Attic Rat Removal West Palm Beach FL
There’s nothing more frightening than finding out your house in West Palm Beach has a rat problem. Not only is their scampering annoying when you’re trying to sleep, but they are known for spreading disease and contaminating any food they can find. No one wants to come to the realization that they have a rat or rodent infestation.
If you believe rats are in your attic, it’s critical to act right away before the problem gets worse. The rats in the attic will increase by day if left unaddressed, as they keep breeding and reproducing at will, raising the danger of infection spreading throughout your home.
To put it another way, a pair of rats can have as many as five to seven litters per year, with each litter producing eight to 12 pups. A rat may have up to 80 pups, baby rats, in a year, turning a minor infestation into a much more serious issue for homeowners. So the chances are, there is more than one rat in your attic.
If you are squeamish about killing rats, or simply want to ensure that the work has been done correctly, professional rat removal is a good option. Beyond making annoying noises in the attic, rats will chew through power lines and other electrical wires, damaged wood beams, and can damage pipe insulation and attic insulation. Beyond damaging your property structure, this could cause a huge fire hazard.
There are 3 main rats that Floridians have issues with:
Roof Rat
Roof rats are tiny, adorable, and cuddly creatures that may be adored by everybody, but you might not want to see them when they infest your home. Roof rats like digging tunnels through walls and ceilings while scurrying about at night in order for us not to notice what’s going on inside our homes! When rats chew through wires at any one location, it can start fires or cause electricity to be disrupted in that region – which is just inconvenient if nothing else. They also gnaw holes in walls and cause structural damage to them by chewing away at water pipes with their pointed teeth, resulting in leaks inside buildings where no one wants any more water damage!
Norway Rat
Norway rats have plagued humans for decades. Norway rats are the most common rat in Florida, thriving especially along the coast and canals. Because these rodents appreciate feasting on fresh meat or fish, as well as grain-based meals such as loaves of bread and cereals, areas that aren’t completely cleansed attract them. Rats are sociable creatures that enjoy living in small groups. They generally prefer these choices over an ounce of decayed food each day with just water consumption; nevertheless, if necessary, they can live quite easily. Norway rats frequently range 100–150 feet from their shelters in search of either something edible or drinkable, however, it is not uncommon for one to travel up to 500 feet.
Woodrat
While wood rats aren’t particularly adorable, some of them can be quite charming. The woodrat, which isn’t as prevalent in Florida as roof or Norway rats because they prefer to reside north where it gets chilly (can we blame them?) The wood rat might be the most cunning of all rats out there, as this is one animal that will not only eat your food and poop in your house but also steal small items. The pack rats are often found in the northern parts of Florida where they can really make a nuisance for homeowners due to their resourcefulness.
Remove Rats in the Attic Space
It’s critical to understand why rats are in your attic in the first place while determining how to get rid of them.
Roof rats are the rats running around up in your attic. Roof rats climb trees and prefer to nest in attics. Attics provide these rats with heat, protection from predators, and drinking water.
Rats, like many other creatures, will go to great lengths to reach safety. When rats discover an entrance into your house, they’ll gnaw through your property’s structure until they find a safe haven in your attic.
The rats will now live and mate in your attic, where they’ll produce lots of rat droppings (which will smell awful). The average rat produces around 40-50 tiny round pellets each day, which emit a noxious odor that lingers for weeks.
The rats in the attic will also start to destroy any personal items you have stored up there, as well as any wiring and piping that run through the attic. While rats’ teeth are tiny at birth, they never cease growing, allowing them to chew and gnaw their way through the metal, wood, lead, and other materials.
If you don’t act soon, the rats may cause significant damage to your home’s infrastructure, necessitating costly repairs and adding to your stress.
Begin With A Free Inspection
Seal Any Entry Points or Crack from Rats
Property Damage from rats.
Rats are very good at detecting small cracks on the exterior of your property, as they would be in any environment. It’s essential to plug up any entry holes that mice, rats, or other unwelcome visitors may use to get into your home.
So, you’re probably wondering how to plug those very small holes from mice and rats, especially since they can squeeze themselves into quarter-sized gaps. If rats can stick their head through a hole, they can typically force the rest of their body in. Check out the most probable sources: windows, garage, wall cracks, and gaps under the door for this one
It’s time to fill, seal, or cover any cracks or entry holes that act as entry points that you suspect might rats might use to gain access to your property once you’ve discovered them. We utilize the following materials:
- Copper Mesh
- Expansion foam
- Fitted Foam
- Hardwire Cloth
- Metal Flashing
For the greatest results, we recommend filling any tiny holes with steel wool. The use of cement, sheet metal, or anything more robust to permanently repair these larger holes is advised.
While sealing entry points may not eliminate the rats already on your property, it will at least prevent new rats from entering. If you can’t find any holes or cracks on your own, you might want to get expert help with free rat inspections to assist you to identify them.
Make Sure Trees are trimmed and bushes and ivy are maintained.
Roof rats nest above ground, out of view from predators, and use their climbing abilities to do so. If you have ivy trees near your property, make sure you keep them groomed and trim them on a regular basis to avoid attracting roof rats.
Even if there is an ivy several yards away from your home, you should consider pruning it since roof rats nest in it and are quite agile. Roof rats aren’t only known for their climbing abilities, but they may also leap up to four feet from trees to rooftops.
Rats’ balance abilities have also been praised by the University of California, which found that roof rats, in particular, have a remarkable sense of balance. They determined that if they feel the need to use branches, nearby wiring, or cables to reach your roof and into your attic, they will. Rats will go above and beyond to acquire food and shelter,
Keep firewood and heaps of debris that attract rats as far away from your home as possible.
