Pest Control: Getting Rid of Rodents
There are over 4,000 rodent species categorized based on their anatomy similarities and differences. Overall, three major groups with over 30 families make up the total rodent population.
Common Rodent Types
The more common rodents fall into three major suborders. The suborder Sciuromorpha includes squirrels, chipmunks, marmots, woodchucks, prairie dogs, gophers, pocket mice, kangaroo rats, and beavers. The suborder Myomorpha is made up of mouse-like rodents and includes a large variety of mouse and rat species, such as hamsters, lemmings, voles, muskrats, gerbils, dormice, and jerboas. The suborder Hystricomorpha includes porcupine, capybara, nutria, agouti, cavy, mara, chinchilla, and several other species.
Commensal Rodents
Rats and mice are largely responsible for eating up or contaminating a food supply. These types of rodents are known as "commensal rodents" because they live with or in close association to humans. The most common commensal rodents are the house mouse, the Norway rat and the roof rat. These rodents spoil our food by contaminating it with feces, hair and dander. These pests are found in homes, supermarkets, and restaurants throughout the United States in addition to warehouses and food processing facilities. The prevention and control of the commensal rodent population is a large concern in many states where these pests are able to thrive.
Rodent Pest Control Options
Rodent pest control can be managed in several ways, depending on your where you live, your desire to be green and your budget. The following offers pros and cons for various pest control options.
Mechanical traps. These traps are the fastest and most reliable ways to control pest problems. The trapping of mice has several advantages including value, ease-of-use, and safety. Many home and business owners like traps because they can confirm that the pest control service they hired got them results. It also ensures that the rodents do not die in crawl spaces or basements where they are more difficult to remove. Traps used in conjunction with other green pest control methods often have the best overall results.
Despite these advantages, mechanical traps for mice and rat control may be a bit crude considering other methods today. Animal lovers may not like the cruelty aspect of the way the rodent is killed. Also, such devices placed around an active home or business can be dangerous to little children and pets.
Green Chemical Pest Control. This pest control service offers several advantages and few disadvantages. Chemical pest control is available that is made up of reduced or non-toxic products. Some pest prevention services will offer chemical repellants that include organic or natural products designed to be both effective and biodegradable. This control option is environmentally friendly. They are also less toxic and therefore are safer to have applied to your home if you have small children or pets.
Sound Repellents. Rodent repellents that use sound are considered more humane than traditional mice traps. This method uses a device that puts out an intense sound that displaces rodents, causing them to flee from your home. This option is an ideal pest control method for those with small children or other pets that need to be kept safe.
One of the only cons to the repellent is that you may have a harder time getting the rodents to permanently stay away from your home. It also does not always get the entire mouse or rat population to leave.
Traditional Pest Control Chemicals. Mouse and rat poison is still widely used because it eliminates rodents fast and effectively. The bromethalin commonly used in rodenticide causes a speedy death for the pest. Variations of this and various other chemicals are available for indoor or outdoor application.
As one would expect, the chemicals used in these rat poisons are highly deadly and should not be used if there are small children or animals that may come in contact with it. There is potential health risks associated with these chemicals touching skin or being inhaled as well.
Rat Eradication
Mainly there are three types of rats; Brown rats, House rats and Roof rats. These rats are equally harmful and carry different types of diseases. These rats carry germs and spread these germs in food. Even they can destroy the property and pollute foods too. When you look rats at your home don’t get panic, even there is no need to call rat control professional. There are too many methods for pest control and by using these methods besides rat you may prevent some extra uninvited guests too. It is easy to get rid of them without investing too much amount. Normally people think that they have problem with mice but the fact is that they should worry about rats.
