Lucas County, Toledo Rat Control Situation:
Hi David- Thank you very much for your site. It has been extremely helpful. I caught my first and I hope only rat tonight (I know that's doubtful) due to your trapping advice. That said, I need advice on how to deal with rats burrowing into dirt basements. I have a half basement with a dirt crawl space and a narrow dirt trench around the perimeter for drainage. We found a rat a week ago and saw it has burrowed two holes outside down into the basement. Obviously it opened it up after we filled it in. Short of getting a new foundation I have no clue what to do. The best advice I have found was to put hardware paper down but that would be difficult in the crawl space. I spoke with a professional trapper in Toledo OH and he said there wasn't much I could do about them getting in other than keeping the traps set. We have lived here 8 years and never have seen a rat before. Mice yes but we have worked hard to close up the holes but clearly this is a different ball game. We are in a rural area and there are no dumpsters and the neighbors are clean etc. So I do not think it's a matter of cleanliness. Any advice you could give would be more than appreciated. And again, thank you for your site!!
I have sent a picture of the droppings I found, is it from a rat? I have set 2 traps in my attic and rat poison in saucers some of which has been eaten, but still have the rat or rats. I don't know what to do next buy some more poison? as I've run out. I did not want to pay a pest control company as I think normally they just use poison anyway, but if I cant get rid of them will have to. Shall I put the traps where the droppings were seen. This is terrible I can hear it or them at night in the attic, and would appreciate your advice.
Hi David! Thanks for your site and all of the useful info. I searched for the following for days, and still have nothing. How long do diseases remain "alive" in rat feces ? I have evidence of rat nesting in my outdoor storage shed that I first noticed about 6 months ago. I plugged the point of entry with steel wool and have not seen any activity since. I plan to clean the disturbed area and discard the damaged things. My question is, considering the age of the feces, is it and the contaminated area still potentially toxic or just ugly dirty !?
Toledo Rat Control Tip of The Week
Will A Rat And Her Babies Nest In An Attic?
If you have a possible rat infestation in your home, chances are that rats and her babies are nesting in your attic. These rodents have a special liking for dark places with small holes where they can reproduce and there is no better place to do that in your home than your attic.
Unlike other parts of every home, attics are places with little to no source of food. So you might be wondering why they would go all the way there just to stay. Once the rats in your home decide to move into your attic, their primary objective is to go and give birth to their babies. With their short gestation period of just 22 to 28 days, you will be having an average of 10 babies from just a single mother. This shows how rapid rats can breed in your attic when allowed to.
Having realized this, you need to get rid of the rats in your attic whenever you seek out to remove other animals nesting there too. Apart from breeding in your attic, rats are very destructive. Within just a short time, they can wreak havoc in your attic by creating cavities in and around your attic.
To remove the rats and her babies nesting in your attic, all you have to do is search your attic carefully. Although, this can be a very difficult task because rats are good at creating hideouts when they want to nest. As a result of this, you might need to consider other removal methods such as the use of lethal traps, rat poisons, and sticky traps which are often inhumane methods.
If you are not too comfortable with the use of these methods, the best thing you can do is hire a wildlife removal expert to help you get rid of the rat and her nest of babies.
