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
How Far And High Can A Rat Jump?
Jumping is a major part of many animals' survival instincts including rats. But in the case of these small rodents, they have a special way of using this particular survival instinct to their best advantage. One of the most common rats around, which is the brown rat, is known to be able to jump over four feet horizontally or in a downward slope and leap vertically to about 77 centimeters without hurting itself. This clearly shows how high rats can jump and how well they can suspend themselves in the air.
The jumping performance of rats depends mainly on their species because some rats are big while others have lighter bodies which tend to support agile movements. For instance, black rats with lean bodies are known to be able to leap over five feet. While brown rats with large body frames find it quite difficult to leap but do well at jumping downwards.
Another reason why some rats jump better than others is mainly because of their better survival instincts and hunting abilities. Rats in the wild are better at jumping than those in the suburban and urban areas. Therefore, you shouldn't expect the rats in your home to jump or leap that high.
Rats are naturally silent animals and will prefer to move around unnoticed. But in some cases, they make use of their jumping skills. One of the special cases in which they use their jumping skills is when they see a possible threat or a predator. They often use this to propel their speed and get away as soon as they can. Their speed and swift body movements are one of the ways they can stay alive and avoid been eaten by a predator.
