Mercer County, Trenton Rat Control Situation:
David, I was looking at your website about mice/rat dropping cleanup. We bought our house from a previous owner and the house has a crawl space. The crawl space is insulated in white plastic. The crawl space has a lot of mice droppings, easy to see on the white insulation, and I would like to get them cleaned up but I'm having a difficult time finding someone in the Trenton NJ area that will cleanup the mouse droppings--many services will provide rate control but they don't do the cleanup. Any suggestions in this regard? Couple of other questions: I was thinking about cleaning it up myself but I'm concerned about the virus you can catch by doing so. The CDC has some different suggestions than what you state including: 1) They recommend not vacumming as it can cause the disease in the feces/urine to be airborne. 2) They recommend spraying with a bleech solution but you recommend using Dawn dish detergent first. How would you apply the Dawn to the feces--do you spray a dawn/water mixture first with a pump sprayer? Then, do you spray with a bleach/water mixture after the Dawn? 3) After you use the Dawn and then a bleech mixture, how should you clean it up since it will be wet--wipe up with a rag? Thanks for you help.
Trenton Rat Control Tip of The Week
Will Rats Come Out When It's Light?
Rats are living beings with a negative phototropism. Daylight often affects them, leading them to be most active when it's dark out. Most rodents are characterized by going out during evenings when there is dim light or at night.
This habit of being active at night is very useful when combined with the instinct of going unnoticed. Rats that live in underground places like sewers can suffer retinal damage when they surface in broad daylight. The discomfort to their vision does not allow them to carry out the necessary daily survival activities.
Light is an abiotic environmental factor that can have a major impact on animal behavior and physiology. Rats adapt better to darkness because it can be very comfortable. It is believed that rats have dichromatic color vision and light is often a very important environmental signal for regulating circadian cycles and reproduction cycles.
Fear Of Light Or Fear Of Death?
Rats are one of the most successful invasive species in the world, they can adapt to almost any environment. These animals perceive light as dangerous. The light rays can make rodents feel somewhat exposed to predators or even vulnerable to people who will want to exterminate them no matter what it costs.
A Messy And Damp Place Is Ideal
Abandoned buildings, homes with cracks in the walls, or sewers, often have an abundance of dark places. A home with little light is ideal for living; it is perfect for rats to make their nests without having to expose their small offspring to being eaten by other animals.
Professional exterminators often use this information about the light phobia of rats in their preventive or extermination plans. The ultimate goal is to prevent these rodents from making their dens in or near people's homes.
