What To Do if There’s a Rat in Your House

No matter where you live, whether it’s a house, apartment, condo, mobile home, or anything in between, pests will always try to find their way in. They come in all shapes and sizes, but rarely will you find an infestation more destructive or stubborn than rats. These resilient rodents not only pose a threat with their chewing damage throughout an attic and home, but also can cause sanitation issues and bring potential health risks for everyone in your home.

Luckily, you’ve already taken the first step toward a rat-free home. You’ve found Hulett. In this comprehensive guide, we will train you to identify the telltale signs of rats in your home, detail the risks and solutions associated with rat removal, and offer expert advice on how to keep them away once they are gone.

Rats and Their Risks: Home and Family

Rats can wreak havoc within your home, causing structural damage that extends far beyond mere inconvenience. Their incessant gnawing can lead to compromised insulation, chewed electrical wires that can be a fire hazard, chewed water lines that can cause flooding and water damage, and even components like wooden beams and pipes. These destructive habits not only compromise the safety of your living space but also pose a serious threat to the overall value of your property. Addressing a rat infestation promptly is crucial to preventing extensive and costly repairs that may be required to restore your home.

Beyond the structural concerns, a rat infestation introduces significant health risks to you, your children, and even your pets. Rats are known carriers of various diseases, and their droppings and urine can contaminate surfaces, leading to the spread of harmful pathogens. Even if the rats themselves are not carriers, they may harbor fleas and ticks that could bring other illnesses into your household. It is important to address infestation issues right away, or preferably prevent them, because attic abatement and restoration services are very costly.

From respiratory issues to potentially severe illnesses, the health consequences of living in close quarters with rats are concerning. Children may be more vulnerable to these health risks, which is why it is vital that any rat presence in your home is quickly addressed.

How Do Rats Get Into Your Home?

Rats and mice are notorious for exploiting even the smallest entry points, such as gaps in doors, windows, roof intersections, ventilation openings, gaps around conduits, or cracks in the foundation or plumbing. To see where they’ve been, look for gnaw marks, grease marks from their fur, droppings, chewed insulation, or small holes in walls and floors. If there are many rodent entry points on the exterior of your home, it is important to have these sealed by a professional pest control company to exclude and help prevent rodents from invading.

Rodent infestations are not just a threat to homes, either. If you live in an apartment, a nearby infestation can quickly spread into your home. Rats in neighboring units can navigate the spaces between walls in search of food, water, and shelter to reproduce. They can even travel vertically, which means you can still be at risk no matter what floor you live on. If rats make their way into your apartment or condo, it is important to trap and remove them as soon as possible.

How to Safely Trap and Remove the Rats From Your Home

While other pests like termites,  ants and roaches are difficult to remove due to their large colonies and rapid rates of reproduction, rats pose another challenge due to their intelligence. Rats are careful and crafty, and they will take advantage of rarely accessed areas like the space between shelves or under appliances to hide out of sight.

This means rat trapping and removal can be a difficult and technical process that involves the handling of rodents. On top of the diseases they may carry, rats have powerful jaws they use for feeding and foraging, leading to severe bites if they feel threatened, making rodent control a risky task for the untrained. Rats are cautious creatures that will try to avoid typical store-bought traps and bait, so rather than taking the risk of injury, count on a QualityPro Certified technician from Hulett Environmental Services to get the job done right.

How Do Exterminators Get Rats Out?

When you schedule your free inspection with Hulett, you’ll have the expertise of our trained entomologist at your back as we implement our three-step rodent control approach.

1. Hulett’s comprehensive analysis. Our skilled technicians conduct a meticulous inspection to precisely determine the extent of the rat infestation. This involves identifying entry points and nesting areas within the attic and home and understanding the unique challenges presented by your home’s structure.
2. Strategic baiting and trapping: Our professional exterminators will strategically place exterior rodent bait stations around the perimeter of your home to help control the rodents surrounding the property, helping to avoid infestation. These stations are locked, weighted, tamperproof, and designed to attract rats and eliminate them without posing risks to other non-target animals or humans, keeping you and your family out of harm’s way.
3. Lasting exclusion techniques: Simply trapping and removing rats that are infesting the attic and walls is not enough. Preventing their return is equally important. Hulett’s pest experts employ our proven exclusion techniques, sealing off entry points and vulnerable areas to thwart future infestations. We will also give you personalized advice on how to keep rats away from your home in the future through proper food waste management, lawn care, and so much more.

Reliable Rodent Control From Hulett Environmental Services

Family-owned and operated from the very beginning, Hulett’s pest control specialists are a familiar face in the pest control industry, with thousands of satisfied customers who continue to recommend and return to our services.

When rats, mice, and pests of all varieties make your home their home, count on the extermination experts with over 50 years of experience to get the job done right. To take back your pest-free lifestyle today, just call Hulett!