What Attracts Rats to a House?
Rats can enter even the cleanest homes, especially in Houston. Houston is one of America's largest cities, and rats are an inescapable part of city living.
Several properties in Houston actively attract rats, which, in turn, brings rats to other homes in the area. Right now, there are more than 3,700 property standards violations citywide.
Fortunately, you can control your property and look for ways to discourage rats.
#1) Food Sources
Rats come into a home in search of food first and foremost. The most likely culprits for a rat problem are pet food, birdseed, compost piles, and garbage.
Try to feed your pets at the same time every day so you can pick up unused food and seal it away. Keep pet food in a locked storage container. Auto feeders are convenient, but they do attract rodents.
If you feed the birds, keep bird feeders well away from the home. You should put bird food in a sealed container, too.
Look to human food. Keep compost in a bin or box. Keep trash can lids affixed to their cans. Wipe up spills and crumbs.
#2) Water Sources
You want to keep your pet watered all day long, so there's no picking up pet water bowls throughout the day. Fortunately, pet water bowls aren't usually the culprit when rats come to call.
Instead, rats like to drink their water from hidden sources, like leaky pipes. If your water bill starts to skyrocket, you might have a little rat drinking fountain somewhere in your walls.
Rats also like sources of standing water that might be in your yard. Keep bird baths clear of the home and address areas of your yard where standing water likes to gather.
#3) Places to Hide
Yards that are full of tall grass and mulch tend to attract rats. Inside, piles of clutter provide ample locations for rats to hide and scurry about.
They like any place where humans don't go very often, too, so you'll often find rats in the attic or crawl spaces. An attic looks like the ideal nesting place for a rat: it's warm, dry, and free from predators.
To discourage rats, you'll need to keep your home's areas as clean and well-maintained as possible.
#4) Entry Points
Rats can squeeze into the smallest crack in your foundation or the slightest gap in your soffit and fascia. They can contort their bodies until they can slip through openings the size of a quarter.
It takes a thorough inspection and reliable exclusion methods to help keep rats out of your home.
Have you got rats?
We can help you eliminate all the existing rats in your home while finding and blocking all the entry points that might let more inside.
Our methods are humane, so they're safe for children and pets. We work fast to help minimize the damage that rats can do to your home.
Call Elite Wildlife today if you need rodent control services in Houston, TX.
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
Do You Have Rats or Mice? How to Tell Which Critter Has Invaded Your Houston, TX Home
Houston residents often ask us whether they have rats or mice in their homes. The idea is that rats are a lot more dangerous than mice.
There are ways to tell whether you have a rat problem or a mouse problem. Here are four signs we look at.
#1) Droppings
Rat droppings are nearly an inch long. You'll tend to find them along walls, in corners, in ductwork, and your attic. You might also find them near food sources, like your pet's food bowls.
Mouse droppings are a lot smaller than rat droppings. You'll find them in many of the same places.
You can also look at the shape of the droppings. Rat droppings have blunt ends, whereas mouse droppings have pointed ends.
#3) Noise
Lots of scratching and scurrying indicates the presence of rats. "Quiet as a mouse" isn't just a saying. They really are a lot quieter!
#2) Damage
Rats do far more damage to your home than mice simply because they have larger bodies and stronger teeth. If you see bitemarks on wood, metal, and drywall, there's a good chance you have a rat problem.
Mice will typically stick to the cardboard. Rats will eat cardboard too.
In addition, rats will leave "rat runs," greasy streak marks on the walls that show where they've passed.
#4) Behavior
Mice come out during the daytime. Rats tend to come out at night.
Rats are typically more cautious but may grow bold as their swarm increases in size. We've seen houses where they start sunning themselves on exterior window sills like cats or wander up to stare challenges at homeowners who weren't fast enough to correct the problem.
Rats are more intelligent than mice. They avoid bait and traps like pros.
Yet mice catch on eventually: once they see a mouse get caught in a trap, they start avoiding them, too.
Does the difference matter?
Not really.
