Rats can be a significant problem for your Plano property. It is essential to understand the dangers of this pest and implement helpful prevention tips to keep your property rat-free.
The Problem With Plano Rats
There are a few different varieties of rats that you need to look out for in Plano. Each of these rats has a slightly varied appearance from other rodents.
- Polynesian Rats: This rat has black or brown fur with rounded ears and tiny, pale feet. They typically won’t grow more than 6 inches, including tail length. They prefer to live around yards and can climb trees.
- Roof Rats: This rat has a long, thin body with a smooth, brown fur coat. They may also have a few spots of black and grey or white underbelly. They can grow up to 8 inches long, including tail length. True to their name, this rat prefers to live in higher areas.
- Norway Rats: A larger rat species, the Norway rat is brown with a grey or white underbelly. They are bulkier and tend to grow between 7 and 10 inches long, including tail length. This rat prefers living in lower areas of your home or sewers.
Rats have long since developed a dependent relationship with humans. This rodent has learned to live alongside and scavenge food, water, and shelter from human civilizations, making them difficult to remove and an ever-present problem in today’s society.
Once rats enter your home, they can cause several problems like destruction via claw marks or gnawing. Through their urine and feces, they can spread diseases such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, tularemia, and salmonella. Rats contaminate food and food storage areas and leave behind parasites such as fleas, ticks, and mites.
Rat Prevention Tips
There are a few prevention tips that you can follow to prevent rats from entering your Plano property:
- Seal up all entry points around your home. Rats can enter through holes in windows, doors, roofs, and foundations as small as a quarter, so be thorough. You may also want to invest in a chimney cap to prevent rats from getting into your home that way.
- Rats can chew through bricks, wood, cinder blocks, and drywall; when you are sealing and rat-proofing your property, ensure that you choose rat-proof materials such as hard cement and hard metals.
- Clear out yard debris and make sure that your grass is trimmed low. This will reduce rat hiding places around your property. You should also cut back overhanging branches on trees or bushes to stop rats from accessing your home this way.
- Ensure that all trash and food waste are correctly disposed of and keep them tightly sealed. The aroma of trash and food is a significant factor in attracting rats or other pests to your home. You should also clean up food and liquid spills promptly, properly store leftover food, and make sure that all pet food inside and outside the house is in sealed containers.
Effective Rat Control
Rat infestations can be difficult and dangerous to try and remove by yourself. The most effective and safest way to handle a rat problem is to contact the professionals at All-Safe Pest & Termite. They can help evaluate the scale of your rat problem and efficiently eliminate any pest issue, so your home can return to being completely rat-free.