Having rats on the interior of the house is an awful thing to deal with. These are highly destructive creatures that will wreak havoc on the interior of your walls and put you and your family at risk of getting sick. If the rats in your home are very small, it is possible that they are actually mice, but the problem still needs to be solved. Both species will cause structural damage and contaminate your living space. Call The Exterminators if you suspect an infestation on your property and a technician can identify the pest for you and provide you with a pest control solution that works.
If there are tiny rats in your home, you should first figure out if you are dealing with mice instead. Mice and rats look very similar to each other, but mice are much smaller. Mice in Ontario only grow up to about 20cm in length, while rats can reach 40cm, tails included. Rats also weigh twice as much as mice, so they make a lot more noise and their droppings are much larger. If you ever see the animals, take note of their colour. Rats usually have shaggy brown or grey fur, while mice smooth, grey or brown coats with lighter bellies. Deer mice have distinctly brown backs and white bellies. Knowing which pest you are dealing with will determine which baits and traps to use.
Rats usually get into people’s houses by burrowing through the foundation or crawling through holes in the wall. These rodents naturally build tunnels underground but will happily burrow in the insulation of the house if given an opening. Homes are much warmer than the outside, and they are within close proximity to food. Cracks in the foundation, wall vents, old sewer pipes, and gaps in the basement window frames are common entry points. Once they have established a nest in the wall, they will go in and out of the house every day in search of food.
Whether you are dealing with mice or rats, it’s important that you rodent-proof your home to help stop the infestation and prevent any more from happening. Remove sources of food from the yard, like fallen fruit, garbage, and bird seed, and clean up the interior of the house. Vacuum regularly and store food in tightly sealed containers. This will encourage the pests to consume bait. Place snap traps along the walls of infested rooms and bait stations outside, near points of entry. Seal up any holes you find on the exterior of the house to stop the animals from coming inside.
Rodents can be very difficult to get rid of and the situation will only get worse if you do not intervene. The sooner you tackle the problem, the better. The best way to get rid of rodents is to hire a professional pest removal company. Professionals have access to high quality baits that work better than the ones available in stores, and they will know how to approach the issue in the most strategic way possible. The technicians at The Exterminators are highly experienced in rat and mouse removal and know every rule in the book. Call The Exterminators today for safe, reliable, and efficient rodent removal and control.
