Fairfax County, Fairfax County Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Came across your web page and thought i would ask you some rat advice. We bought our home 2 years ago and we renovated for 2 months, so no one lived here for those two months. When we moved in, maybe about a week into living here, our bedroom bathroom had a rat in the toilet. I was in there cleaning, heard water splashes in the toilet and bam a rat, after about 30 flushes it went back down and we never saw a rat around again. Today, I'm walking down my hallway, I hear splash in the hallway bathroom toilet and there I see the rat peaking its head out. I close the lid and again I flushed it about 20 times. Currently waiting for the boyfriend to get home from work to handle the rest. What is your advice? We have a 3 year old daughter who constantly is using the restroom on her own, and it makes me sad that I now feel like I have to a toilet check before we let her use it. Do we have a rat problem? Plumping problem? Thank you for your time and any advice.
Hi David, I live in Fairfax County VA. When my husband was alive we seemed to be able to control the rats (for periods of time) in our non-insulated crawl space in our ceiling. We used the rat zappers and would kill 4 or 5 in about a weeks time and have months with no scampering in and out. Now, they are back and just aren't going for the zapper (bait remains untouched). So, I read your website and will try to find trails and buy some snap traps. It is difficult crawling up there as the ceiling tiles are not that strong and I would have to remain on the beams or fall through. Before we would be able to lure and catch them close to the ceiling hatch access. No such luck now. I hear them scamper in on the living room ceiling, be quiet all day and scamper out same way coming from the opposite side of the house. In other words, they seems to run the length of the house. My husband used to try and find outside access but had no luck. I am 68 years old and some what hesitant on the ladder. I could not find wildlife removal agencies on this Island except through regular Wildlife Control type agencies and I'm not sure how knowledgeable they are. So, maybe you have some ideas or will happen to be vacationing in the area soon. Ha, ha. There are tons of macadamia nut orchards and avocado trees on this street, so, rat heaven. I would appreciate any suggestions you may have,
Hi, thanks for your helpful info on your website. Do you know how to detect where the rat urine is? Or should I spray everywhere?
Fairfax County Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are rats hibernating creatures?
Rats are nocturnal:
Rats sleep a lot even without cold conditions. The average rat will sleep between 12 to 15 hours a day and in colder conditions they will often seek warmth so that they can sleep safely for this amount of time. Because rats often walk around at night, detecting them can be somewhat difficult. Making sure that you can detect them often means checking into areas where they could nest or remaining somewhat attuned to what is going on in the night time when they are most active.
Rats breed throughout the year:
Even in the wintertime rats are continuing to breed, make their nests, and live without any issues. They don't hibernate during winter. Instead, rats will continue to breed. Most rats are able to wean a litter in about one month and leave the babies to fend for themselves after that period of time.
Rats will seek spaces to live:
Even though they don't hibernate, rats will seek warm and safe conditions. This means that in the wintertime it's likely that they will be looking for space inside your home where they can spend time sheltering throughout the winter. Spotting areas were rats can get into your home can be important to preventing an infestation.
Food gets scarce in winter:
If you are in an area where the climate gets cold this can lead many rats to find an area where they can access food much easier. Rather than getting stuck with very little food supply over several months, they can detect food that's in your home and then stay close to it.