Both rats and mice carry serious diseases, and you don't even have to come face-to-face with one to be at risk. Once they start leaving droppings in your ductwork, there's a good chance you'll start breathing in particles of whatever disease they carry. Once that happens, it's only a matter of time before you get sick.
Both rats and mice like to tear up insulation and chew on wiring, so your home becomes less energy efficient and has more fire risk.
Both rats and mice attract snakes who want to prey on them.
In short, either type of rodent is a problem, and either should send you to call us for rodent control services. We offer fast, humane rat control and mouse removal that returns your clean, safe home to its former, rodent-free condition.
Call us to get help today.
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
What do Animals in the Attic Sound Like?
Do you hear thumps and bumps in your attic?
While you might be in denial—nobody ever wants to think they have a wildlife problem—sounds in your attic almost always mean some creature has moved in.
Here's how to tell what you might be dealing with.
Heavy Footsteps
If it sounds like someone is walking around up there, then there's a good chance you have a raccoon, especially if you hear the sounds at dusk and during the morning. Raccoons will leave their attic nests at twilight to go foraging, then return in the morning to sleep.
In the spring, you might hear fighting and chattering. Those would be baby raccoons. As cute as a baby anything happens to be, they'll soon grow into big raccoons, worsening your wildlife problem.
Rolling Sounds
Does it sound like someone is rolling and bouncing marbles across your ceiling all day?
Those aren't marbles. They're nuts. You're hearing squirrels rolling nuts for storage. Hearing marbles in your walls? They're throwing nuts into the wall as well. Squirrels will hide nuts anywhere!
Nuts in your wall are a massive problem because squirrels occasionally go after their stash and get stuck. They'll then die, releasing a horrific smell that is difficult to remove.
Flapping Wings, Banging, and Squeaking
You may think you're playing host to a family of birds. Chances are, you're hearing bats, especially if the noises quiet down at night. During the evening, bats are out hunting.
Of course, birds like human attics as much as any other animal. If you hear fluttering and cheeping, then a Momma bird might have decided your attic looked like the perfect place to raise her baby birds.
Chewing, Scratching, and Squeaking
You probably hear rodents, and they could either be rats or mice. Either species chews and scratches incessantly.
Usually, you'll hear rodent sounds at night.
You don't have to do guesswork!
Any noise in your attic is probably a bad sign. You don't have to try to figure out the specific animal.
Just call us. We'll inspect your attic, determine what might be living up there, and help you chase those critters away for good.
Running and Pouncing
A stray cat might have moved into your attic. A cat tenant is highly likely if you have rats or mice up there, as they will make the perfect prey.
Cats would almost be welcome, except their urine is so potent that it's like toxic waste. Sooner or later, the smell will overwhelm the house. They are not as polite about their bathroom habits as their domesticated counterparts and will absolutely pee all over your attic floor.
Plus, one cat will not get rid of an entire rodent swarm. Any time you have a predator species hanging out in your home, you can bet there are plenty of prey animals, too.
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
How Rats Make You Sick
Many believe that rats can't make them sick unless they are bitten, scratched, or come into direct contact with rat droppings.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Rats in the home can make you ill even if you never see one face-to-face.
The Most Common Rodent-Born Illness
Hantavirus, or HPS, is the most common disease you'll find when rats and mice are in the home. Breathing in the virus is the most common means of infection.
Symptoms include fatigue and fever. You should watch out for muscle aches in the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders. These symptoms are often, but not always, followed by headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, and diarrhea.
Eventually, you'll have trouble breathing because your lungs will fill with fluid, which can be fatal: HPS has a mortality rate of 38%. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, you should get to a doctor ASAP!
Cleaning Up After Rats
After we help you remove rodents from your home, we will typically recommend companies to help you clean up the mess. That's because it's not all that safe for y you to clean up after rats yourself.
If you decide to handle the cleanup on your own, it's imperative to wear a mask and rubber gloves. Spray urine and droppings with a disinfectant. Get them soaking wet so particles can't go airborne, then let them soak for five minutes.
Wipe the area with a paper towel and then go over it with another disinfectant.
Wash your hands after completing the job. Never vacuum up droppings, as vacuuming will put all those particles right into the air.
