Jackson County, Kansas City Rat Control Situation:
My mother has a medium size varment running around and we have put snap traps out only for it to get away with the peanut butter. waste of good peanut butter! The strange thing is it's eating the philadrium plant taking leaves off. not touching lucky bamboo in water ot the amarilys bad spelling. can you tell me why? Anyway, I've got a dozen traps baited with peanut butter on the obvious trails up there. My question is: should I put traps on top of the insulation (I've got loose blown insulation), on the joists (which aren't quite wide enough), move the insulation out of the way between the joists and put the trap on the ceiling drywall, or something else? I kind of did a mix for this first run, and I guess I'll figure it out eventually through trial and error, but I'd welcome any advice and any other tips would be greatly appericated. gail
I read the articles on your web site. Back in August, I had a new roof, soffit, eavesthrough done. Everything appears fine, the company did a great job, no complaints. About 2 weeks ago, we stated to hear scratching noises in the attic between 2 - 4 am. The noises are in the light to medium range, it does not seems to be a large animal such as a racoon. So, I have no idea what is up there, but I obviously have to deal with it. I walked around the house and up on the roof to see if I could find any entrances. I could not find any. Would you have any idea on what animal would be up there at this time of year. I live in Ontario Canada, about 30 miles west of Toronto. I'm going to start with setting mouse traps. Any advice/suggestions would be helpful.
Kansas City Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Are The Mating Habits Of The Black Rat And Norway Rat?
Black Rat
The ship rats have a polygamous mating framework, where a single male mates with various females. As a rule, the prevailing male is a successful breeder. These rats mate from March to November. The development or conception period goes on for 21 - 29 days, yielding 3 - 5 litters of 1 - 16 young (with a normal or average of 7) every year. Children of this species are brought into the world altricial. Their eyes open just at 15 days old, while hairs show up before the end of the nursing period. The young ones are weaned, and become independent at 3 - 4 months of age.
Norway Rat
Norway rats generally build homes in below-ground burrows or at ground level. Homes might be fixed with shredded paper, fabric, or different stringy materials. Litters of 6 to 12 young ones are brought into the world 21 to 23 days after conception. Baby rats are stripped, and their eyes are shut; however, they develop quickly. They can eat solid food at 2 1/2 to 3 weeks. They become independent at around 3 weeks to about a month and arrive at reproductive maturity at 3 months old, sometimes as early as 8 weeks. Female Norway Rats may come into heat every 4 or 5 days, and they may even mate a day after a litter is conceived. The average female rat has 4 to 6 litters per year and may effectively wean at least 20 offspring every year.
