Rats multiply quickly. It is estimated that two healthy rats, under the right conditions, can turn into over 1,200 rats in under a year. The first step in preventing rats from taking over your Reno property is to recognize trouble early and address rats appropriately. Join us today as we look at common rats in Reno, how they behave in your yard, the challenges of trapping rats, and what works best to get rid of rats. These simple and easy-to-understand facts about rats will get you off to a good start. However, when dealing with relentless rats, more control is needed. What are relentless rats? They are rats that have found a food source, water source, or other conditions that are allowing them to thrive on your property. When these conditions are hard to control, contact Celtic Pest Control for effective rat pest control in Reno. We can arrest your rat infestation and help you prevent future infestations. We also provide solutions to prevent rat infestations before they begin. Jump to our contact page for assistance. If you want to do it yourself by learning ways to keep rats away, read on.
What Do Rats Look Like?
In general, rats are stocky rodents that look similar to mice. The differences between rats and mice are many. Physically, rats have smaller ears, thicker tails, and rounded snouts, and they are larger than mice by quite a bit. Rats are also different animals entirely. A rat cannot mate with a mouse, nor would it want to mate with a mouse. In fact, rats tend to eat mice. You aren't likely to find rats and mice infesting a structure together.
Rats don't just differ from mice; they differ from each other as well. Different rats behave in different ways. Here are the two most common types of rats in Reno and how they differ in appearance and behavior.
Roof Rats: These are tree-climbing rats. When they scale a house, they get into an attic space like it is a hole in a tree. Once inside, they tend to stay. For this reason, roof rats are often called house rats. It isn't good to have roof rats stay in your attic because they chew on wires, damage stored items, and rip up insulation. If you see a black rat on your property, you have roof rats.
Norway Rats: These are ground-dwelling rodents. They like to create burrows underneath objects that are piled on the ground. When they get into your home, they'll likely enter by way of low entry points, such as gaps around pipes or wire conduits. Once inside, they may create a nest in a wall void, but there is a greater chance that they'll live in a ground burrow outside and go in and out of your home. Since they often go in and out of structures, it is sometimes possible to address a Norway rat by sealing exterior entry points and blocking access. You may also have an impact on these rats if you remove objects from your yard so that they won't have the inclination to live on your property. If you see a brown rat on your property, that is a Norway rat.
These are the two kinds of rats you're up against in Reno. Keep in mind that these are adaptable creatures and may act in uncharacteristic ways, if needed. On rare occasions, roof rats have been found digging in the ground to get into structures, and Norway rats have been seen running along rooflines, but in general, they stick to what they prefer.
The Diseases Spread By Rats
It isn't good to let rats take over your Reno property because they bring problems with them, and these problems increase as the rat population increases. Here are some of the many ways a rat can accidentally cause trouble.
- Rats cause stomach ailments and are linked to salmonella and E. coli outbreaks. The reason they spread these diseases is that they commonly get into dumpsters and pick up disease-causing microorganisms.
- Rats spread parasitic worms. They pick these up in dumpsters as well.
- Rats spread a few human pathogens which they acquire from contact with animal or human feces.
- Rats spread Hantavirus, which can cause Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. This is spread through contact with infected rat droppings.
- Leptospirosis is spread by contact with rat urine. It causes flu-like symptoms and is sometimes dangerous.
- Rat-bite fever (RBF). While rare, rats can attack and bite. Norway rats are more prone to do this as they are larger than roof rats. In most cases, rats will act aggressively to let you know that they're annoyed with you, and they will try to drive you away. The reason they are so bold with humans is that they're domestic rodents. They are used to us, and they've learned that humans will run away when a rat acts aggressively. It is our fault they do this. It is a learned behavior. If a rat bites you, it is possible to get rat-bite fever.
- Rats carry ticks and fleas, which have the ability to transmit diseases to people. Ticks are the worst. Diseases spread by ticks are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, bartonellosis, Lyme disease, and many more.
The more rats you have on your property, the greater the risk of disease, particularly if you're continually cleaning up infested areas. Always wear protective clothing and a respirator when dealing with contaminated areas or rats' nests.
Why Won't Traps Get Rid Of Rats?
Traps are the most common method Reno residents use to control rats. Unfortunately, traps typically fail to get rid of rats. There are many reasons why traps fail. Here are a few to consider.
- Rat Traps are often deployed incorrectly. Improper traps get poor results. Improper baits get no results. Improper placement of traps gets varied results. You can fail to catch rats simply because you touched the traps with your hands and a rat smelled you on the traps you placed.
- It is hard to trap rats. These are smart animals. Rats have defensive behavior patterns that help them detect and avoid danger. They also work together to do this. If you catch a rat, other rats in your home can learn to avoid your traps. One of the worst results of DIY rat control is trap-shy rats. They are harder to deal with than rats that have no experience with traps.
- Rat traps are only one part of the solution. Even if you successfully trap rats, you're not going to arrest an infestation with traps. You'll only cull the population of rats in your home. New rats will come in to replenish the number of rats inside your home. You need to address entry points and apply other methods to monitor the success of your control strategy.
- If you seal every potential entry point in your exterior and set your mind to trapping the rats inside your property, you may still fail to get rid of all the rats. They don't just come in from the outside, rats can appear inside your home—as if by magic. We're just kidding. Rats mate with other rats and produce more rats; they don't have to get into your home from the outside. They can emerge out of a momma rat, grow inside your home, mate with other rats, and continue to infest your home. In many cases, rat treatments fail because rats reproduce faster than they are captured by the traps.
Rat control is a mixed bag. You may succeed in trapping them, or you may find yourself on a long and frustrating journey of disappointment. At worst, you can make the rats in your home harder to control. We don't know what your results will be. There are many factors involved.
What's The Best Way To Get Rid Of Rats?
If you want good results, get someone with training and experience to handle your rat control. A licensed pest management professional handles rodent problems all the time and is trained in field-tested strategies that are known to work. Pest control is a results-based industry, and your pest control service provider lives on word-of-mouth and positive reviews. If professionals were not effective at controlling rodents, we'd be unemployed. Fortunately, we get results. When rats start to cause trouble, reach out to a licensed pest control service provider first. Doing so may save you time, frustration, and money.
Are you in Reno? If so, you're in our service area. Let Celtic Pest Control get rid of your rats. We apply exclusions to block access and keep rats out. We evaluate your property and inform you of conducive conditions. We systematically apply control methods to remove rats and evaluate the control strategy to ensure no rats remain. It is a scientific process. Our technicians combine their knowledge and experience with natural problem-solving skills. You won't have to wonder if you still have rats. Reach out to us today for service. We're here to help.
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