Polk County, Lakeland Rat Control Situation:
I'm having trouble with a rat(s?) that is constantly chewing through the wires under my hood. The car is parked outside. After the last two times, my mechanic sprayed some red stuff over everything and that has provided me with some temporary relief. I have some traps w/ poison set around now, but I still need to protect my car in the meantime. What can I do? What is the "hot spray" that you refer to on your website? I will be moving and I've been told by the homeowner of the new home that he has seen rats in the garage... I also found mouse traps under the sink... We will be replacing the carpet before moving and at that time we will try to seal any holes. He said they were kangaroo or desert rats... I'm terrified as I have a phobia about this, I need advice on how to permanently get rid of any rodents in my new home. I've used moth balls and sonar devices, I've never seen rodents were I live, we also put poison in between the walls. Is this okay? Please help!
David, My son-in-law and daughter has for the last month trying to catch a rat in their attic. This is a very smart rat, we do not want to poison the rat for we do not want it to die in the attic. We are at whits end trying to catch this rat. We have tried glue trap, electronic trap, bucket of water trap, home defense trap, wooden mouse and rat trap. He is so smart he knows how to side step all the traps.Some one has seen the rat, it is a small size rat, He roams through the garage and attic. and he chews on card boxes and eats whatever food he finds.We wonder if you can help us catch this rat, with your expertise. He or she is a nuisance and we may have more rats, if it is a she. We sincerely thank you if you can help us or try to help us. Gratefully yours, May
Lakeland Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Have Rabies?
Rats have powerful bites:
Rats can have very powerful bites and are capable of damaging the skin quickly. A rat can bite through cinderblocks to get into an area if it needs to. Rats could bite through clothing or manage to break the skin even unintentionally with a very quick bite. Handling rats with care or using heavy gloves is recommended if you have to remove one or relocate it. It is ultimately best if you avoid handling rats whenever possible.
Many people are bitten each year with low rates of infection:
Rats bite over 50,000 people in the USA each year. Rabies vaccine shots are very rarely delivered in these cases and the risk for other types of diseases that rats carry can be far greater. Going to see a doctor about a rat bite can be wise if you are starting to feel some of the secondary symptoms or it looks infected.
Rats do spread disease:
Rats do spread a series of diseases including rat-bite fever. It can be transmitted through a bite or through pets. Rabies can be a deadly disease but most of the diseases that rats pass on are only able to cause the chance for fever and infection which carry lower rates of mortality.
Other animals can be much riskier to receive bites from:
If you are bitten by other animals like raccoons, coyotes, woodchucks, or skunks, this will give you a much riskier chance of receiving something like rabies. When bitten by a rat, you should be concerned but you may not have to run to get the bite checked out with the same urgency.
The main theory of low rabies cases:
A rat would have to survive a bite from a predator in order to become a carrier of rabies. As coyotes and larger animals will be likely to kill a rat in an attack, this leads to the chance of rats not being able to spread rabies at all.
