Essex County, Newark Rat Control Situation:
I ran across your website and was hoping to gain some professional insight. My husband and I live in Newark NJ. I believe I have a mouse(mice) in our bedroom ceiling. It has been going on for several months and will stop periodically and re-surface. There is no way to get access into our ceiling, unless you cut it open. I hear the scurrying at night and yesterday during the day(which I thought was unusual) when I took a nap. We set some traps in our garage and caught a couple. We tried to look outside around the house to see where they might be coming in, but it is impossible to tell. The house is in excellent condition and very well maintained. I want to address this before the problem gets worse. What would you recommend ? Please help !
Besides the generally it's gross reason, I did not see why or what urgency I should attack the mice in the attic problem. I see plenty of mouse poo but have no idea how long it's been there, less than a year for sure, but temperatures have been in excess of 100 here and I assumed that would chase them out to cooler areas or just bake the things. How concerned do I need to be about the vermin and how aggressive do I need to be? Mind you my attic is packed to the rafters and the heat is extreme. I hear it or them in the attic at night but haven't trapped or killed them yet. I don't see scat. I've got rat traps, mouse traps and have-a-heart traps baited with peanut butter. For two weeks they've been loaded and placed in the areas where I hear the rodents. Twice a mouse trap was sprung, but no mouse. How to proceed? Time and patience? I was wondering if something like a set of rotating emergency lights with strobes might run them out. What do you think?
Newark Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Is The Natural Diet Of The Black Rat And Norway Rat?
Black Rat
The black rat (in many cases called the ship rat) has a smooth and incredibly long tail that is longer than its head and body. Romans were the ones who brought this species to Britain. The color of the black rat fluctuates from dark to grey-brown. When compared with brown rats, these creatures have little bodies and bigger ears and eyes. Black rats are amazing climbers. They are fit for running along phone wires, utilizing their tails to adjust while moving. The species is additionally called 'rooftop rat' due to building their homes high in rooftop spaces.
Diet
Black rats are viewed as omnivores and eat a wide scope of foods, including seeds, natural products, stems, leaves, fungi, and an assortment of invertebrates and vertebrates. They are generalists, and as a result, not picky on their food choice, which is demonstrated by their propensity to benefit from any meal given to cows, pigs, chickens, felines, and dogs.
Norway Rat
The main thing to know is that, regardless of the name, the Norway rat isn't really from Norway. It is believed that the name originated from a man named John Berkenhout, a British naturalist, who concluded that the brown rats had migrated to the UK from Norway. Present-day researchers think that this type of rat actually originates from China. They showed up in the British Isles most likely transported via ships and goods.
When they got to the UK, be that as it may, they immediately multiplied and set up for business there. That is the reason they are otherwise called the common rat, the road rat, the sewer rat, or the brown-colored rat.
Diet
Norway rats will eat pretty much anything. If they get inside, they'll search in your kitchen cupboards and pantries. Specifically, the rats are looking for meat and even fish; however, they will also feast cheerfully on dry dog food. When they discover the food, they will eat and eat, glutting themselves on what they find, and if they smell food, they'll chew through plastic, lead pipes, wood, and anything else to get there.
