Pest Control To Get Rid Of Rats (Lewisville Exterminators)

Rats can also cause an outbreak of diseases. They are known for transmitting deadly diseases like leptospirosis, Lassa fever, rat-bite fever, salmonella, tularemia, and hantavirus. They contaminate foods through their droppings, urine, saliva, and vomit.

Rats invade our own private spaces because they can always find what they need there: food, water, and shelter. They will sneak into any openings they can find. Our home is a safe shelter for them too; basically it has everything they need.

Rats are not only a huge problem for homeowners in Lewisville, but also for business owners. All kinds of businesses are at risk, but none more so than those in the food and restaurant business.

Description

There are more than 60 identified species of rats, and they can be found all throughout the world. Rats are only a medium-sized type of rodent. Typically, they are at least 5 inches in length. They have tails that are as long as—if not longer than—their tails. They have striking similarities to mice, except that rats are bigger. Rats are opportunistic creatures who live near human dwellings. They reproduce quickly; rats become sexually mature at the age of six weeks and will continue to reproduce every three weeks until about a year or two. Rats are always sexually active. Female rats can mate 500 times a year. Brown rats can produce as many as 2,000 offspring every year.

Rats are nocturnal creatures, meaning they are asleep during the day. They forage for food at night. They are highly social animals, and they stick together as a group. They live in nests together, play together, and sleep cuddled next to each other. Rats do not like to be alone, they get sad without any company. When they lose a fellow rat due to death, they get depressed.

Rats are omnivores. They forage for food in places where there are humans. They will eat human food that is not sealed in containers. If there are none, they will look for food in trash cans and garbage bins. They are also known to eat insects, small birds, reptiles, fish, snails, and mussels. Some species eat seeds and vegetables.  

What Makes Rats Pests?

A lot of people are tempted to make rats their pets because of their cute features. Rats are also smart and are actually one of the few animals that can recognize their owners. Unfortunately, rats being good pets are the exception, rather than the rule. They are more classified as pests rather than pets.

Since rats are omnivores, they eat just about anything. Because of their feeding habits, they have made a number of mammals, birds, and reptiles extinct.

At home, rats can do so much damage. Because of the way they are made up - rats have incisors that are constantly growing - they need to chew on something to stop them from growing. They will gnaw on books, boxes, cardboard, furniture, walls, and worse, on wirings.  You would usually find shredded pieces of these things if you have rats at home.

More importantly, rats are carriers of several deadly diseases. Among the many diseases, they transmit either directly or indirectly include leptospirosis, rat-bite fever, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome, Salmonellosis, and the plague.

Transmission occurs in a number of ways. Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent droppings and urine is one way.  Ingesting droppings will certainly make you sick. Eating food contaminated with rat droppings, urine, saliva, and vomit will warrant you a trip to the hospital.

Rats also have a huge negative impact on businesses. Their penchant for chewing electric wirings can destroy electric equipment, which can cause downtime.  More importantly, rats are also known to be fire hazards exactly because they chew on cables. In restaurants and food manufacturing companies, if customers find out they have rat infestation problems, they would surely lose their customers.  

Types Of Rats

In the United States, there are two common types of rats: the black rat and the brown rat.

Black Rats 

Black rats are also known as house rats, ship rats, or roof rats. They come in black to light brown in color. A typical adult is about 12.75 to 18.25 cm in length and has a tail that is longer than its head and body combined. The tail is 18 cm long. They weigh around 75 to 230 grams. Black rats are agile; they climb roofs and their nests are above ground. Those who are outdoors live on trees. Inside houses, they can be found in the attic, ceilings, walls, and even cabinets. They eat a wide variety of food, including human food that is left unprotected on the table.

Brown Rats

Brown rats are also known as sewer rats, street rats, water rats, and wharf rats. In terms of size, the brown rats are slightly larger than the black rats. They are more adaptable than the black rats and can reach places that black rats reach. The length of its body is about 28 cm long and weighs from 140 grams to 500 grams. Their fur is usually brown to dark gray in color and is coarse. Brown rats are sensitive to sound. They usually set up shop near building foundations, beneath woodpiles, under rubbish, and in moist areas. When inside homes or buildings, they can be found living in basements or ground floors. They can be found not just in Lewisville, but all throughout the United States as well.

Rat Borne Diseases

Salmonella

Transmission of this disease is through eating food that is contaminated by rat droppings. Symptoms of this disease include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping.

Leptospirosis

Eating or drinking food and water contaminated with urine from infected rats and other animals can transmit leptospirosis. If left untreated, it can lead to liver failure, kidney damage, and even death. Signs and symptoms include headache, vomiting, nausea, high fever, jaundice, red eyes, rashes, and abdominal pains. As a treatment, antibiotics are prescribed. You can also be infected by wading in floodwaters and swimming pools that are contaminated by rat urine.

Rat-Bite Fever

This disease can be spread to humans after getting in contact with an infected rat and getting bitten or scratched. Transmission can also happen when you eat or drink food that is contaminated by rat feces or urine. People who keep rats as pests are at risk of getting this disease, so do people who work close to rats, like those in the laboratories. Signs and symptoms include vomiting fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, muscle pains.

The Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS)

This is a severe respiratory disease caused by a hantavirus infection that can be transmitted by breathing in dust that is contaminated with rat droppings, or by being in direct contact with rats or their droppings or urine. This can be a fatal disease. Eating food that is contaminated by rat feces, urine or saliva also puts us in danger. Symptoms are fever, muscle aches, and fatigue. 

Pest Control For Rats

Rats are dangerous to your family’s health because of the many diseases that they can transmit. They also cause huge economic damage that will put a huge dent on your wallet. This is why it is important to control their population once you see even just a single rat inside your home. Here are some tricks on how to control rats.

1. Seal cracks, crevices, and holes. These openings can be used by rats as entry points. Openings larger than ½ inch are big enough for rats to squeeze through.  

2. Place your food inside plastic sealed containers. This will keep your food out of reach for rats.  

3. Put a lid on your trash cans. Throw away your garbage regularly. These are perfect food sources for rats.

4. Practice good housekeeping by always cleaning your house.  

5. Remove clutter in your basement and attic. 

6. Use rat deterrents like baking soda and peppermint extract.  

If your rat infestation problem is too much for you to handle, then it would be best to get the best pest control company in Lewisville, Go-Forth Pest Control.

Homeowners like you will at some point face pests like rats, mosquitoes, flies, roaches, bed bugs, poisonous spiders, and other similar pests.  These pests being in your house are not just a nuisance, but can also be dangerous too. This is where Go-Forth Pest Control comes in.

At Go-Forth Pest Control, we know how to eliminate all kinds of pests while following strict regulations for your safety.  We have expert technicians who use only state of the art equipment, so you can be sure about our quality of service.