Why Rats Like Your Home

I have been in the pest control business for approximately 27 years and have inspected thousands of structures from Single Family Residences to large Apartment complexes and commercial buildings and have noticed one fact that’s true for all of them.  Rats always head to the attic space or ceiling void, this area of the structure provides many advantages for Norway Rats and Roof Rats.

Norway Rats and Roof Rats are nocturnal and have very poor vision so they prefer dark areas and the attic and ceiling void provides this, as well as, there are no natural predators, it’s warm and the insulation found in the attic makes perfect nesting material for them to rear their young.  Rats will travel through-out the structure in the course of their waking time as they forage.

Rats may be seen in the lower levels of the structure if they discover food, if they do discover food, why would they ever leave?  But once that first rat enters the structure they will deposit feces and urine and that will leave an odor for other rats to follow, so it is important to close up all holes the size of a quarter on the exterior of the structure to keep other rats from entering, in the pest control business we call this “Rodent Proofing” or “Exclusion Work” it’s the systematic process of inspecting the exterior of a structure to identify all access and possible access points that rodents may use to enter the structure.

Proper rodent proofing materials must be used, because rodents can chew through most materials.  I have discovered concrete, hardware cloth and sheet metal are the best to use.  Once you have properly sealed all access points the rats can not enter or vacate the structure, so it is important to place rat traps in the attic space or any other areas rats have been seen.

So when you discover you have rats in your home, get a pen, paper and inspect the exterior of your home and write down all the locations so you don’t forget and then head out to your favorite hardware store and pick up the materials needed and get them rats out as quickly as possible, because they will cause a lot of damage.  Good luck, if you live in the Los Angeles area and need professional help give us a call, you can contact us at www.ratbustersusa.com

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