San Bernardino County, San Bernardino Rat Control Situation:
Hi. I hired a Pest Control Company in San Bernardino on Feb 14, 2012 to come out and find what was going on in my walls behind my pillows where I sleep. I mentioned it first to my neighbor and told her that it sounded like birds making a nest and this awful chirping/screeching noise at night when I went to bed. It was very hard to sleep and after speaking with her, and her telling me that it might be roof rats, I called the Pest Control. They came out and inspected the property, went in the garage, walked the perimeter of the house, went into the attic, went into the walk in basement and found no droppings anywhere. He put 6 bags of poison in the basement and 6 bags in the attic. He hope that this would get them as he told me that they eat the poison and then go out to get water and they will die. This cost me $125.00 which I felt was fair as he was here over an hour. He said he would be back in on March 5th to see what had transpired as it takes that long for the rats to feel comfortable eating the bags of poison and go out and die. While waiting this period of 3 weeks, the noise never stopped and the rats were still alive and had eaten none of the bags of poison in either the attic or basement.. I called to tell him this and he took some of the poison and put it in a hole in the roof line where the gutter is and hoped for the best. He said he would be back to put all screening on anything that looked specious on March 19 and did so. He deodorized the attic and crawl space and sealed the structure/holes vents, wherever he thought they might be getting in...............He then put 2 live traps in the basement and the attic and would be back in a week. He charged me $460.00 more for this service. One week later, March 26th he sent another man to check out the live traps.................NOT TOUCHED. He put 2 sticky traps in the garage up high so the dog wouldn't get to them. It is now April 10 and they have travelled from my bedroom wall to the office wall that backs up to my bedroom wall. I hear them in the morning and even in the early evening. It is like they are on some kind of treadmill, right above the heater vent on the bottom of the wall. It isn't as noisy as it was, but then they are in the office wall now and not above where I am sleeping. He gave me a 24 month guarantee................but, I don't know what to do as I really didn't want my walls ripped apart to get to them...............and there are no droppings anywhere. He tells me they have to go out to get water.........but he screened any holes he saw, and was on the roof also. SO HOW ARE THEY GETTING WATER?? CAN YOU HELP ME? Thanks Sandy
San Bernardino Rat Control Tip of The Week
Are Mice or Rats Easier to Trap?
Intelligence:
Mice can often be much easier to trap because they are naturally curious creatures. It often takes just one or two days to capture a mouse after setting up a mousetrap. If you're having difficulty trapping a mouse you could consider moving it to a different location. Rats can be extremely intelligent and they communicate with each other meaning that any new objects will often bring about suspicion.
Reproduction:
Rats often reproduce at a much faster rate and this can make it difficult to control a rat problem if it's been going on for a long time. Most mice have around eight litters per year with around 5 to 6 pups in each litter. Rats can have between 6 to 12 pups in their litter.
Diet:
Rats can often be ravenous eaters and often require meat or a more substantial food source in order to remain satisfied. This can often make rats very difficult to trap because they can be so fussy about their food.
Size:
Rats have a definite size advantage over mice and this often means using much larger traps and some extra measures when it comes to keeping them in a trap. Because of the extra costs of these larger traps and the need to be more careful with where you set them, the requirements to trap a rat can be considerably higher than what it takes to trap the average mouse. Most rats can reach a length of between 7-10 inches and weigh up to a pound whereas the typical house mouse maxes out around 8 inches including its tail.
Tracking:
It's often easier to track rats because they leave larger footprints and they can cause a bit more destruction with their added size and strength. This can make finding rats throughout your home a bit easier.
