Ingham County, Lansing Rat Control Situation:
I was reading your site and I am trying to find a good way to keep the pack Rats out of the engine compartment of my car. I live in the Southern part of Lansing MI and it is mostly forest. I have a carport so it is open. I have to clean out a nest in my car about every two months because of a nest. I have used the traps in the common areas and have caught about 50 rats during the summer. My question to you after reading your article is the best way for me to take care of this is put a trap under the car, I have a live trap along one wall as well as one of the Victor traps. Hope you can help.
Morning David, Am I glad to check your website!! I have a rat problem in our house. These are not just rats, theyr intellects !! Trust me !! They first started with the kitchen lower cupboard, we cleared all food items from there and now they cruise around in the living room. We have set traps, blocked all holes that may be a source of entrance, we even used poison.. one night, we set the poison under the cupboard in one of the bed rooms as my husband saw a mouse run under it. In the morning both the poison tablets were away from the cupboard as if they were trying to say" Thanks but no thanks!!" They eat away the peanut butter from traps and still survive.. I'm really sick of them and the smell is even worse... using rat exterminators is expensive and we are trying to get rid of them ourselves.. the traps we have used are the old fashioned wooden traps, those plastic type boxes, and a few other similar ones, Poison as well.. nothing works.. Need your advice ASAP
Lansing Rat Control Tip of The Week
Can A Rat Hurt A Human?
Rodents are animals that do not represent a direct threat to people. Although they are intelligent, they do not harm for pleasure. Most of the time, they are just bacteria carriers, but they do not spread them with the intention of starting a pandemic. The cases in which rats have harmed children, might have been because at that moment their instinct was activated to survive. Most houses that are invaded by this urban plague is because they do not take necessary preventive measures and rats have easy access to any corner of the house.
Rats vs. people
Man is surrounded by animals that are predators, so over the years, he decided to protect himself and shelter in homes. Some animals are attracted to find refuge in these homes due to the same necessity of protection and food that humans have. Rodents and people in the same house are a bad combination because of the structural and health damage that rodents can cause.
Can a rat make me sick?
Rats are animals whose excrement, urine, and saliva can contain a great number of bacteria damaging for people's health. Among the most well-known diseases are salmonellosis, leptospirosis, and hepatitis. The most common wounds caused by rodents are bites and scratches. An open and deep wound caused by rodents that come in contact with fluid from a rat will be an open door for microorganisms to spread into the bloodstream causing systemic infections that can be severe and even cause death.
In summary, it can be said that rats can hurt humans through infections by having contact with their fluids or can accidently cause scratches and bites through measures of self-defense. On the other hand, people that have a phobia of these little animals may have psychological damage when coming in contact with them.