Rats, vermin, and other noxious wildlife may use stacks of timber and trash as cover. A colony of rats is found in the shelter of the wood combined with the proximity to garbage cans, providing ideal living conditions. Also, rats use trash and debris as nesting material.
Rats will seek refuge in wood piles for a variety of reasons, one of which is that they are teeming with spiders, slugs, and other lesser creatures that form part of a rat’s diet.
It’s vital to keep rats away from your property by ensuring that there are no large stacks of wood or debris nearby that would attract insects that rats eat, as rats consider them safe refuges. Also, if you have any firewood stockpiles, you should raise them up since they may conceal a secret burrow entrance that leads into your home.
Store Food in Tightly Closed Containers and Seal Garbage
The fact is, once the rats that are in the attic learn where you store your food and pet food, it’s all over. If you believe you have an infestation of rats, safeguard your foods with rodent-proof containers to prevent rats from gaining access to them.
Rats can easily harm most of the boxes and containers that our meals are delivered in. Rats can easily chew through and ruin cardboard or flimsy plastic packaging. There’s nothing worse than opening your pantry to discover rats have chewed small entry holes through the food you just purchased.
Whether you keep your food on the counter, in the pantry, or in different cabinets throughout the kitchen, make sure it’s secure in rodent-proof containers that keep your food and pet food fresh while keeping rats away.
When it comes to garbage cans, sealing them is an additional precaution that you should take. It’s also a good idea to seal your trash can to keep rats from going through the waste inside your house after it’s safe.
To keep the awful odor in and pests out, most trashcans are currently constructed of durable material. It’s still vital, however, to make confident that the lid is securely fastened when it’s outside your home.
Here are a few ways you can make sure that your trash cans stay rodent-free:
- Try using a Garbage Lid that Screws-on the can: Rats are as clever as they are, but fortunately they can’t unscrew garbage can lid. This is an easy method to keep rats out of trash cans in your home. If you are not able to find a screw-on garbage lid, make sure your garbage cans have tight-fitting lids that keep the lids sealed shut.
- Place Heavy Objects on the garbage can lid: Do you want to keep rats out of your trash without using chemicals? Place a hefty object on the lid when it’s shut. They won’t be able to get in because they won’t be able to squeeze their way in.
- There’s always the Bungee Cord: Want to get creative to keep rats out? Another idea would be to use bungee cords to secure garbage lids. That should keep your garbage can secure and free from rats and other rodents.
The rats running inside your attic will have fewer food options if you take the extra mile to ensure that your meals and trash are secure, which will force them out over time as they search for additional food sources.
Example of a live trap set up in West Palm Beach.
Now we have to talk about rat traps
There are several different types of rat traps. Some are more humane than others. The most common traps professionals use are listed below:
- Glue Traps: Glue traps are easy to use, cheap, and easy to dispose of. But they may cause unnecessary harm to targeted and non-targeted animals and some people see them as inhumane.
- Snap Traps: A snap trap is often inexpensive and reusable. But there is a chance that you could injure yourself and the trapped rat might not die quickly or at all. The other positive is that it is chemical-free.
- Electric Traps: Electric traps are easy to set up and generally kill the rat quickly, but are generally viewed as inhumane and cruel rat trapping options. They are also not waterproof and for indoor use only.
- Bucket Traps: Bucket Traps are cheap, you can use them to trap and eliminate multiple mice, and you can make it yourself. You will want to change out the water frequently and if you have an aversion to the thought of things drowning, it could be seen as cruel and inhumane.
- Chemical Traps or Rat Poison: Chemical traps, rat poison, or rat bait, can be used on multiple rats and is very effective. Rodenticides are generally toxic to humans and their pets as well as rats, so that could pose a serious risk that you might not want to take.
- Live Traps: Live traps are the traps shown in the picture above where the rats are trapped alive so they can be released somewhere else. They are very humane but are best set up by a trained professional.
To properly inspect your attic, contact On Point Wildlife Removal for an inspection!
Hiring a pest control expert for rat or rodent control is the best way to completely get rid of your rat problems.
The most common method of eradicating rats from your attic is by consulting with a professional that specializes in the procedure. Rather than just laying traps and leaving, an expert will execute a more thorough approach to ensure that your rat infestation goes away.
- Property Inspection – Our professional will first inspect the rat damage to your house and determine the type of rodent that is infesting it. This can help them have a better understanding of what they’re up against and develop a strategy.
- Rat Trapping – The next stage is to capture the rodent, in this case, a rat, and contain it in a central place where it can be more easily dealt with. With cleverly placed baited traps, rats are lured out of your walls and into a trap. During this period, we want to maintain escape routes open so that one may flee without being harmed
- Exclusion Measures to keep more Rats from coming in – After you’ve gotten rid of the rats from your house, you will want to keep future infestations at bay. This includes infestation exclusion measures we will employ to keep rats and other unwanted visitors from getting in in the future like sealing holes. An exclusion is generally executed at the end of the rat trapping procedure to prevent extra rats from entering the home, depending on how numerous rats there were in the first place.
We recommend that you call us as soon as possible to assist you if you have a rodent infestation so we can help you nip it in the bud ASAP!
We’ve repaired hundreds of rat and rodent infestations that might have been prevented if property owners had taken care of them sooner. The longer you wait, the more difficult it is to fix the infestation.
We make sure that all of our service professionals at On Point Wildlife Removal are fully equipped with the most up-to-date tools and knowledge to handle any rat infestation, big or little at your West Palm Beach Property. We’re local to the East Florida coast, so we’re always assisting local house and business owners with their rat problems.
