Seeing a rat scurrying through your house is an unnerving sight. Aside from the damage they can cause and the health risks that they pose, perhaps the most eerie thought that can accompany a rat sighting is, “If there’s one, there are probably several more.”
A rat encounter is typically also followed by a series of panicked, rapid-fire thoughts, like, “How did it get in? Who do I call to deal with this? How do I get rid of them quickly? How do I keep them from coming back?”
Trust us — we know that feeling.
At HY-C, we manufacture nuisance wildlife exclusion solutions designed to keep out all kinds of critters, including rats and other rodents. We know wildlife. And in this guide, we want to tell you exactly how to deal with a rat infestation.
We’re going to cover what kinds of rats tend to invade homes, the entry points they exploit, how to get them out of your home, and how to keep them from coming back.
By the time you’re finished here, you’ll know exactly how to deal with your rat problem.
What Types of Rats Invade Homes?
Rats that move into homes, businesses, apartments, and other buildings are called commensal rodents. That means they like to live in close proximity to humans. In fact, they thrive in our environments, even if we preferred they didn’t.
There are two types of commensal rats that tend to get into human-occupied buildings:
- Norway rats
- Roof rats
Though they may look similar to the untrained eye, there are some key differences between both species. Knowing these differences can give you the upper hand in dealing with your rat problem.
Norway Rats
Also known as a “street rat,” a “sewer rat,” or a “brown rat,” Norway rats are the larger of the two commensal rat species. They’re characterized by their brown fur, and they are known to be great swimmers.
Norway rats like to stay low — hence their “street rat” and “sewer rat” moniker. This means when they get into buildings, they like to reside in basements, in crawl spaces, under porches, and other spots that are near to the ground.
Roof Rats
Also called a “black rat” for their dark-colored coat, roof rats are smaller and leaner than Norway rats. Their slight frame makes them spry and nimble. As a result, they tend to be excellent climbers, especially on tree bark or brick facades.
It should come as no surprise that roof rats prefer high places. Their fondness for heights coupled with their natural climbing ability means they prefer to live in attics, on roofs, and other elevated areas.
How Do Rats Invade Homes?
So, Norway rats prefer low places, and roof rats prefer high places. But just how do they get inside buildings? Well, rats are crafty critters, and there are plenty of things they can exploit to turn your home into their home.
Norway rats like to exploit foundation vent openings, siding gaps, and other openings that are low to the ground. They also like to squeeze in through HVAC lines, faucets, and any other spots where pipes enter a home. A small rat only needs a half-inch opening to get in.
Roof rats, on the other hand, make their entry up high. They’ll climb in through gable end vents, chimneys, roof vents, dormer gaps, soffit gaps, and similar small openings.
Even when rats don’t exploit these common architectural gaps, they still have a secret weapon: their teeth. If rats want to get in, they can easily gnaw through gable vents, facia, siding, and even aluminum roof vents.
How Do You Get Rid of Rats?
The process of getting rid of rats is very similar to getting rid of house mice: You bait them and trap them. There’s an important factor to understand before you go and load your home with traps, though: Rats have neophobia.
“Neophobia” is a fear of new things. When traps, baits, and other unfamiliar items show up in a rat’s environment, they very cautiously keep away from them. This results in some important nuances to be aware of for the baiting and trapping processes.
Baiting Rats
Because of their neophobia, the process of baiting rats can actually take a week or two. To get the rats used to the traps, you’ll need to bait them but not set them. This will allow the rats to acclimate to the traps in their environment.
Once the rats finally grow used to the traps after 7 to 14 days, bait them again, but set them this time. You should take care of several of them at once.
If you want to accelerate the process, Wildlife Control Supplies has developed a product called Fearless. It’s a botanical lure that’s chemically designed to help overcome rats’ neophobia. Fearless makes rats more susceptible to new things, allowing you to lure, bait, and trap them more quickly.
Trapping Rats
When it comes to trapping rats, there are plenty of tools you can use to get the job done.
Snap Traps
Snap traps are some of the most common traps to use for catching rats. They utilize a spring-loaded bar combined with a pressure-sensitive trigger mechanism. You can bait and set several of them at once to try to eliminate as many rats as possible.
Live Traps
Live traps are utilized less often. These cages are more commonly reserved for raccoons, squirrels, and other larger invasive critters. It’s not out of the realm of possibility to use them for rats, though. Plus, they’re more humane than a snap trap or a poison.
Rodenticides
Finally, there’re rodenticides — poisons that usually take a few days to kill after ingestion. Rodenticides come in a few forms:
- Anticoagulants: Prevent blood clotting and cause lethal internal bleeding
- Cholecalciferol: Disrupts calcium levels and leads to organ failure
- Bromethalin: Shuts down the central nervous system causing paralysis and respiratory failure
- Zinc Phosphide: Reacts with stomach acid to produce phosphine gas that shuts down respiratory and cardiovascular systems
Rodenticides are effective, but they also present a few problems. For one, you won’t have much control over where the rats go after they consume them. This means they can die in your walls, attic, or other tough-to-reach areas, which can wind up making them hard to remove (and lead to unpleasant odors).
The other issue is that rodenticides can be harmful to pets or children who may accidentally consume them. If you have kids or pets in the home, it’s wise to use a different solution.
How Do You Keep Rats from Coming Back?
Even after you’ve gotten rid of every last rat, the job isn’t done yet. After all, if some rats got in in the first place, it’s entirely possible (or even likely) that more will return in the future.
So, how do you keep them from coming back? There are three things you can do to up your home’s defense against future rat infestations:
- Habitat modifications
- Damage repair
- Wildlife exclusion
Habitat Modification
A common adage in the wildlife and pest control industry is, “If you’re living with rats, it’s because you want to.” This cheeky saying’s point is that if you wind up with rats, you’ve likely created conditions in your home — whether intentionally or unintentionally — that attract rats to begin with.
Some of these include leaving garbage out, not maintaining your vegetation, and failing to repair damage. If you keep a clean, healthy living environment, rats will be less likely to nest in your home in the first place.
Damage Repair
Obviously, if a rat chews a hole in your home to gain access, you’ll want to repair it after all the rats have finally been removed. Not only will this keep future rats from returning, but it will also stop other critters and bugs while maintaining a pleasing, well-kept aesthetic.
Wildlife Exclusion
Finally, the best thing you can do to keep rats from coming back to your home is to hire a professional wildlife control operator to fit your home with wildlife exclusion products. These screens and guards are affixed over common vents and openings to stop wildlife in their tracks.
If you’re interested in learning about how wildlife exclusion can protect your home from rats, raccoons, squirrels, and other critters, take a look at our guide below. It gives a good overview of what wildlife exclusion is and how you can utilize it to protect your home from nuisance wildlife.
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