Are you worried about the rat infestation problem in your place? Are rats or mice damaging your property and making your loved ones sick? Then, you need to take prompt action to get rid of these pests before the damage they do is irreversible. But don’t know how to get rid of rats and mice? What you need is Rat & Mouse Control.
If you’re planning to do rat control yourself, this guide will help you with the best procedure to get rid of rats & mice both.
Simple Steps to Get Rid of Rats & Mice At Home
- Identify the type of rodent and the scope of the infestation at your place.
- Use a rat trap and bait system to catch the rodent. Select the right kind of trap depending on the situation and the rodent type.
- Place traps at all the entry and exit points in your house and near the areas that rodents frequently visit.
- The trap will do its job and catch/kill the rats when they come around.
- You can use an aerosol insecticide to kill the fleas that roam around the dead rat body.
- If there is a bad smell, use an air freshener.
- Remove all the traps carefully once the job is done.
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Step 1: Identifying the type/species of rodents in your home
The step to getting rid of rats & mice is, of course, to first identify the problem scope, including the type of rodent in your place.
There are 3 species of rodents commonly found in Australia houses:
- The Norway rat (Ratus Norvegicus)
- The roof rat (Rattus Rattus)
- The house mouse ( Mus Musculus)
Norway or brown rats are the largest of the three. They are most commonly found in human environments, especially places like hotels & restaurants where food is available in plenty. They make and live in burrows. It is easy to identify them, as they have small, closely set ears, a tail that is shorter than the body length, brown & coarse fur, and a blunt nose area.
Roof or black rats are common in suburban and city households. They usually make their nests in the roof or wall cavities. They mainly eat fruits and vegetables and can climb fast. Figure-wise, they have a pointed nose, large, hairless ears, long tail, and black or brown fur.
The third kind, i.e. the house mouse is also sometimes called the ‘field mouse’ and can be found both inside the property and outside. They are small and fast and usually make their nests in walls and roof cavities. They eat all types of foods and can be responsible for contamination of food. Appearance-wise, they are small, have large hairy ears, long tail and pointed nose.
This should make it easy for you to identify the kind of rats living in your house.
Step 2: Detection
The second step is detection, i.e. to find out the places where these rats live and hide in your home. You can detect the rat problem through the common signs, which include:
- Damaged wires, furniture and other items;
- Urine stains and smells on the floor;
- Rodents fur on furniture;
- Disappearing of food;
- Squeaking sound, usually at night;
- Rat burrows in the corners, walls and roof cavities
Also Read: Why Pest Control is Necessary? Know the Importance of Pest Control
Step 3: Control
Rats & mice if not dealt with on time can cause several problems. They are mainly responsible for contaminating the food through urine, fur and faecal and can cause several diseases such as hantavirus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV), leptospirosis, Tularemia and Salmonella. In addition, they can also damage objects like wires and furniture by gnawing on them using their front teeth.
There are two common ways of getting rid of rats & mice:
- Chemical
- Non-chemical
The non-chemical methods of controlling rats & mice in your home include maintaining proper hygiene and using normal, poisonous rat traps to only catch the rats. Ensuring hygiene by maintaining cleanliness, avoiding food particles on floors, keeping food containers sealed and using covered garbage bins are some of the best ways to limit the infection spread. In addition, seal or repair damaged walls and block any open burrows in your floors using cement. Alternatively, you can use mouse traps or cages to catch the rats and then get them out of your property.
The chemical method involves the use of chemicals, mainly rat poison, to kill the rats permanently. The idea is to place poisoned rat traps in places where rats are usually found moving to lure them to eat the poison.
Precautions to follow when using traps to control rat & mice
- Make sure to keep the traps out of the reach of children and pets in your home.
- Wear gloves when handling rat traps and/or dead rats.
- Always wash the trap properly once the job is done.
Do rat control yourself only if you have some experience in it and know the right way. Otherwise, hire the services of an expert rat control technician to get rid of rats & mice in your house. Pest Control Corp provides protection against all kinds of house pests, including rats, rodents and mice. Call us to know more.