Similarly, to termites, rats and mice are terribly destructive pests that can-do serious damage to your property—and even your health. Thus, certain measures are required in order to control their numbers. Now, unless you keep rats as pets, having one scurry across your kitchen floor at night is going to scare the daylights out of you! If this happens to you, then you better take action immediately, as rats breed rapidly. So, here’s what you need to do—but first, let’s learn a little bit about these fluffy little blighters first.

All you need to know about rats

the Rodentia family is among the largest group of mammals on the planet (in terms of numbers of course, not size). And indeed, not all of those in the rodentia family are considered pests. Take Guinea pigs and Hamsters as an example: if you noticed one of those adorable creatures milling around your home, you’d want to pick them up and give them a cuddle. Rats on the other hand, are a different story altogether.

In Australia alone, there are approximately 50 native species of rat and mice. But they don’t seem to be the issue. It’s the ‘introduced’ species of rat that are the most dangerous, invasive and destructive—they are the Black Rat, Pacific Rat, and Brown Rat.

Can rats hurt you?

One rat isn’t going to pose much of a threat, the reason being: they’re going to be petrified of you and will do all they can to avoid you. However, if you were to (by some miracle) grab one in your hands without wearing heavy duty gloves, then you will almost certainly get bitten. Whilst on the surface they might seem harmless due to their size, they are indeed incredibly dangerous, as they carry various diseases that are harmful to humans. These diseases include (but are by no means limited to), Salmonella, Listeria, Weil’s disease, Leptospirosis, Hantavirus, Toxoplasma gondii.

If you don’t like the sound of those and you’ve noticed an unwelcome rat scuttling around your home, then you’ll need to act fact. Again, there’s no telling how many there are. You can’t leave anything to chance.

Are rats destructive to property?

Again, as mentioned in the beginning, rats are very destructive. So, we thought we’d elaborate on that to give you an idea as to what this could mean for your property. The fact is rats are notorious for gnawing and nibbling on hard objects due to their two front teeth which continually grow—this is an attempt to keep their teeth are a reasonable size. Such things like they to chew include woodwork, plastics, rubber wiring and at times, even brickwork. In fact, there are very few materials that a rat won’t be able to chew through when the put their mind to it.

So, not only is this bad news for the structural integrity of your home, but it can also be a serious fire hazard as well. Biting through electrical wires can lead to potential electrical fires, thus, you should always call out an electrician to inspect your property after dealing with a pest problem.

What is the best form of pest control?

Ultimately, the best form of pest control is pest prevention. If you take steps to pest-proof your home before you have a rat problem, then you’ll be able to significantly reduce the chances of you having to deal with them in the long run.

Rats can fit through a 15mm gap, which is tiny! So, any holes or entry ways that might be seemingly minor to the human eye, could well be the perfect point of entry for these little pests. Go around your house (especially the outside) and fill in any gaps that you can. This is also a great way of preventing insects from making it into your home as well.

Easy pest prevention tips

  • Use waste bins that have a sealed lids
  • Never leave pet food outside
  • Keep the grass in your garden short and keep overgrowth to a minimum
  • If you compost you should do so in a sealed composter
  • Keep your stored materials such as timber and cardboard above ground

Should you buy rat poison?

Ultimately, the decision is yours, however you should take extra care when doing so. If you have family pets and children, we highly recommend that you avoid buying rat poison altogether. Another important point is you can’t control precisely where the rats will die—so, unless you want dead rodents rotting away under the floorboards, you may wish to consider an alternative.

Seek out rat pest control services

If you want to handle the job quickly and efficiently, we’d highly recommend hiring rat pest control services. A reputable pest control company will be able to come in and identify the issue, and then rectify it permanently on your behalf.