawl most of it, & a lot of the insulation is torn down. Another problem is money. In these difficult times, money is very scarce, so we don't have hundreds of dollars to pay a pro. Treating this problem in a mobile home is a lot different then treating an attic. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can handle this problem?
Columbus Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can Rats Make Chirping Noises?
Rats are nocturnal animals; they avoid brightly lit places at all costs and prefer damp, dark places out of sight. But because of their great agility and incredible dexterity, they can fit into any place and their presence will be almost imperceptible, due to the low sound frequency they emit.
Rats Communicate
Although they obviously cannot talk, rats have the ability to communicate through pheromones, which are chemical substances secreted by living beings; they use these to warn other rats about any danger. Also, they use vocalizations (almost imperceptible sounds), to associate with pain, discomfort, or uneasiness.
They have other sounds in a higher ultrasonic frequency to identify well-being. It is said that there are specific interactions using a shriek; sexual activities, communication between mother and pup, or situations where the aggressiveness of other rats can be identified.
So Are Rats' Sounds Really Imperceptible?
Their sound is almost imperceptible to the human ear, but among them, this form of communication is very powerful. Their senses of smell, touch, and hearing are highly developed and this is what allows them to walk so boldly through the night.
But if we pay attention and are close enough, we can perhaps hear their gnawing, prowling, and even fighting movements. Just keep in mind that if you are close enough to perceive their screeching, it is because the rat feels in danger and these animals, unlike mice, can attack!
Can This Squeak Affect The Human Ear?
These sounds could not affect in any way your ear; but it may affect our well-being, as their sound can attract more and more rats over time, and this can become a real headache.
Surely you don't want to have a family of rats hanging around your house, your kitchen, or your restaurant. The best thing to do is get rid of rats as soon as you realize they are present in your property.
