Are you concerned about rats infesting your new Braunfels home? Well, if you’re not, you really should be. If rats are good at one thing, it’s getting inside our houses. They can squeeze through a crack less than a quarter in size, run up a vertical wall, and, if that fails, chew their way through the walls of our homes.
Like all other rodents, rats are motivated by two things; food and shelter. Unfortunately, our homes hold an abundance of both, making them nearly irresistible to these furry little vermin.
Let’s take a quick look at how we can keep rats away from our homes, learn how to get rid of rats if they manage to get inside, and if that fails, find out how to find top-notch pest control in New Braunfels.
How To Tell If It’s Rats Lurking Around Your House
Rats are nocturnal and very adept at staying out of sight so sometimes spotting the signs of a rat infestation is not an easy task. If you suspect a possible rat infestation, watch for the following:
- Gnaw marks on the bottom of the walls and legs of the furniture
- Capsule-shaped droppings with pointed or blunt ends
- Greasy, dark rub marks on walls
- Signs of rats chewing on food and packaging
- Scurrying noises in the walls and attic at night
Rats are social animals, and usually, if you’re starting to see signs of rats or spot one scurrying across a dark corner, you’re most likely dealing with more than one furry invader. You literally have no time to waste.
The Hazards Of A Rat Infestation In Your Home
Once these New Braunfels pests enter your house, they do their best to make themselves at home, chewing up and contaminating your food, gnawing on the walls, furniture, and books, and spreading multiple serious diseases.
Once exposed to a rat infestation, you can possibly end up with one of the following illnesses:
- Leptospirosis
- Rat-bite fever
- Tularemia
- Salmonellosis
- Jaundice
- Cowpox virus
- Trichinosis
Ticks and fleas that hitchhike into your house on rats bring numerous contagious diseases of their own.
Why It’s So Hard To Get Rid Of Rats On Your Own
Rats in New Braunfels are extremely well adapted to survive in manufactured environments. They are smart; scientists have shown that they can use tools and avoid traps.
Rats rarely scarf down food in traps; they are wary creatures and will taste a little piece to determine if it’s a trap. But their biggest superpower is their ability to reproduce at an amazing speed.
A female rat will give birth to 8 to 12 rats every eight weeks. Those youngins will start producing their own young in less than ten weeks after birth. Soon your house is a nightmarish scenario of hundreds of rats prowling around and making your life unbearable.
Call The Pros At The First Sign Of Rats Around Your House
If you suspect (and the best stage to address this problem is at the “suspect” stage) that your house might have a rat infestation, it’s time to get a professional involved. An experienced rat control professional will quickly evaluate the extent of the infestation, get rid of rats in your New Braunfels house, and devise a plan to keep rats away.
If you’ve seen signs of a rat infestation in your house, don’t wait for them to settle in and start reproducing; call Pinnacle Pest Defense today to get started and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in New Braunfels.
