Rodent control has a number of approaches, but one of the best approaches is understanding how these creatures think and what motivates them to enter your home in the first place. There are some very specific situations that lead to rats, and there are ways of preventing the rats from choosing your home. Here are some of those situations and how to control/prevent the situations and the rats.
Uninhabited Property
If you were a rat, would you choose to risk living where humans were walking around the house all day, or would you happily move into a place where no humans seem to be residing? Despite the fact that rats generally are not afraid of humans, they will still prefer the quiet, seemingly abandoned property to the human-occupied property. If you know that you are going to be away from your home for a week, two weeks, or more, make sure someone is present in the home a few days a week. It throws the rats off when they smell a human presence and hear and see people walking through the house. They are less likely to take up permanent residence in your home if someone is moving about inside.
Trash Galore
City dumps and landfills have massive issues with controlling rats because there is a ton of stuff there for the rats to eat. Houses where hoarders live also frequently experience rat infestations. A clean house where there is little trash for the rats to get to is ideal. If you have a hard time keeping a tidy house and you do not have a hoarding problem, consider hiring some help. It will deter the rats from rummaging through your home looking for "edible" trash and trash they can use for nesting materials.
A Lack of Natural Predators
Snakes, birds of prey, cats, and even dogs are a threat to rats. If snakes and birds of prey are not present near you, and you do not have at least one cat or a dog in your home, you may have rats invading instead. In fact, in homes where there are no pets, and homes that sit right next door to each other and next to homes that do have pets, the rats will choose the pet-less homes every time. That is because the rats can smell the cats and dogs (or snakes, if you keep scaly pets) and the rats will refuse to enter preferring to enter homes where these natural predators do not live. If you are noticing a rodent problem in your house, consider getting at least a cat.
For more information, contact a rodent control service in your area.
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