Normally baby rats look like mice while they are running. So before choosing the method of eradication it is necessary to get to know that what are they, mice or rats. To assure yourself that the pest you’ve seen is rat there are some general methods through which you can easily get to know what they are actually. Try to find their droppings where they are like to cover themselves such as behind boxes, furniture and stored items as well. Length of the droppings of an adult rat can be nearly three - forth part of an inch and adult mice droppings can be only one – forth part of an inch. It may possible that the droppings you find are not recent so just check the droppings if their color are grey then it is old droppings and if their color are dark and if the droppings are pliable then it means that these droppings are new and it is time to take the eradication steps immediately.
There are different types of traps which you can use for the rat eradication, but it is only then safe if you keep those traps out of reach of kids and pets. Some spring loaded traps are available where you have to place rat’s favorite food such as raisins or peanut butter etc. for continue three to four nights and when rats become comfortable to reach there then adjust bait as directed and set them carefully. Wooden spring loaded traps are also available and these traps are baited with some sticky foods which takes effort to remove. But remember rats are very intelligent while placing traps please ensure that your hands are properly washed or it is better to wear gloves before placing trap because rats can easily recognize the human smell.
Glue traps are also available in the market where there is no bait and they are very easy to use. What you have to do is just peeled away the cover and let the adhesive to expose. The rats once come in contact with that adhesive will die normally in two to three days. But this trap is brutal method of eradication, but is the safest method too for kids and pets. Poisons are also one of the instantaneous methods same as the glue trap because poison brutally killed rats due to regular internal bleeding, and they died while searching water outside from their nest. Poison is one of the dangerous method of trapping too because if it is not placed properly and they are in reach of kids and pets then the poison may also harm them, and the person who is placing poison should make sure that he wear gloves or should wash hand with the soap properly after placing the poison.
If you are so kind hearted and you don’t want to kill rats then it is better to control rats from their first place that is let them not entering to your house. For this what you have to do is find those wholes, spaces or openings from where the rats may enter your house and then repair those gaps or cracks. Fill all those areas which are around pipes or drains. Never throw foods to your lawns or just outside of your house and never provide them shelter in trash. Remove those trashes on regular basis. Mowed weeds and grass, keep your assets less accommodating for rats, if you do all these precautions then rats may never make their home in your home.
Rat Proofing
Attention: This post is not about rat extermination, but caring for your home pet rat (yes, there are people out there that have such pets like hamsters, rats, mice, etc, lol) and this is a guest post written by one of my good friends Lary who runs a pest control guide website.
All rats love to roam and run outside from their holes or cages. What you have to do is to assign the area for them to run and play and make sure that your home is rat proofed. The rat proofing is same as child proofing, so that rats can not chew those items which are very expensive and even some of them risky for them too.
For rat proofing it is important to remove traps or poisons from your house. You have to cover all the wires because rats love to chew wires, television wires, compact disk player wires, telephone wires, speaker wires, and keyboard or mouse wires, actually any wire where they can reach. To prevent wire from the rats you may duck tape around wires because duck take is sticky and rats don’t like to touch duck tapes stick to rat’s teeth. Electrical tape are not effective here because they are not enough sticky to prevent it from rats. Even PVC tubes or vacuum tube may also use to prevent wire from the rats. Use screen to your which has no holes so that when you open your window then rat may not be able to get out.
Rats love to make hole or hide themselves in blanket which hang on the floor so take care and push that part of the blanket which spread on the floor so that you may not accidentally put your leg over your rat. Put all your medicines, pills, perfumes, lotions, soap, glue, and all other such type of material far from the reach of rats because they are curious and they each and everything where they may reach and specially those items which have some sort of smells. Always keep the toilet seat cover so that your rats didn’t jump in. Cover up all the gaps and wholes of your house so that a rat may not able to go outside of the house. To train a rat you may use spray bottle. Suppose if your rat is chewing something which you don’t want then hold him in your hand gently and push to the opposite direction and spray the water on them and said NO. By regularly doing this they get to know that when you said no then it means not to chew that thing.
