There are measures you need to do to ensure that once your home has been cleared of rodents, that a new colony does not take up residence.
Sweeping, cleaning and vacuuming your home on a regular basis ensures there are no crumbs or bits of food available. Make sure your trash is taken out regularly. When you have removed the trash from your home, make sure that it is stored in a receptacle that has a tight lid, until the trash collection is done. Regularly check the area around the trash bins to ensure that they are kept clean at all times.
Storage of items not in use, like clothes, cushions, blankets, newspapers, boxes, and other items that could attract rats and mice to find shelter and breed. Place items that are not in use in containers that cannot be gnawed. A regular check of storage areas also ensures that rodents don’t make their home.
USING TRAPS AND BAITS
To control rats indoors, it’s best to use traps. When you use rodenticides (toxic baits) in buildings, there is a chance that rats will die in inaccessible locations, for instance within cavity walls or ceilings. If this happens during the summer months, the hot weather will speed up decomposition, and the stench from a dead rat could be unbearable, and could then necessitate the need to cut a hole in the wall to remove the dead rat. Another thing, ectoparasites, for instance, fleas and mites will leave dead rats and will then infest the entire house, making life unbearable for you and your pets, if the carcass is not removed promptly.
Trapping is by far the most effective and safest method for rat control in homes, outbuildings, garages, and other structures. Snap traps can also be used continually over and over again. Another aspect is that trapping costs less than poison baits and is more labor intensive. Traps can be left in places like attics and basements indefinitely especially if rats have been a problem in the past. The cheapest option is the wooden snap trap. Next option is the plastic single kill trap; they are easier to clean and to set up. However, finding the best location for the traps is important.
Types of baits to use in a snap trap: peanut butter (which is highly attractive to rats and mice and has the advantage of not being able to be moved without setting the trap off), dried fruit, bacon, nutmeats, and kibble pet food. Some of the newer plastic snap traps come supplied with a bait that is highly attractive to rats and mice. You could fasten the bait with a piece of fine wire, or string so that the rodent will have to spring the trap to get the bait. Look for places where it’s secluded and not easily seen. You are more likely to get a rat or mouse if they are not easily seen. Look for places where you see gnawing, droppings, and damage to wood cupboards. If these places are near the food and shelter sources, then you are likely to succeed.
American Rat Control are your pest control specialists in Los Angeles, give us a call at 866-728-2878 or email us.
