How to Get Rid of Rats from Roofs and Ceilings Without Poison

Rats make a way where there seems to be no way. They are the rodents that can enter places you never thought they could, and multiply fast if conditions are favourable. Good food supply and cozy places are perfect for rats to inhabit, yes that includes your home sweet home. A rat-infested home is never an ideal condition to live in. It causes many life-threatening diseases like the plague which can spread quickly.

The places around which rats mostly tend to inhabit are holes and crevices on the walls and ceiling. They also enter from any luring gaps found in the roof and walls that have been left unrepaired. They usually choose places of water leakage as they do need an easy water source to survive. So, make sure there are no leakages on your property and all the gaps in your roof are closed.

Having rodents around isn’t just harmful to your health but can damage your property to a great extent as well. Rats have a gnawing habit of biting and chewing at everything. They like to dig holes, chew on cable wires and clothes, and grind their teeth onto just about any material, and thus end up destroying things that make up the places they inhabit. In the long run, such an infestation can cause high-cost damage to the walls, roofs, woodwork, and wiring of your property, if the infestation is left uncontrolled. Rats cutting through cable wiring is one of the major reasons that cause fires in houses. The exposed wire can cause sparks to start a fire. This can prove to be quite dangerous.

Rats need high temperatures to survive and multiply, hence they are found close to human settlements and usually search for entry points into houses once the winter starts to set in. They cannot bear low temperatures. Sometimes their entry points can be sewage or the toilet pipes that open into bathrooms but are left uncovered.

Pet waste is another reason why rats find a way into your home. It is good to make sure your dogs are well-trained and habituated not to dirty the yard or pet houses. Pet fecal matter is sure to invite rats on it as gross as that may sound. Try not to leave water and food for pets uncovered for long periods to prevent rats in your home

Plants are a great source of easy food supply for rats. Be it your tomato plant or the pumpkin patch, it’s a treat for these animals. They will guest and nest in your home around these plants without much of a hindrance and soon you will be looking for ways to get rid of them.

Knowing one’s enemy is a great way to attack them. Now that we know what is attracting those pesky rodents into your home, there are things that we can fix like the gaping hole in the roof or the leaking pipe but we cannot just stop having our favourite plants adorning the yard or be on vigil for uncovered trash cans forever. We will now discuss other ways to get your property rodent-proof without much of a hassle.

How to Get Rid of Rats in The Walls

You will know you have a rat in the wall when you can see a palm-sized hole. These holes are usually a pathway that often leads to food or water sources the rats are accessing, including the pantry, cupboards, or the skirting areas near the pet room area. Smaller holes may also indicate a rat as they can reduce their size by ¾ to enter and exit places.

You may hear scratching and scurrying sounds behind the walls along with rat droppings and urine stench. Rat droppings are usually large and lead to a place where rats are residing, it is one of the easiest ways to spot them. These are two signs that definitely need investigation for rat infestation.

• Find access points for rats that are making it easy for them to enter your home and permanently close and repair them. This is a control measure that takes care of the root cause of the problem.
• Set up rat baits with a good rat trap.
• Identify points below the doors and if there are large spaces install door sweeps.
• Use roofing cement for sealing small holes and cracks, and sweeps for closing gaps under doors.
• When it comes to large holes you may use a metal lathe for filling and cement for covering.
• Make sure you do not have damp walls.
• Fix any pipe leakages of plumbing that runs into a wall.
• Leaving rat poison around is never a good choice if you have pets and kids around.
• Call pest control if the problem persists to completely get rid of rats in the wall.

How to Get Rid of Rats from Ceilings

Roof cavities are ideal environments for a rat. You will be able to hear rat noise which quietens down when you walk and talk but resumes again. You will get scratching sounds from your attic and it starts and stops at regular intervals.

Roof rats are good climbers and nest high up. They climb up trees and beams, travel along powerlines, climb rough surfaces, and if there are any open areas to squeeze through, they get into your roof and nest in your attic.

All rats can show aggression when they feel threatened. They may bite or chase you. A bite from a roof rat can transmit disease to you, including rat-bite fever which is spread to humans through a bite or scratch from a rat. Symptoms of rat-bite fever occur within a few days to a few weeks. Sometimes the bite or scratch is already healed when symptoms begin. Symptoms include rashes, vomiting, headache, fever, and muscle and joint pain.

The first step in getting rid of rats is to find out where they live on the roof. Rats are nocturnal creatures that are more active at night. After completing their nocturnal activities, rats return to their daytime nests and stay quiet to avoid predators.

Rats in the ceiling can be a little hard to get rid of. You can use repellents. Spread peppermint oil, cloves, black pepper, and cayenne pepper around the outside of your home and near all the entrances to your ceiling to keep rodents at bay. Pepper irritates a rat’s sensitive nose, and it will steer clear of it.

A newer technology to kill rats is by using electronic traps. This can be considered a more humane and nontoxic way to get rid of rats. The traps use a high-voltage current shock to kill the rat. They are indoor traps with a few advantages like being reusable and easily disposable. It comes with a light sensor to indicate a kill, and safe to use around kids and pets.

Ultrasonic repellents work by producing non-repetitive, high-frequency sound waves that prevent rodents from entering your home. The sound feels terrible for rodents but do not interfere with your life or other pets like dogs and fish.

Here are some practical ways to prevent roof rats from entering your home.

• Fill any large crevices and crack them with caulk.
• Cover roof vents and attic turbine ventilators with screens or a mesh.
• Cover the chimney with a cap.
• Look for gaps and block entryways under sinks, near washers, dryers, dishwashers & water heaters.
• Always shut doors when exiting your home.
• Make sure your window shutters are not loosened or have faulty bolts.

Minimal landscaping and garden maintenance can reduce instances of roof rats entering your home. For example, make sure the branches of trees surrounding your house are trimmed at least 3 feet away to prevent easy access. Keeping palm trees trimmed and taking down vines or shrubs growing against or near the home while thinning out bushes discourage rats from taking cover near or within the home.

You can also prevent rats from climbing onto vertical surfaces by installing sheet metal bands onto your walls. The rodent guards should be up to 12 to 18 inches wide and 36 inches above the floor level. They are installed to make the surface slippery and prevent rodents from climbing up the rough-surfaced walls.

Rats avoid lights. Lights make them uncomfortable because they are nocturnal creatures. Many pest control companies sell harsh flashlights that are designed to keep away rats.

After experimenting with all these various tried and tested methods to keep rats away from your home and you are still finding it hard to control the infestation, it’s definitely time to call the local pest control. Pest extermination services are professionals who are trusted, experienced, and dedicated to getting rid of house pests by using various strategies. These services make sure your problem is solved once in for all and also offer maintenance services to keep a close tab on rat infestation.