You'll use a similar process if you find a dead rat. Soak the body with disinfectant or a mixture of bleach and water. Place the body in a plastic bag, seal it, put it in a second bag, close it, and throw it into a trash can. Empty the trash can as soon as possible.
Stay Safe and Get Help Fast
Rats carry up to 26 serious diseases. If you suspect they're in your home, you need to have them removed fast.
Contact Elite Wildlife to get help today.
The Most Common Rodent-Born Illness
Hantavirus, or HPS, is the most common disease you'll find when rats and mice are in the home. Breathing in the virus is the most common means of infection.
Symptoms include fatigue and fever. You should watch out for muscle aches in the thighs, hips, back, and shoulders. These symptoms are often, but not always, followed by headaches, dizziness, chills, nausea, and diarrhea.
Eventually, you'll have trouble breathing because your lungs will fill with fluid, which can be fatal: HPS has a mortality rate of 38%. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, you should get to a doctor ASAP!
REQUEST A FREE INSPECTION
Our goal is to take time to evaluate each customers situation and customize proven results to solve it. If you are looking for a professional solution for your Squirrel Removal needs, please contact us today.
Can House Rats Hurt You?
People have been dealing with rat infestations as long as there have been cities. Rats enjoy living close to where the people are.
Continue readingCan the Right Insulation Stop a Rat Problem?
There are several insulation brands that claim to be rodent-resistant. Both foam insulations and cellulose insulation both say that they are rat-proof, but sadly it isn't so. There is no such thing as an insulation which actively repels or prevents rats.
Even insulation that contains boric acid just can't get the job done. The poison in these insulations just isn't potent enough to actually kill rats...and poisoning a rat population comes with its own problems. Ask anyone who has ever had a dead animal of any kind trapped behind their walls. The smell eventually turns a home unlivable!
The fact is that your attic is an ideal place for rats. It's warm. It's dry. Insulation makes ideal nesting materials.
Decent Insulation Choices
Obviously you've got to insulate your attic with something, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with choosing an insulation that doesn't make rats quite as happy as the pink stuff. They love the pink stuff (fiberglass insulation).
Instead, consider loose-fill cellulose insulation. Thick, dense, clumpy, and dry, it packs small areas tight. Cellulose is made of wood. Rats can certainly chew it, but it's not that useful for them to chew. It does not make for a sturdy, warm nest which means rats tend to ignore it.
If you want an insulation that rats don't particularly like the smell of, hemp insulation works. While it takes a license for Texas growers to plant and harvest industrial hemp, it is legal to build with in our state. Hemp insulation is eco-friendly, effective, and moisture-resistant. The taste is a little bit bitter for them, they don't like the smell, and it's often just more trouble for them than its worth.
We certainly wouldn't dissuade you from choosing an insulation that is less attractive to rats and less likely to be damaged by them. We just want to reiterate that there's no insulation choice you can make that will keep rats out of your attic. For that, other steps need to be taken.
What's Truly Effective at Deterring Rats and Mice?
The first step that's effective is seeing to sanitation around your home. Feed your pets at a specific time and take up their food when they're done. Make sure trash cans around your property are properly sealed off and secured. If you feed birds, use a feeder basket and reduce the amount of food you're using. You're aiming to get just enough food to feed the birds during the day. If any food is left over at night, you're overfilling those feeders.
Clean up "hidden" areas where food tends to congregate too, such as beneath refrigerators or behind stoves.
Keeping your lawn mowed, trimmed, and raked can really help too, since this provides rats with fewer places to hide.
If you already have rodents in your house we need to find and block off all their entry points, then trap them to get the ones that are in your house out of your house for good. If you've been lucky enough to avoid them thus far, getting a pest control specialist to seal up entry points now can keep you lucky in the future.
Get Help from Elite Wildlife
Rats in the attic aren't just a health and safety risk. They're a fire hazard too. When those little teeth start finding their way into exposed wiring your home could be in real trouble.
Recognizing the early warning signs of a rodent problem can be a big help. But you don't have to guess. If you think you might have critters, reach out to Elite Wildlife to get help today.
