If you hear constant scurrying overhead or scratching in your walls, there may be lots of rats living in your Cedar Hill home with you. Since they can carry disease and cause massive damage, you should call in a professional Cedar Hill pest control company, such as ProActive Pest Services, to get rid of them.
Habits And Behaviors Of Common Rats
There are three different types of rats that live in the Cedar Hill area and commonly move into people’s homes: roof rats, white-throated wood rats, and cotton rats. All rats share certain characteristics and habits.
For example, you may wonder, “How many babies do rats have?” The answer might surprise you: rats can have 40 babies a year and are able to bear young as early as ten weeks old, so you can see how a colony in your house could quickly grow out of control.
All rats constantly gnaw because their teeth can grow up to nine inches a year. They’ll chew on your furniture, walls, floors, baseboards, counters, cupboards, doors, and door jambs. Unfortunately, they can also chew on your pipes and electrical wires, causing water or natural gas leaks or severe fire hazards.
Why Rats Around Your Home Can Be Dangerous
In addition to all the property damage they cause, rats are dangerous to have in your house because of all the diseases rats carry.
These include:
- Leptospirosis
- Rat-bite fever
- Tularemia
- Salmonellosis
All four of these diseases have the potential to be fatal, especially in young children or the elderly. Rats can also infect pets who may come into contact with their droppings or urine. It’s important to use disposable gloves and paper towels when you clean up after rats and to wash your hands thoroughly after you’re done.
How To Remove Factors That Attract Rats To Your Home
The best way to get rid of Cedar Hill rats in the house is to never let them inside in the first place. Rats want the same things people want: shelter, food, and water. You need to remove access to those three things from your yard to keep rats away from your home in the first place.
Clean up yard debris to remove convenient places for rats to nest. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves. Clean out your flower beds of any clutter and prune your shrubs so they’re at least two feet away from your house walls. Move your firewood 20 feet away from your house and stack it on a frame so it’s a foot off the ground. These steps take away shelter opportunities for rats. Deterring rats from nesting near your home lessens the chances they will venture inside.
To take away food sources, first, get rid of bird feeders. If you have to feed your pet outside, make sure to bring their bowls in at night. Cover trash cans with tight-fitting lids and clean up any dropped fruit or nuts from trees as often as possible. Put ¼ or ½ inch of hardware cloth around your garden to a height of two feet or more.
To remove water sources for rats, take your pets’ water bowl inside at dusk. Remove any bird baths from your yard. Fix any leaky faucets or malfunctioning sprinklers that may be a source of standing water, and reroute your downspouts away from your house with splash stones or downspout extenders.
The Safe And Effective Way To Get Rid Of Rats
If you want to know how to get rid of these Cedar Hill pests safely and effectively, you need to call a professional pest control company such as ProActive Pest Services. We use a 48-point pest inspection checklist before implementing our R.A.T.S.S. protocol to redirect rats, agitate them, so they’ll leave your home, trap the ones we can, seal your house up tight, and sanitize any previously infested areas, so you don’t expose yourself to any unsafe dust from droppings or urine.
At ProActive Pest Services, we don’t want to just sell you rat removal services. We want to sell you the peace of mind to know that we’re working diligently to “Protect What’s Important.” Reach out today to schedule an appointment and to learn more about our home control services in Cedar Hill.
