Do you know the adverse effects of rats in the house? Are you aware of how to remove rats from your property? Have you been applying all the DIY techniques to remove rats? These are very stubborn pests, and once they enter your house, there is no chance they will leave your property sooner. A pest control company in Perth uses updated technologies and methods to eliminate rats from your home, make your place rat-free, and save all your belongings.
What Are Rats?
Medium-sized, thin-tailed rodents that originated in Australia and Asia but now are found almost everywhere in the entire world are known to be rats. Rats and mice differentiate from each other because of their longer, more prominent, and thinner bodies and their long legs. Rats can swim, and they can also keep themselves cool. They are prolific breeders and social creatures.
Features Of Rats
The features of rats are:
Size
According to reports, there are more than 60 species of rats, and they come in different sizes and shapes. They are typically 12 centimetres that are 5 inches or sometimes a bit longer. The largest rat species was discovered in the year 2009 and is known as the Bosavi woolly rat. They found it in Papua New Guinea’s rainforest. It is nearly about the size of a cat, i.e., 82 cm or 32.2 inches from its nose to the tail, and the weight of the rat is about 3.3 lbs. The smallest rat is 5 to 7 inches long. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation claims that female rats are called does, male rats are called bucks, and young rats are called kittens or pups.
Habitat
Rats can be found in nearly every country on the planet. The Australian rat is endemic to Eastern Australia, although it has now spread to every continent. The house and the brown rats are ubiquitous since they are present in every country. Warmer regions are home to house rats, whereas temperate ones are home to brown rats. They live anywhere where humans live. Many rats live in trees.
Habits
Rats live to mate and forage. Most of them are nocturnal, but the brown rat is primarily awake day and night. They stick together in groups and are known as packs. New packs of rats are formed when a female and a male go off on their own and reside in an area where a pack does not exist. Brown rats lead the most prominent male in a pack.
Diet
Rats are known to be omnivores, but they mainly prefer meat when they get it quickly. Brown and house rats usually prefer humans as their primary source of food. They will go through the trash or simply eat any kind of food that is not protected. Rats also eat by killing insects or eating grains and kill water creatures like fish, snails, mussels, reptiles, and mammals for their living.
How Do Rats Enter Houses?
Rats quickly become uninvited guests in everyone’s house if they find any kind of opportunity. They carry different diseases, but at the same time, they are responsible for causing severe damage to the property and home. The best way to keep rats away from your house is by restricting their entry into your house in the very first place. Insects and rodents can enter anyone’s home quickly through tiny openings. Are you aware that rats can squeeze themselves through a hole of diameter ¾ inch?
Many people become aware of a rat problem in their home after hearing scratching on the walls. Rats can also be found when homeowners realise that electrical pipes or wirings are damaged or chewed. Rats will also raid your pantry or kitchen if they are in large numbers. If you think that you have rats but did not come through even a single one, few signs will confirm their presence. Once you determine that there is some issue with rats in your house, it is crucial to seal all the possible entry points of rats in the first place. The five common entry points of rats are:
- Cracks In The Walls
Do a thorough inspection of the exterior of your home to find out whether there are any potential entry points for rats or not. You must fill smaller holes. Make sure to use steel wool, caulk, waterproof sealant to block all the possible entry points of rats.
- Vents
Vents are known to have enough openings for rats actually to squeeze themselves and come through. Rats can squeeze themselves through any gaps left and come inside the house. That is why you need to seal the crevices of the vents or cover the vents with metal screening securely to restrict the entry of rats.
- Gaps Around The Windows
It is effortless for rats to enter through all the tiny cracks or gaps around the windows of your house. Seal the openings and inspect for any holes present in the window screen.
- Holes In The Roof
If you get any hints of the presence of rats in your house, it is the best idea to check your roof. Rats enter your home through the small gaps in the ceilings created by the intersection of the room corner. Rats are also known for chewing the ridge cap plugs. You must immediately block any opening found in the roof with waterproof sealant.
- Chimney
Chimneys are effortless targets for rats to make a grand entry to your house for warmth and food. If you encounter even a single rat in your home, it is better to get cleaned by a professional Pest Control Perth to restrict the entry of rats. Pest control companies often install a chimney cap or grate to hinder the entry points of rats.