Using plexi glass or cardboard blocked off those areas where you think that your rat should not go. Make specific area for rats and try to train them to move in that area only. For this training you may take use of spray bottle. By making specific area it become easy for you to clean that area and your rat will also safe from accident. Doors which are opening outside shut them immediately after using it so that no rats will run away. You may also use pepper in spray bottle water and spray that water on the curtain, carpet and also on furniture to prevent it from rat chewing. Always put your clothes out of reach from rats because rats love to make there nest and chewing up the piles of clothes. Don’t leave those items on floor which rats love to chew such as paper items, stuffed animals, clothes and toys.
Other animals such as cats and dogs may hurt your rats and your rat may also hurt hamsters and mice too. Try to put towels or small rugs under all the rat areas so rats don’t urinate on carpet. You may wash and change it whenever it is needed. Plants which you have in your home make sure that they should anti toxic, because rats love to chew plant’s leaf and even never use toxic fertilizers or plant chemicals. Never put garbage can in reach of rats because they love to jump over there and it may be possible that they hide themselves in bottom of the can and you just don’t know that they are in there. If wood trim is used in your house them it may be possible that the rats may chew them also. Remote buttons and mobile buttons are there favorite place to urinate and even to chew so always keep these things out of reach from the rats. So these are the simple steps of rat proofing
Rat Smell
While talking about rat smells, there are normally two types of smell in rats, such as: Rat urine smell, and dead rat smell. To remove pet rat’s urine smell is to provide them healthy and safe environment to live. Normally this is not a difficult task to accomplish if you are doing it thoroughly and consistently. By cleaning rats body is not sufficient to remove urine smells for this you have to regularly to keep urine odor away and save rats from illness.
There are some so easy steps to keep the urine odor of rats. It is easy to find shampoo for small animals in market and you may use it while bathing your rat. Always place rats in safe and clean location except their cage. Don’t leave dishes, toys or bedding in rate cage for long time. It is good to replace it time to time. Use warm water with peroxides to clean rate cage, and even use it outside of the cage too. Wash all the food dishes, water bottles and toys with cleanser. Before placing rate into its cage assure yourself that the rat cage are properly clean and dried, then place the bedding and toys for rat.
The dead rat smell is very awful. Starting smell of dead rat is small but as the time goes on it become stronger and stronger. So as soon as you got to know that there is some dead rat smell then immediate try to find out the place where the dead body is, it may be in sheds or in decks, it may also be at the back of furniture or it may be under the switch board. There are lots places where the rats may die you have to find it through their carcass smell. But before looking about the source of the smell take some precautions such as use rubber gloves, wear old cloth, if available then use filter face mask and also use goggles to protect your eyes.
Reasons behind the precautions are it may happen that the flies ants and worms are present on the rat’s carcass. If you find the source of the smell then your half work has been completed then what you have to do is to dispose the carcass (don’t throw it in open). Then spray a deodorant or room freshener where the carcass was so that the smell of deodorant or room freshener replaces the rat odor. Epoleon Corporation is one of the best company which are manufacturing number of deodorant .
If rats are normally disturb you by dying here and there then it is much better for you to prevent your house from the entering of rats. For this what you have to do is find those wholes, spaces or openings from where the rats may enter your house and then repair those gaps or cracks. Fill all those areas which are around pipes or drains. Never throw foods to your lawns or just outside of your house and never provide them shelter in trash. Remove those trashes on regular basis. Mowed weeds and grass, keep your assets less accommodating for rats. When rats are not able to make their house in your house then they will not die in your house and then you have not to suffer from the odor of rats.
But still if they are entering your house then it means that there are some place near to your house where rats may get shelter and food, and as per the rat’s nature they like to run out of their place and so they enter to your house for playing. And for this there are several types of traps such as spring loaded traps to use it what you have to do is just place rat’s favorite food such as raisins or peanut butter etc., for continue three to four nights and when rats become comfortable to reach there then adjust bait as directed and set them carefully. But remember rats are very intelligent so while placing traps please ensure that your hands are properly washed or it is better to wear gloves before placing trap because rats can easily recognize the human smell.
