Dauphin County, Harrisburg Rat Control Situation:
David, I found your website very thorough and educational, especially when researching how to handle the rats in my walls/attic. I do have a question though. How do you install steel mesh barriers in the crawl space with the dirt? Won't they dig and try to get under the mesh? Unfortunately, I do not have a husband and need to try to resolve this issue myself so want to do it "right the first time". Any help you can give is appreciated.
Hi David, I found your website "Rats In The Attic" very interesting. I live in a 2-story house. My bedroom is on the second floor, and I get awaken many times at night by the sound of a rodent chewing in the ceiling, but there is no activity there during the day. I could not find any place the rodent could get in there, even from the attic. I liked your idea of setting a trap in the attic to lure this rodent from the ceiling space, and would like to get your advice. Do you have any suggestions on how I could figure out by the sound alone if the rodent is a mouse, a rat, or a squirrel - so I would set an appropriate trap? Please let me know the size of the trap and what bait should I use for this rodent. Thank you.
I have Rats in my Garage and have been using a Rat Bait plus I have a pest control company come out but the Rats do not like HIS bait but seems to be ok with the Home Depot products. What do you charge to ‘take care' of these pasty rats? I just dumped my 2nd dead rat in the trash can for this week!
What if there is scratching at 8:30 in the morning as well as around almost 11 at night on inconsistent days? Is it most likely a rat? The scratching noises arent small mouse ones . I put the fireplace on ( which i just read not to do) and deetermined it isn't in the fireplace because the scratching continued after the fireplace was on for a couple minutes. What could this be ? And outside in our very small backyard... Where are some possible entry points? Would the entry point most likely be where the rat is scratching or if the scratching is in he back yard walls the rat could have come from all the way in the front if the house (should i be looking all around the exterior if he house?)
Harrisburg Rat Control Tip of The Week
Norway Rat Biology
The Norway rat is typically nocturnal. It is a good swimmer; however, unlike the related black rat, it is a poor climber. Norway rats burrow well, and regularly uncover broad tunnel systems.
Rats are equipped for creating ultrasonic vocalizations, both as grown-ups and babies. They may likewise transmit short, high frequency, socially-prompted vocalization during interaction with different rats or animals. This call most takes after a trilling sound but is undetectable to human ears. Rats can discernibly be heard through calls sounding like squeaks when they are in trouble.
These rats are omnivores. This implies they can eat both plants and animals. As predators, rats are opportunistic.
The Norway rat can breed consistently if the conditions are reasonable, and a female can deliver up to twelve litters in a year. The gestation period is just 21 days, and litters can number up to fourteen, albeit smaller litters are common. In this way, the rat population can increase rapidly. Rats have a lifespan of around three years, yet regularly live less than one year.
Norway rats live in enormous hierarchical groups, either in tunnels or subsurface places, such as sewers and basements. When food is hard to come by, the rats lower in the social order are the first to die. If a large portion of a rat populace is eliminated from a zone, the rest will expand their reproductive rate, and rapidly reestablish the old populace level. This makes it imperative to have a plan to get rid of the entire rat population on your property if an infestation occurs.
