Are rats giving you issues at your home or business? Are you having trouble finding the source? Unfortunately rats are quite the gamers when it comes to hide and seek. Rats are prone to hide in spots that are hard to access, or places we don’t like to go, like crawl spaces. If you have one, a crawl space can actually be one of the most active spots for rats. Now you can take the advantage by looking for some of these telltale signs that our trained rat extermination technicians look for on the job. So don’t forget to bring your flashlight and even some sanitation gloves, and get ready to combat the rats!
Soil burrows: These will likely be found especially if you have a dirt floor in your crawl space.
Droppings: We all know droppings are a telltale sign of rat or mice activity, but make sure to look away from the nest sites. Did you know the Norway rat produces 40-50 fecal pellets per day? That’s one big smelly reason to keep those rats out of your home!
Gnawing: Be sure to inspect any wood, aluminum, lead, and electrical wiring for chew marks.
Sagging insulation: Rats like to nest in insulation in walls and ceilings, so check for signs of that insulation ripped out of the sides or sagging from the top. If you tap the insulation with a stick and hear rattling, it is likely rat droppings.
Rub marks- Rats leave dark, greasy rub marks along the pathways they take in and out of your home. Check for these marks near vents, pipe openings, or holes in siding or cinder blocks.
Dead rats- An obvious, yet informative sign of a more significant infestation is the sight of dead rats in piping, near burrow entrances, walls, and containers around their nest site.
Odor- Experienced rat exterminators will be able to point out the smell of rats right away, but you may be able to notice it as well. An unpleasant odor of urine, droppings, and possibly dead rats could unfortunately fill the spaces in which those rats have made their home.
Source: “Tracking Rats in Crawl Spaces” Larry Pinto & Sandra Kraft in August 2016 issue of Pest Control Technology