Do It Yourself Pest Control

How To Get Rid Of Rats

A few things you should know...

Rats are Dangerous! Rats in your walls and attic, start fires. They eat the insulation off the wires and the wires arc. It's commonly known that rats carry disease and their fleas go everywhere spreading the same.

History tells us that The Black Plaque killed 25 million people. The disease was carried from rats, to fleas, to people. Even now the spread of disease still takes place. There's a good chance that your rats and their fleas are carrying disease. Add to that, the exposure to their fur, dander, urine and feces. We know that when children are exposed to rodent allergens, they can develop asthma.

Outside, rats live in and under wood piles, untrimmed vines, bushes and grass, trash and garbage piles. They live in old cars, old furniture, old appliances, sheds, etc.

Inside, rats live in walls, attics, basements, crawl spaces, next to furnaces and hot water heaters, behind and under bathtubs, showers, cupboards. Anywhere boxes, paper or cloth are stored.

Food attracts rats to your neighborhood. Garbage, garbage cans with loose lids, paper and litter, cardboard, even plastic attract rats. Dog and cat droppings, compost piles, fallen fruit and ANY kind of pet food, all attract rats.

When the rats get inside the house, they eat anything we eat. Nothing is safe except the refrigerator or containers that seal tight like coolers with a latch. Remember they eat paper, plastic, cardboard. All the things our food is packaged in. Yes, even unopened packages. If they get near your food, you must through it away.

Now, Let’s Get Rid Of the Rats

We're going to assume you have done a complete cleaning as shown in the Keep It Clean section on our Pest Control page.

We will not recommend rat poison. You don't want those diseased dead bodies rotting and smelling in your walls. Who knows where else they will end up for your children and pets to find. Their disease can kill.

Spring traps work well if you follow the directions and you don't mind disposing of the dead bodies. Please, dispose properly.

We will not recommend humane traps. You risk getting bit which could be deadly and we don't think there is a proper place or way to release live diseased rats.

Ultrasonic pest repellant. Ultrasonic repellers are largely popular because we humans can't hear them and they don't require the use of poisons or traps. Their manufacturers claim their devices product ultrasonic sound so aversive to pests that it drives them away. The idea that we can just plug it in and forget it, is appealing to say the least. Some say they work and many say they don't. Try them at your own risk.

Electromagnetic pest repellant. Electromagnetic pest repelling devices claim to change the electromagnetic field of your homes wiring, and vibrate the electromagnetic field that always exists around the wiring in the walls of your home. The idea that we can just plug it in and forget it, is appealing to say the least. Some say they don't work and many say they do work.

In a study titled "Laboratory Evaluation of the Efficacy of the Pest-A-Cator/Riddex System to Exclude Wild Mice." which can be found at http://www.greenshield.com/downloads/2002-Genesis-Labs.pdf you can read in the Conclusions section...
"Overall, the results indicate that the rodent species studied here change their behavior in association with the activation and placement of the Pest-A-Cator/Riddex devices. If the same responses occur in home and office settings, the devices should have applications as part of integrated rodent management programs."

The idea that we can just plug it in and forget it,
is appealing to say the least.

No More Mice, Rats, Cockroaches.