Household : How to prevent having rats in your home?

* Keep food in food in rodent proof containers.

* Cover holes/gaps in walls and around pipes.

* Fix a bristle strip to the bottom of doors. This can be bought at your local DIY store.

* Use thin wire mesh to cover ventilation holes.

* Place wire balloons (less than £2 from builders’ merchants) in the top of drain pipes.

* Fit cone guards to the bottom of drain pipes to prevent them from crawling up.

* Dispose of rubbish and clear up spillages.

* Don’t leave food lying around either inside or outside your home.

* Clear up fallen fruit from trees and leftover bird food in your garden.

* If you regularly find litter around your home from local shops, call your local council to arrange for them to clear it up.

* Stack wood 18 inches off the ground.

* Make sure birdhouses and trays are out of reach.

* Keep garbage lids closed.

* When planting bushes make sure they’re at least 3 feet from your house. Short, tidy vegetation in your garden exposes rats to predators (in fact, encouraging predators, particularly cats, may provide additional protection).

* Keep yards and alleys clean.

* Don’t compost any animal products (fish, meat, cheese or butter).

Despite good standards of hygiene and proofing, infestations sometimes occur. When this happens it’s important to act fast, since the longer you leave it, the greater and more costly your problem becomes – a pair of rats can start a colony that produces up to 800 babies a year.

If you decide to tackle the problem yourself, first identify where the rats are living, feeding and drinking, as well as the routes they take between these areas. Look for holes, burrows, droppings and footprints. Find out how they’re getting into your home by blocking any holes with newspaper (or similar) and coming back a day later to see which holes have been re-opened. You can then permanently block these access points.

The following options will help you tackle the problem:

Chemicals for rat removal

Be aware that this method involves rodenticides/ poisons which are also toxic to humans and animals. Take care to read the product label before use and follow the label instructions. Another concern with this option is that the rats may die in hard to reach areas of your home, preventing you from disposing of them.

Traps for rat removal

These come in various sizes and forms, such as glue traps. They’re environmentally friendly, widely available and effective if placed in the right locations. The drawbacks are that this method can be cruel to the rodent and you may have to kill it yourself once it’s caught. You will also need to dispose of the rat.

Electronic rat removal

This is a non-toxic way of killing rats. They are attracted to the unit using peanut butter placed inside the trap – a footplate is depressed once they enter which triggers an electric volt. The trap is designed so that there’s no need to touch a dead body, you simply empty the trap into a bin.

For more humane solutions, there are the following options:

Cage Traps for rat removal

The device captures the rats for release elsewhere. The drawback is that the rats could become a problem in another home – beware the saying: ‘What goes around comes around’!

Electromagnetic & Ultrasonic Devices for rat removal

Combined electromagnetic and ultrasonic technology penetrates walls, ceilings and floors where rats are harbouring to drive them out. These are simply plugged into a wall socket; the sound emitted is only heard by the rodents, it will not affect your pets.

For an outdoor deterrent, a Repeller can be used.

It has a motion detector which when triggered by movement emits a powerful burst of ultrasound, harmlessly scaring the rats away. This device may give your pets a slight scare however.

While there are many options to help you rid your property of rats, be aware that rats are not highly inquisitive and trapping requires expertise. Electromagnetic devices are not always effective and rats are becoming immune to weaker DIY products. If you’ve tried to tackle the infestation yourself without success, or if you simply don’t want to take care of the problem yourself, contact a professional pest controller.

Source: www.homeserve.com