Saint Joseph County, South Bend Rat Control Situation:
Hey Dave I stumbled on your web site during a search for mice in the ceiling. I have a 12" tile ceiling in my entire house and a finished attic in my South Bend IN home. Unfortunately my neighbors are pigs and about to foreclose on their home and since they were living here we have a mouse problem which with previous neighbors we did not. We have a semidetached property so of course our homes are connected in the middle. I hear mice running on top of my tile ceiling mainly on our first floor where our kitchen and living rooms are and its loud. We have an awesome mouser cat but he can't get these although he stares at the ceiling often, he is obsessed with moussing! And does a wonderful job on the ones that venture out. I was told by a professional to cut some tiles out and place glue traps in the approximately 1 ½" between the tile back and the old ceiling. These neighbors will be leaving soon and I fear if no one cleans up their property inside and out my problem will get worse. I have even considered cutting random tiles out in their path and hooking a copper line to one of my gas engine tools and gassing these basterds out, the mice not the neighbors. LOL But I am sure that is not such a good idea, right? I have a feeling that all my solutions will involve removing ceiling tile and I guess I am looking for an easy way out but fear there is none. What are your thoughts?
South Bend Rat Control Tip of The Week
New York City's Rat Problem
The Norway Rat:
The majority of rats in New York City are Norway rats, otherwise known as brown rats. Brown rats typically weigh 1 pound and they can grow up to 16 inches long. A brown rat needs just 1 ounce of food and water every day to survive.
Agile Creatures:
Brown rats are known for their ability to climb through pipes and get through small spaces. Even though some of the largest brown rats can be up to 20 inches long and weigh more than 2 pounds, it's easy for them to fit through a hole that's the size of a quarter. Rats have some serious superpowers and are capable of falling up to five stories without any injury and leaping up to 4 feet for climbing.
Going Through Any Material:
Rats also have extremely strong jaw muscles and quality teeth. There are rats in New York that are capable of chewing through cinderblocks and sewer pipes.
Where Rats Live:
Most rats will rarely travel more than 600 feet away from the area that they were born. Most rats like to nest and burrow in soft ground as well as below ground to live in colonies. A rat colony is usually between 30 to 50 rats and the number of rats in a burrow or family is usually between 8 to 12. Rats stay close to their food source and they can often be found just a few hundred feet from where they go every day to be fed. Public garbage areas, alleyways, and more can be a hotbed for rats and NYC produces its own information portal on areas where rats are heavily concentrated.
Massive Population:
It's estimated that there are roughly 2,000,000 rats in New York City and this means that the rat population in New York City sits around 25% of the total number of humans.
