Whether you see a rat or not, your home may be suffering from a rat infestation at this very moment. Rats as a species are attracted to stagnant water, easily accessible food sources, and a suitable nesting area that can be made out of dirt, clutter, and mess. A pretty common type of infestation in major cities like Toronto areas, York Region & Durham Region, if left untreated could cause quite an issue to your family's health and well-being. To treat your infestation swiftly and effectively, contact Quality Affordable Pest Control today.
With the tell-tale signs of a rat infestation and the potential harm it could bring to your home, it may be time to call in the professional. With the risk of illness and contamination, a professional rat exterminator is effectively a disease control service as well. Quality Affordable Pest Control understands the urgency and need for effective pest and rat control. Using our professional-grade chemicals and tools, we can assure all our clients that their homes will be rat and rodent-free by the time the treatment is complete.
As mentioned earlier, rats are attracted to any area wherein they can thrive. This means having an open water source, food access, and shelter. While this could quite literally be anything in your home, here are a few common things to watch out for when trying to avoid attracting rats and rodents into your home:
While it’s normal for a home to have some wear and tear over the years, these small openings may be the gateway for a possible rat infestation. More often than not, the rats will be coming from outside your home and using these small cracks to enter your home and forage for food, water, and shelter. By sealing these things off, it will be a lot harder for these rats to find an entrance to your home and reduce the risk of infestation.
What looks to you as trash and garbage may be seen as an easily accessible and available food source to rats around your area. Keeping food properly stored and tightly sealed in the refrigerator and pantry is the first step in ensuring that you don’t leave any possible food source that will attract rats to your home.
No one wants to live in a home with pests, so why choose anyone but the best? Our pest control professionals at Quality Affordable Pest Control have helped countless families and business owners eliminate their pest control problem, whatever those pests may be. Call us today so we can help you get rid of your pest problem right away.
Following this, you should seal food waste storage like trash cans and bins and have them disposed of as soon as possible. While food thrown in the trash may seem inedible to you, rats will still see this as an attractive and edible source in your home.
Like food, rats will be attracted to a water source and possible nest in areas with easy access to it. Having leaks or damaged pipes will lead to an open water source in your home and attract rats to the area. While your pipes and leaks may be located outside or at the back of your home, this can still cause an infestation in your main living area.
The water will attract them to nest in the area, but it’s unlikely that they’ll simply stay isolated in that area. From a leaky pipe in your basement to the dripping faucet in your bathroom, rats can easily infest your whole house if left alone.
Another thing rats look for in a possible nesting area is shelter. While you may think your home is generally clean, things like a cluttered storage area, unused appliances, or vehicles in the garage, any pile of forgotten items could be used as their breeding and nesting ground.
Keeping things clean and organized or at least stored in an area inaccessible will create an inhabitable space for these pests and allow for better critter control of all types. Without an attractive shelter option in your home, most rats will go elsewhere that they deem more suitable and conducive to their needs.
Aside from being a nuisance to any home or office, rats and rodents pose a real threat to the inhabitants of an area. From health to the inner workings of your home and office, rats can cause a variety of issues. Here are some of the risks humans face when dealing with rat infestations:
When rats find food and water in your home, it’s guaranteed that they will contaminate it to some degree. From cereal boxes to pet food and water, they’ll go for any available and accessible food source in your home.
If you see that if they gnaw at a boxed and sealed food container, you should dispose of it immediately, as rats often carry diseases with them. Additionally, you should keep pet food stored away before and after meal times as it may be difficult to tell if your pets' food has been contaminated if left out in the open. If contaminated, your pet runs the risk of getting severely sick.
With most rats and rodents hiding away in walls, roofs, and small areas in the home or office, it’s not unlikely for them to mess with the electrical wiring behind your walls. Whether they bite the wires or simply cause a disconnection with their movements, they can cause electrical issues in your home. From a simple light not working to an entire short circuit, rats can cause quite the issue in how your home or office functions.
In addition to the food contamination, rats can carry diseases to humans if they come into close contact or get bitten. The rat population has been known throughout history for bringing in unwanted diseases like rat-bite fever, salmonellosis, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, and many more. Without proper rat control, it's quite possible that an infestation of rats could lead to severe illness or even death.
No one wants to live in a home with pests, so why choose anyone but the best? Our pest control professionals at Quality Affordable Pest Control have helped countless families and business owners eliminate their pest control problem, whatever those pests may be. Call us today so we can help you get rid of your pest problem right away.
A:If you have a rat infestation to any degree, you’ll most likely see rat droppings or secretions around your home. These droppings will usually be isolated in one area that is often left undisturbed or uncleaned throughout the week. If you happen to see them or smell them in areas of your home, this should be the first place you treat with a home rat treatment. If the infestation is relatively minor, having a rat trap or rat bait station in this area will help in controlling the outbreak from getting worse.
A: While rats do tend to nest in one place, chances are they will move around your home. Due to their movement, they have been known to leave scuff marks on door frames, walls, and staircases. When you see unexplainable markings around your furniture and home, chances are you have a rat problem arising in the area. While this doesn’t mean that there is an alarming rat population in your home just yet, you may want to start setting out traps and rat pest control solutions.
A: Alongside the scuff marks around your home, rats are not known to be particularly quiet pests when rummaging through your home. If you hear climbing, scratching, or running noises in your walls, storage units, or roof, you may be hearing rat activity wherein they’re running around your home. Depending on the sounds you hear, the breed of the rat may differ. However, regardless of the type of rat, you should seek out some kind of pest control service or treatment immediately. With the confirmed movement of the rats and rodents, it’ll be quite hard to tell if the infestation is still isolated to just one area.
A: Not known for being clean, a rat or mouse in your home can leave rat and mouse trails around the area. If you see small dusty or dirty footprints around your home, rats may have entered your home and nested somewhere relatively cluttered or unkempt in your home. You could try to clean out any possible hiding spaces of these pests and get rid of the possible infestation then and there. However, if you’re not up for the job, a rat extermination company can help get rid of any rodent infestation in your home immediately.
A: If you see holes inside and outside your home in certain areas, you do probably have a few rats and rodents around the area. Holes on your door, curtains, or boxes are signs of rats trying to either get through or get to something in your home. Additionally, rat holes outside your home can be identified in the soil with little dug-out markings. Placing rat poison or rat treatments in these areas with holes and marking can help manage the rat infestation until you can call a professional exterminator.
If you’re concerned about a rat infestation in your home or business, Quality Affordable Pest Control can help locate, treat, and remove these pests in a snap of a finger. While rats play an important role in the ecosystem, no one wants them in their living area or workspace. Here at Quality Affordable Pest Control, we have all the best tools and treatments for industrial pest control treatments so that we leave your property clean, peaceful, and rat-free. For more information on our wildlife control and office building pest control services, contact us and book an inspection today.
The best residential pest control service is one that focuses on what you and your family needs – and that it is a safe, effective, and environmentally-friendly pest or wildlife control solution. The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach is the recommended way to efficiently eliminate pests without harming you, your family and pets, and the environment.
