Rodents will always be present in households that are not, well shall we say, too hygienic. If you do not want pests in your house, a clean house is where you can start. All pests, including rats and mice, are always on the lookout for food; food is the main reason they take residence in our houses. A warm, nice shelter would be useless to them if there is no food around; even as they do not have the cognitive skills of humans, they do have enough sense to know that living near a food source is the most important thing. If you think rodents have infested your house, though, you can always call the local exterminator management in North Carolina, Go-Forth Home Services.
Rodents are not only one of the biggest nuisance pests in North Carolina, but they are also among the biggest disease transmitters that we have; this makes them very dangerous to have around the house.
What’s more, is that these rats are highly intelligent creatures. They have incredible memories; rat poisons often only work for some time, but when they get smart to it, they learn how to avoid it altogether. To battle rats, you have to outsmart them.
Rats As Pests
Rats can be such a nuisance because of their ability to cause damage to property. They have this pesky habit of chewing through plastic, wood, and cardboard. Rats have ever-growing incisors which makes them always looking for something to chew on. Chewing stops these incisors from growing. They also gnaw on books, papers, and clothes. Food contamination is also possible via their urine, droppings, and saliva.
Aside from being nuisance pests, they are also disease carriers and can transmit diseases to humans. Among these are hantavirus, leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, and the plague.
Rats are known to swim up in sewer pipes and into toilets. Rats are very difficult to trap because they are highly intelligent and also have a great memory. Because of this, they become wary of unfamiliar objects that are set in their paths and avoid them in the future.
The Role Of Good Housekeeping
Pest activity will be reduced with some good hygiene. Rodents do need three things to survive, and these things are what they always look for in our homes. These are food, shelter, and water. If you keep these in mind, you can avoid pests altogether.
Rats do not need clean, fresh food. They make do with whatever food scraps we leave on the table, on the floor, or wherever the food crumbs are. They would even look for food you threw away in your trash cans and garbage bins. These food sources encourage rats to stay in your homes. Make sure to wipe off food spills, drink spills, and food crumbs. Clean stoves, tabletops, and kitchen sinks. Keep your food in sealed containers. Make sure also that your trash cans and garbage bins are well covered, out of the reach of rats. Do not wait for the next day to clean up your mess. By that time, it would have been too late, and the rats may have attacked your home already.
Leaking pipes and faucets provide enough water and moisture for rats. Repairing leaking pipes and faucets should be a priority. Of course, you not only not give more opportunity for the rats to get some water, but you also do not waste precious water too.
If you do not want not just rats, but all pests in your home, you will have to look after your own home and make sure it is clean from the inside out.
Can Cats Repel Rats?
We have seen this play out hundreds of times: homeowners, farmers, local businesses, warehouse owners, and maybe even rural dumps, keep cats, or encourage the presence of cats, in the belief that they can hunt down, or at least, scare away the rats easily and without the need for rat poisons or traps and therefore, fewer costs. But is this true? Can cats really do the job that they were supposed to do for their masters? Or is it just a myth? One study attempted to find out. And it seemed to like cats may have to play just been playing around with their masters, instead of doing their jobs.
Researchers from Fordham University set out to investigate if rats can do just that. They set up cameras and fitted rats with a microchip to learn more about the interaction between cats and rats.
The research surprised the team. Of the hundreds of videos that they have, they only recorded three stalking events and only two kills! They have also observed that rats do become very careful when they spot a cat, and because they have great memories, they will tend to avoid that spot in the future altogether. They will also hide whenever they see a cat. It is worth noting though, that rats have this same behavior as humans. They sniff to investigate, but they avoid confrontation. Rats would just wait it out in their burrows, and when the cat is away, so they say, the rats will come back out to play.
Homeowners do say that they often see their cats dragging along a dead mouse, so they say, it must be effective. It has been observed, however, that cats can take care of business only for much smaller creatures and less toothy ones. They are more likely to capture mice and birds.
We can also safely say that cats go out to hunt because they are hungry, just like with all creatures. Well-fed cats, on the other hand, see no need to go out and hunt for food.
Pet food can even attract rats even from far away. This is why your cat and these rats might even be sharing the same plate with each other. They actually co-exist.
Setting out cats to do some hunting may pose a risk for the birds and other innocent wildlife, rather than being helpful. Aside from that, rats are truly intelligent animals, and can really elude threats once they are faced by them.
Types Of Rats
There are 2 common rats that can be found in the United States: the black rat and the brown rat.
Black Rats
They are also known as house rats, ship rats, or roof rats. Black rats have tails longer than their heads and bodies combined. They are black to light brown in colour. A typical adult is about 12.75 to 18.25 cm in length. This does not include the tail, which is 18 cm long. They weigh around 75 g to 230 g. They are agile, they like to climb roofs, and their nests are above ground. Outdoors, they live on trees. Indoors, they can be found in the attic, ceilings, walls, and even cabinets. They are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of food.
Brown Rats
They are also known as sewer rats, street rats, water rats, or wharf rats. Brown rats are slightly larger than black rats. They are more adaptable than the black rats, and where there are black rats, there probably are brown rats too. We could not say the same for the black rats, however. The length of its body is about 28 cm long. It weighs from 140 g to 500 g, depending on the subspecies. Their fur is coarse and is usually brown to dark grey in color. They are sensitive to sound. They like to nest along with building foundations, under rubbish, beneath woodpiles, and in moist areas. The brown rats are also known as sewer rats. When inside homes or buildings, they can be found living in basements or ground floors. They live wherever humans live, so basically they are found all throughout the United States.
Whatever type of rat you have in your area, they will surely cause damage to your household. Do not let this happen, If you think you already have rat infestation problems, bring in the local exterminator, Go-Forth Home Services.
Why Go-Forth Home Services?
No home or pest is the same, so there is no cookie-cutter solution. At Go-Forth Home Services, we have professional technicians who will examine your home and your lawn to evaluate your individual necessity. We will identify points of entry and make treatments as necessary. We only use state of the art equipment to keep up with these ever-evolving pests.
Our expert experience in exterminating rodents and other pests like cockroaches, wasps, weevils, mosquitoes, mice, flies, termites, ants, and spiders can really make you say goodbye to these pests in your home. You may check us on Facebook or Google us to see what our satisfied customers have to say about us.
Go-Forth Home Services has earned the trust of residents and businesses in North Carolina for more than 50 years.