Damages Caused By Rats
Various damages can occur due to rats in your house. They are well-known as filthy pests transmitting various diseases caused to humans and also damages caused to homes putting the entire family in danger at a point in time. Some of the common damages made by rats are:
Chew Electrical Wires
Rats are fond of chewing. Just like any other rodent, rats have incisors that grow continuously throughout their life. This made the rats gnaw or chew on things to wear down the incisors and stop overgrowing them. The natural behaviour of a rat is hazardous when they start to chew in electrical wiring. Rats may cause electrical short-circuits and can lead to a fire.
Structural Damage
When rats start to infest your property, it can result in an actual nuisance. A single rat can cause costly structural damage to your entire house. The rat’s teeth are robust and sufficient to cut materials like concrete, steel, woods, aluminium, and plastic present in the place. They can damage almost anything just to build their nest.
Contaminate Drinks And Foods
When rats make a point to get into the kitchen pantry, they contaminate your food with their feces, urine, and hair. Eating these types of foods getting infected with the urine and feces of rats will lead to the growth of bacterial infection.
Carry Diseases To Humans
It’s not a secret anymore that rats carry diseases that have adverse effects on humans. Their feces and urine are responsible for spreading diseases. The common diseases spread by rats are rat-bite fever, leptospirosis, and Weil’s disease.
Leptospirosis is caused by the Leptospira bacteria, disseminated when food or drink is contaminated with rat urine. Streptobacillus causes rat-bite fever contracted through a scratch or bite from infected rats or by handling diseased animals and contaminating food with their urine and excrement. When a human comes into touch with rat urine, it develops Weil’s Disease. It is spread primarily by contaminated freshwater.
Carry Fleas And Ticks
Rats are dangerous to pets as well. Fleas are attracted to dogs and cats. Furthermore, pets have fleas because of the occurrence of rat infestation.
Advantages Of Hiring Professional Rat Removal Company
Everyone wants to save a few bucks when it is about eliminating pests from their property. But life can get expensive when not handled with care. There is a different craze for DIY projects nowadays, even for specialised services. But some services must be left to the professionals, and rat removal is one of them. Here are some reasons that will help to know why professional rat removal is preferred more than DIY techniques:
Costs
The crucial reason people prefer to control the growth of rats by themselves is to save money. But rats are primarily nocturnal. Therefore it becomes challenging to eradicate them without an expert’s hand. You may not find a suitable attacking method to eliminate rats at the right time.
Trying out various methods to get rid of these pesky pets thus becomes very difficult. Therefore a professional Pest Control Perth company works efficiently to eliminate rats from your house. They use the proper technique and products that you may not be aware of and end up spending a lot.
Effectiveness
You may be sure which pest is troubling you but may not be sure which method would be highly suitable to eradicate them. It’s also likely that householders are unaware of the pests’ hiding locations and the best areas to check for them. You may try to reach certain spots but fail to find anything. Sometimes you may discover rats and kill a few of them. But there is always more to professional Pest Control Perth than just setting up traps. Professionals always tend to find out first how the rats enter your house. Removing rats is a significant role they play, but finding the ideal place for the entry of rats is also crucial. Holes or structural damage usually allow the access of rats and thus results in severe rat infestations. Professional rat removal Perth does more than just eliminating the rats from the property. They figure out how it happened and make sure that rat infestation does not occur again.
Risks Of DIY
Just possible not to waste lots of money and time dealing with rats infestation, DIY techniques also possess severe health concerns. They carry a large number of diseases with them. Coming in contact with the rat’s urine and feces could lead to danger to the lives of the homeowners and the entire family.
Professionals always work in a certain way to eradicate rats easily and in no time. They have a lot of expertise in the industry, and unlike many homeowners and non-experts, they don’t try anything new when they’re approached. There are more advantages to contacting professionals for such a big problem in the house than simply relying on DIY techniques to get rid of rats.
A pest control company in Perth works for removing rats efficiently with expert advice. You can contact Xterminate Pest Control Perth anytime by visiting their official website. They use all pet and kid-friendly products to eradicate rats. Customer reviews mentioned on their website will help others know how efficiently they work to better society. They also maintain a good prevention system so that these pesky pests do not appear once again. An affordable and ideal rat removal procedure by a Pest Control Perth company attracts clients the most. They often provide customised packages for those in need, and you can request a free quote.
Check out their websites to know much more about rat removal and how their technicians work to make your property rat-free. Efficient pest control companies that provide rat removal services are reliable and easy to ensure that the clients do not face any trouble. Such pest control companies ensure that the client’s belongings and health are always in a good state.