Bucks County, Quakertown Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, First of all, thank you for your beautiful website, absolutely great! My wife and I are looking into renting an older single family house in a rural area near Quakertown PA, actually closer to Pennsburg. However, the house has been empty for 3 years, and the attic, crawl space, and older wooden garage show a lot of rat poop and urine traces, particularly visible in the garage. The previous renters also confirmed that they had a rat problem. The house interior walls and ceilings will be re-painted and it well get new floor coverings. Pending painting and new floor coverings, the landlord had the garage power washed and, although we have not seen it yet after the power wash, this seems to have washed away (washed to where?) the rat poop, etc. The landlord is also willing to hire a professional to help get rid of the rats and seal the access holes; since the house may need to be tented for termites, the thought is that this may also kill most of the rats. My questions are: 1.Will the termite tenting in deed also kill the rats? 2.Even if most rats are caught, and/or killed during tenting, and the access holes are sealed, what are the health dangers of rat cadavers that may be under the attic insulation, or inside the walls? 3.What is the health danger of remaining rat urine and poop traces in the attic (insulation), crawl space (dirt), walls, garage wood work, yard, etc.? 4.Aside from health danger issues, how long will the smell of rat urine and poop be around, and can this smell still penetrate through newly painted walls, ceiling, and new tile/wood floor coverings into the living spaces? 5.Last, but not least, do you know anyone in the Ventura County area who has experience with the humanly removal of rats? (Catch alive and release somewhere else?). 6.Alternatively, is there anyone you could recommend in the Ventura County area to help us with this?
So last December had Taurus fuel pump replaced and yes, a nice nest to sleep when not chewing wires discovered upon dropping fuel tank. As 2001 older car and with USAA for 36 years, talked them into homeboy rewire with junk yard wire harness vs. salvage car. With rat feeders ten feet from outside condo parking,they really love my car's wires! (actually worse as 4-5 years ago spent a small fortune on recurring shorts and wires-mechanic loved me but of course would not bust the rats- $1200 later) Heck only have 100k miles on the 2001 Ford and about to retire and need some help to keep the vermints elsewhere-maybe another older Taurus 2 chew on-trained cats-stuffed giant rats nearby!!! Attice boys we have-no prob-they come in sometimes in winter-car is prob 1.
Quakertown Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Likely Is It That A Rat In The Attic Will Have A Nest Of Babies?
Rats are among the most common pest animal species that people may have to deal with around the home, and because they are quite small they can often be quite elusive little animals to deal with as well. They are quite good climbers when it comes to moving around a domestic property, so if you are worried about rats, they won?t necessarily be around ground level. Because the attic or roof space of most domestic properties is rarely used, it can often be the dark quiet place where rats can get a foothold and build a nest without being noticed by the people living beneath.
Do Rats Have A Mating Season?
Like most wild animals, rats in the wild do have a mating season, where they will normally copulate and impregnate female rats in the spring, and then the female will then give birth a few weeks later, and can then have a few litters over the summer. However, the reason for the mating season is that in rural areas there are limited food sources available during the winter months, so it is impractical for rats to mate during these months. However, over recent decades, a growing number of rats are actually giving birth throughout the year because food sources are also present throughout the year, so whatever time of the year you discover rats in the attic, you may find there are babies there too.
How Often Will Rats Give Birth?
Because of how quickly rats can go from mating to giving birth to a litter of baby rats, a female rat can often be back and ready to mate again within a few weeks from giving birth. This means that in some cases female rats can give birth to up to ten litters a year, so the population of rats from one breeding female can increase very quickly. It is also worth noting that a baby female will actually become sexually mature herself after around six weeks from birth, so the possibility for a rat population to expand very quickly where there is sufficient food is certainly there.
Dealing With Rats In The Attic
When it comes to dealing with a rat infestation, the first step is to identify where in the attic the rats are active, and while taking the appropriate precautions, look for areas where there is a buildup of rat droppings. You should then place several rat traps in these areas of the attic, along with a small amount of food as bait, and the next step is simply to watch and wait. You should remove any rat carcasses as they are caught in your traps, and then re-lay the trap with a new serving of bait, and you should then continue this process until you no longer see any signs of fresh rat activity, and when you are no longer catching any more rats. You will then need to carry out the appropriate repairs.
What To Do With A Nest Of Baby Rats
In some cases you may actually find a nest of baby rats in the attic, and if they are very young they will often be unable to look after themselves, and will ultimately die if they have to live without the support and feeding from their mother. Because of how common they are, baby rats are rarely suitable to be looked after by a wildlife rehabilitator, so in this case the most humane thing that you can do will be to kill those baby rats as humanely as possible.
