Knowing that your house is infested with rats is quite worrisome and disturbing. You tend to hear scurrying and squeaking sounds at night in the attic and are concerned about the possible diseases you can contract. Also, with rats, you are concerned about food contamination and home damage. Sadly, even if you notice just one rat, there may be more of them nearby. This is the reason you need to act fast before the issue gets out of control.
Rats in your attic are a common issue for a lot of homeowners. Can you address this issue by yourself or hire a pointepest.com pest control expert? Read on to learn how to eliminate attic rats and free your home of rodents:
Signs that Rats Are in Your Attic
Confirming the presence of rats in your attic can be hard. The attic is a space that you may not regularly navigate. Also, rats are active and night and tend to stay out of people’s sight, which makes the chances of spotting them in the attic quite slim. But there are signs that tell you have an attic rat infestation. These include the following:
- Rat droppings. Often, rat droppings are 12mm long and pellet-shaped.
- Urine odor. As rats tend to urinate frequently, they leave behind a pungent smell in the area they infest. This smell is stronger the closer you are to their location.
- Noises. if there are rats in the attic, you will usually hear scratching or rustling sounds.
- Chew marks. Rats tend to chew constantly to prevent their front teeth from overgrowing. You have a rat infestation if you can find teeth marks on cardboard, furniture, and paper.
- Rub marks. The tiny feet of rats leave oily marks and tracks while they navigate your attic.
- Nests. If rats feel comfortable in the attic, they will create nests there to relax and reproduce.
You will never want to live with rats or other rodents. If you believe your home is infested with rats, contact a pest control company immediately. Rats don’t leave voluntarily unless they lose access to food and water.
How Rats Gain Entry to the Attic
Because rats can cause costly damage, you must know how they invade your attic. Effective rat control is possible if you determine how rats enter. As with a lot of rodents, rats can enter your house through a small opening. Once they are inside, they will try to invade the attic. This is because these rodents want to be close to their sources of food. Although your food is not stored in the attic, rats can find old decorations and furniture there.
In addition, rats want to protect themselves from predators such as birds and snakes. Also, the attic is hot enough to make it an ideal breeding place for rats. Rats like to be in the attic because they like enclosed spaces and the availability of cabinets and boxes they can chew and hide in. Rats can be in the attic due to the insulation. This space has all types of fluffy materials that rats can use to make escape routes.