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Matt Vanderpool with the Health Department shared some very helpful information regarding rats that we would like to pass along.  It was mentioned at the meeting that many people do not know we have a rat problem in the area, several people mentioned that they had not seen any and that they did not feel there is a problem – unfortunately please know that there is a problem, even if you have not seen them yet. Many have been seen in broad daylight, a sure sign of a large infestation.  Please look over this information, you may have rats on your property and not even know it and surely many of us are unwittingly contributing to the problem with innocent things such as having bird feeders sitting out and not promptly cleaning up our yards of dog feces. We need to all work together to abate this problem, it is going to take time and effort but for the health and well being of all neighbors, we need to get rid of these rodent intruders.

Signs of Rat Infestation:

Grease Marks – Rats are creatures of habit and pick a route and use it over and over, leaving grease marks from their fur where they travel.

Gnaw and Scratch Marks – Rats have to constantly chew as their front teeth never stop growing and they do have claws that leave scratch marks as well.

Strange torn open food stuffs – If you have bird seed, dog food or any other types of food (including garbage) set outside or in the garage in a bag that has a small hole in it, it is likely a rat has torn it open and is using it as a food source.

Droppings – Rat droppings are the size of a standard paper clip.

Baseball sized holes in the yard – If you come across a baseball sized hole in the yard, it is most likely an entrance into a rat den. Rats have several entrances into their den, so if you find one, there are more. You cannot simply cover the one, you will need to find all the others as well.

Rats are scared of anything new, they are strict creatures have habit so baiting and trapping take time. Rats will avoid anything new for up to weeks before coming anywhere near it. Mice are different, they like new things, are very inquisitive, so traps and baiting work well for them.

Rats have three basic needs and if the three are met, they will set up home  - Food, Water and Shelter.  All these needs will be met within 100 ft. of where they set up their den so if you find a rat den, you know these three needs are being met somewhere within 100 ft.  They only need 1 ounce of food and water a day to survive so the supply need not be abundant.

Rats will eat anything that you or a pet will eat – but what many people do not realize is that they will also eat bird seed, dog feces and even garden stuffs left rotting on the vine.  Technically, by city ordinance, no one can have more than three set of dog excrement in their yard at one time; this was imposed because rats will eat the feces.  Many people have small gardens and when fruit drops or at the end of the season will often leave those things, figuring they will just go back into the soil – more likely rats will make it a meal before it can make it back into the soil. Baiting will only work once all other food sources are removed.

How can rats get in?  Rats come in the home in many ways, including through dryer vents. They often crawl in through the entrances into crawl spaces. Rats only need a whole the size of a quarter (despite the fact they are usually between 1 and 1.5 lbs. in size) to get in, mice only need a whole the size of a dime. Be sure your crawl space vent has ¼ hardware cloth over it, rats will not chew through anything metal. Many of the doors for crawl spaces on the market now come with this feature built in.  Be sure you have spring loaded dryer vents so that they can open when in use and close when not.  Also check all areas where things enter your home, i.e. cables and pipes and be sure there is not any gaps that rats could possible crawl through. Shove some steel wool and caoul or spray foam around all these openings. The rats will gnaw through the spray foam or caulk, but will stop when they get to the steel wool.  They can gnaw through any plastic bins for food or trash, including ones as thick as our ID bins. Please check your ID bins for small holes that have been gnawed into by rats.  Rats will also set up nests in cars in garages as they are being restored – they can silently cause thousands of dollars in damage.  It is wise to consider not feeding birds until the rat problem has been abated. Also, many people trying to help have compost piles – be sure to not add food items to these compost piles or you are literally creating a buffet for the rats.

How do you fix the problem?

There are two main ways to fix the problem – baiting and trapping.

If you choose to use bait, use an anti-coagulant bait. Do not use any bait that contains the ingredient Warfarin.  The city will bait for free if you call 311…when they get to it. They get so many requests for this service that it is really not a viable solution for the current problem.  When baiting, put the bait packet as deep as possible into the burrow.  If you have children or pets, baiting is probably not the best solution. Even if you do not have pets or children, be sure to remove the bait packets when the problem has been abated.  Squirrels will be willing to eat the bait as well, but squirrels nest in trees whereas rats nest in the ground – to keep from affecting the squirrel population, it is all the more important place the bait packets as deep in the burrows as possible. Do NOT tamp down the entrances to the rat burrows. As mentioned before, they are afraid of anything new so if you tamp down the entrance, they will simply find another way in, avoid that entrance and therefore avoid your bait.  After waiting 1-2 weeks from the time you place the bait, place wadded up newspaper in all burrows – if the paper stays, the rats are gone. If the paper pops out, the burrow is still active.

Trapping is the other option. Rat traps are much larger than mice traps and much more powerful – you can break fingers if you accidentally spring one with fingers in the way BE CAREFUL. To effectively trap the rats, place the trap at a right angle next to the wall with the trigger toward the wall. Because rats are creatures of habit, the best place to place them is along the walls where you already have noticed either grease marks or droppings or any other signs that the rats use that route. Check your traps daily and remove and dispose of the dead rat immediately (see below for disposal procedures). A trap that has caught a rat will continue to catch rats because of the smell left behind by the trapped rat so continue to use the same trap as well as the same placement once you have successfully trapped a rat. If you get one in one are and have not in others, move all traps you have to the one area – their habitual nature will cause you to continue getting more on that area.

Disposal of rat bodies: You can dispose of rats in your regular trash pickup, but be sure to pick up the rat body with either plastic gloves or a plastic bag of some sort, do not touch the rat itself. Don’t forget – dead rats are a food source for living rats so be sure to put dead rats in a container that living rats cannot get into. While we are on the topic of disposal, don’t forget as well to dispose of all pet feces, not just put them in one central area of the yard as this again just creates a virtual buffet for rats.

Of Special Note: As you successfully kill the rats, you are leaving the fleas and ticks that live on the rats with no food source so they will seek that out making it seem as though you have a sudden increase in the flea and tick population in the area. You will now need to get rid of these pests and finish abating the problem.