Saint Louis County, St. Louis Rat Control Situation:
Hi David! I have a quick question that I'm hoping you can help me with. My husband and I are hearing noises in the attic and we noticed that the outside vent to the dryer has been pulled away from the house. We have some contraction going on in two rooms and after we put Sheetrock up, the next morning a hole was chewed where the ceiling meets the crawl space between the first and second floors. There were also rat droppings on the floor. We went out and bought snap traps (6) and set 2 in the room with the hole, one in the laundry room, 2 in the main attic, and one in the smaller attic above the room. The next morning half the traps were triggered but nothing caught. We reset all the traps and the next morning all the traps were triggered and empty. The rat had also gotten into the pantry during the night and found a bag of dog treats and tried to pull them out under the door. The reset all the traps, wrapping the trigger with gauze and coating it with peanut butter to make it harder for them to just lick it off. For three weeks now the traps have been untouched. We don't have much activity in the attic either. Last night I took some of the dog treats and put it with the peanut butter as added incentive and we finally caught one... A big one. My question is, is it likely that there are more or that we only had the one? We have two dogs inside and it boggles my mind that rats would be ballsy enough to roam the house when there are dogs around! Should I keep the traps out and see what happens or do you think we got it? Only the one trap with the rat was triggered. Thanks so much for your time, Zui in St. Louis MO
My response: If the traps were triggered with no trap, you were definitely using the wrong traps for the animal you were dealing with. So if it was definitely large rat traps that you were using, then you didn't have a rat - maybe an opossum or something. And if it was rat, then you used the wrong traps - did you you mouse traps, by chance?
St. Louis Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Surfaces Are Rats Able To Climb?
Discovering rodents on your rooftop or in your attic may surprise you. These are places that are, to some degree, difficult to reach and require some uncommon climbing capacity. For rodents, however, that isn't that difficult to manage. Rats are astonishing climbers. They can climb anything. If there is something to hold on to, they can climb it. To get to food and water and their home, they will climb anything. From trees to blocks to stone, they will climb it. This implies they can get into pretty much anything. It doesn't make a difference if it is an opening at base level or in the rooftop, they can get to it.
Extraordinary Climbers
Most rodents are good climbers. Squirrels, mice, rats, and other rodents can climb pretty much anything. It is of nothing unexpected to individuals who see them frequently; however, the degree of their climbing capacity despite everything is surprising to a few. Climbing trees, plants, and anything with a good foothold is no problem. They can snatch on and climb any of that to get to where they need to go. A lot of people expect this as they see it often in rodents like squirrels.
What It Means For You
It is impressive, however, it tends to be a real torment for homeowners. Since rodents are astounding climbers, they can get into any place. If there is an opening anyplace in your home, rodents can arrive at it. They get into these openings and make their homes in a matter of moments, causing chaos. This is why extra care is required when it comes to sealing any potential holes. Since rodents can fit through even tiny spaces, you want to limit their options.
