Rat Prevention Tips: Especially Valuable for Homes Near Water
Do you live near a water source, for example, a lake, pond, river or creek? These areas can be especially favorable for rats, making your home a prime target.
Rat Prevention by Making Your Home “Rat Unfriendly”
Attack the problem with a three-fold strategy: Create rat prevention barriers, eliminate their food sources and repel them with odors they hate.
Rat Prevention Barriers
If the little critters are finding a way into your home – either under your floor or in your walls, you’ll need to seal off all entry points. Fill every crack, hole, and possible point of access into your house: around the exterior, on the roof, at the crawlspace/attic, and in the foundation. You can have this done professionally, or you can invest some time and do it yourself. Fill small holes with steel wool, which the rodents won’t chew through. Larger openings can be mended with hardware cloth and filler. Repair any damage to vents, and fit them with a screen.
Rat Prevention by Eliminating Food Sources
You don’t want to do anything that might draw their attention. Namely, food or hiding spots. So make sure your garbage cans and compost bins are on lockdown. Put away any pet food or birdseed that might be available. And finally, trim back or remove any foliage that sits alongside or hangs out over the house.
Rat Prevention with Odors They Hate
There are a few different natural products reputed to repel rodents. For a homemade solution, try sachets of Balsam Fir, a spray made from peppermint oil or wintergreen oil diluted in water, a spray made from equal parts ammonia and vinegar, or a solution made from 1 gallon water + 1/2 cup dish detergent + 1 tablespoon tabasco sauce. You can also plant peppermint and sage around the yard, which will help to ward off the rodents.
From Rat Prevention to Rat Removal
What if you discover rats have already gained a foothold in your home? It’s time to move from rat prevention to rat removal. Here are a couple approaches:
Rat Prevention with an Ultrasonic/Electromagnetic Device
Somewhere between a repellant and a removal system, these unique instruments emit a very high-frequency sound wave which is imperceptible to humans or non-pest animals, like pets. The sound is supposedly unbearable to rodents, and is reported to keep them away as long as the device is operating.
Rat Prevention with Box Traps
Trap them, then release them in the wilderness.
There are a number of no-kill rodent traps on the market, and this is the solution that has worked so well for us. SO well! These traps are awesome and easy to use and of course, cruelty-free! We used this product in both the “chipmunk, rat, and weasel” size (for the rats) as well as the “mouse” size (for the baby rats and mice).
Credits: Natural And Cruelty-Free Pest Control: Rats And Mice | Bonzai …
Rat Prevention: A Less “Hands-On” Method
The “hands on” method of rat prevention and control may work for some. But what if you simply don’t want to get up close and comfortable with rodents? Most people dislike them, fear them and want to keep their distance. Caging them, approaching a cage holding an angry wild rat, lifting it, placing it in your car, taking it for a ride to the wilderness, then opening the cage to let the angry caged rat out may be a bit much for many people.
No problem. Simply call ApolloX Pest Control. We’ll quickly eliminate your rat problem and discover the source, so it won’t happen again.
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