Roof Rat

Controlling Roof-rat

Roof rats are pretty elusive creatures. They make their abode in warmer places, and are mostly found in habitats with human population. They also prefer trees like pines and palm trees. In areas with houses and buildings, they are usually found in roofs and false ceilings and in wall cavities as well. They live and borrow close to agricultural fields, and also around areas with water bodies, like ponds, streams and rivers.

At Mega Pest Control, we strive to provide you with pest free home and surroundings. We are experts in dealing with capturing and disposing this elusive rodent, the Roof rat.

How do you know if your place is infested by the Roof rat?

When you are in doubt if you have an infestation of roof rats, below are the pointers based on which you can confirm your suspicion:

• Rat tracks: These pests can be identified easily by the tracks of their hind feet and their tail. However, since they live in vegetation or in your attic, it is difficult to follow their tracks till the area of their nest.
• Gnaw marks on surfaces: If you find holes in your attic that are tow inches or more in diameter, you may be sure that the cause is roof rats. The holes also display rough edges where the rats have gnawed at the area. Commonly, they gnaw at wood, but do not be surprised if they gnaw at your electrical wiring and food packets.
• Urine stains: The stains of dried urine of these rats appear in fluorescence. You may see streaks of water marks or scattered drops under ultra violet lighting.
• Droppings: The droppings are identified by size, shape and color. They are generally spindle shaped, half an inch in length, black in color and have pointed ends.
• Sightings: These creatures being nocturnal are hard to find during the day time. However, if you catch sight of them during the day, it may mean that there may be large numbers of them around.
• Sounds: These are spectacularly agile creatures and make audible noise. You may hear them scratching at things during the night and be alerted to their presence.

Harm caused by Roof rats:

They consume human food and animal feed, and cause damage to electrical wires by gnawing at them. They eat the fruits from gardens, and cause ecological damage in any area they inhabit. They cause damage to the availability of nutrients in the soil, and decrease the probability of germination.

These rats carry a lot of pathogens, thereby transmitting several diseases to humans. They are the cause of Rat bite fever, Plague, Murine typhus, Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, etc. These diseases and the food poisoning caused by the roof rats could be lethal.

How to get rid of these rats:

Since they are generally in roof tops (attics), and in the wider areas of vegetation, they are difficult to trace and catch.

Common methods to prevent infestation of these rodents and to control them are:

• Trapping: Using mechanical devices in your surroundings and trapping the rodent. Once the rodent is caught in the trap, it dies and you have to dispose it of safely. Safe disposal is needed to ensure that you do not spread infections.
• Baiting: This is a method when you attract the rodents with food items consisting of rodenticides and poisons. They are attracted to the smell of the food item and once they consume it, they die. There might be conditions to meet such as keeping water supplies shut off so that the effect of poison does not wear off if they happen to drink any water.

However, for any individual, it is a tough job to inspect, put methods to kill rodents in place and dispose the dead creatures. Further, roof rats are proven to be secretive and elusive creatures.

In case you find any of the signs indicating the presence of these rodents inside your house or in the surrounding areas, it is advisable to call our pest control services.

Our skilled people at Vancouver and Abbotsford would do a thorough inspection and eliminate these pests from your home in a safe manner.