If your home was riddled with rats, would you be none the wiser? Would your home end up being infested by this contaminated species scurrying around your worldly belongings, without your having a clue?
Fear not. A lot of people are not aware of how to identify signs of this particular pest, and that’s what empirepestcontrol.co.uk is here for!
So, first of all, rats are a common pest. They are also incredibly intelligent and tend to breed and hide away in dry places. They can also cause extreme damage to household and office equipment, along with electricals.
They are initially attracted to damp places where leftover food is a given, so proper care must be taken when disposing of food waste. Once they realise that they can regularly feed from a particular area, they will visit it often. Not only this, but rats can survive a long time without food as it increases their life span, so technically, feeding them is killing them.
Roof rats prefer to live up to their name and tend to live within attics and walls. Not only this, but some rats can invade the cellar too.
A female rat becomes fertile at an average of around four months old and can breed litters consisting of up to around eight offspring, per litter. They breed rapidly because they can mate with around 500 different males, 15 times a year, within a six-hour receptive period. Therefore, numbers in rat colonies are pretty vast and difficult to control.
Rats generally make scurrying noises as they scratch or gnaw at things, such as flooring and wood, for example. Listen out for sounds from attics, floorboards, basements, walls, trees, etc.
Visually, always look out for damaged wires and cables, pipes, wooden items and plastics. They also tend to leave an oily type of substance from their fur when trying to fit into a confined space.
Rats have a tendency to gnaw at things to file down their teeth, which grow at an alarming rate of about 5 inches a year. Seeing such marks can be a sure sign of an infestation.
Rat droppings are another common sign of rats, but you should note that they can also consume their own faeces as a form of nutrition. Rats excrete around 40 times a day.
If a rat is seen during the day, this is usually a sign that there is a large infestation of them nearby.
Don’t forget, they carry a number of diseases, and if a rat is infected, even its urine and excrement is contaminated. The diseases transmitted by rats can be life threatening to human beings.
Handy tip: flushing a rat down the toilet won’t drown it as they can survive in water. It will only use the same route to regain entry.
So, if you feel or suspect you many have a rat infestation in or around your property, then get the experts in and give Empire Pest Control a call today to see how we can help.
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