Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach Rat Control Situation:
Hi there! I am your neighbor in West Palm Beach! We live in a historical neighborhood here and have just dicovered we had rats coming into the house and eating from some birdfood I put next to the washer (whooops! ) Prior to this I have never seen any rats and I immediately removed this food source...yuck! My landlord has hired a company to get rid of them they come and set traps but they didn't seal up the house for 3 weeks..it's been 2 more weeks and we can still hear them gnawing under the cupboards! HOW can we get them to go away? I have been calling the rat guy constantly and he says "it's a long process" but it's been a month and a half now and they seem to be getting more determined! I have removed all food and garbage from the house but I am going nuts will they give up eventually if theres no food?!? Any light you can shed on this would be great I cannot believe that the landlord paid for this IN FULL the first week now this lazy rat guy just comes once a week to set a few traps and disappears the rest of the time...I could have gone to home depot and done this!! HELP!!
David, I have enjoyed reading your articles on rat control. I found some droppings in my attic this past fall and immediately set some snap traps and bait stations. I caught one rat and they ate almost all of the bait. I thought I had the problem under control and then recently found dome droppings in another part of the attic. I have set more traps there today and they have already eaten some of the bait. There has been no other activity as far as droppings in the original area they were seen. Do rats move from one area to the next in a house? Do you have any more suggestions. I am getting 2 trees removed that hang over my roof. I am also getting a new roof in the next month. Hopefully this will help in the situation. Thanks, Mike
West Palm Beach Rat Control Tip of The Week
Do Rats Enjoy Cold Locations?
For human beings, winter means dealing with a drop in temperature, but for animals like rodents, it might mean a whole change in their metabolisms and lifestyle. Rodents prefer warm places with easy access to food. Weather change for them might be deadly, so the best way for them to survive cold locations is to find an ideal refuge.
Burrows In Your House
During summer we can find burrows anywhere in the woods or other outdoor land, but with the arrival of rain, many of these shelters are torn apart. Rodents must leave in the pursuit of a new home with food, a warm environment, and away from the wetness of the outdoors.
Rats are innate explorers and are able to enter any living area because they have a very flexible bone structure able to pass through a crack. They also have claws to climb any surface. Their appearance in homes is more common with the start of cold, snow, rain, or even cloudy days.
Just One Rat Can Cause Immense Damage
Rodents love to gnaw. It is known that their teeth never stop growing and if they stop chewing, they can die. On the other hand, it is also known that due to their capacity of chewing hard things it can open up an opportunity to get their treasure: food. Food is enough motivation to keep biting anything.
When there are rats and mice appearing all over homes, there is plenty of damage that might be hard to fix. Economic losses can be alarming and because of this, it is necessary to take preventive measures such as eliminating areas that facilitate a shelter for rodents in your home during cold and humid seasons.
If you do not only want to prevent but also exterminate, you have a great advantage during winter since rodents' reproductive capacities slow down by not having adequate conditions for pups to survive. So, if you exterminate a population, chances of regeneration are minimum.
