The black rat (Rattus rattus)
Roof Rat

 

How To Get Rid of Rats

 

Discovering rats in your home or business can be very distressing.

On top of the health risks, rats have also been known to cause fires by chewing through wiring. They can even gnaw through wood, plastics and mild steel.

Professional rat control is the most effective and quickest way to get rid of rats. Expert treatments can prevent damage to your property and protect against diseases spread by this rodent.

 

 

How To Catch a Rat

 

Catching rats or mice is a difficult job.

If you want to solve a rat problem on your own, we offer a range of DIY rat products developed  specifically by our technical specialists to control a small infestation.

 

Rat traps alone will not be enough to control a serious or repeat infestation though. Only a professional rat control solution can guarantee complete removal of rats from your home or business.
 

Worried about rats?

If you have spotted signs of rats, such as droppings or an unpleasant urine smell, it is time to get professional treatment.

The brown rat or Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Rats

 

Rats can transmit a number of serious diseases. They can be very persistent and if rats gain access into your home or business they can spread disease, cause damage and contaminate food.

One pair of rats shed more than 1 million body hairs each year and a single rat can leave up to 25,000 droppings.
 

Taking prompt action at the first sign of rats will ensure your problem can be quickly treated.

 

 

Signs of Rats

 

Rats are well known to spread disease, damage property and contaminate food and animal feed. If rats are able to get into your home or business, they can introduce disease carrying parasites like fleas, lice and ticks.

As they are most active between dusk and dawn, it is often easier to spots signs of a problem, rather than an actual rat.

 

How To Identify Signs of Rats

 

• Rat Droppings - Tend to be found concentrated in specific locations as rats produce up to 40 droppings per night. Brown rat droppings are dark brown in a tapered, spindle shape – resembling a large grain of rice.

 

 

• Scratching Noises - Black rats in particular are agile climbers, earning them their common name – the roof rat. They can easily gain access into loft spaces and upper floors of buildings, so scratching noises at night may suggest their presence. Brown rats on the other hand, are less adept climbers and more likely to be identified by a grinding or chattering noise they make with their teeth known as bruxing – as they scurry under decking, sheds and floorboards.

 

 

• Footprints (running tracks) - Rats leave foot and tail marks in dusty, less-used areas of buildings. Shining a strong flashlight at a low angle should reveal tracks clearly. To establish if an infestation is active, sprinkle fine flour or talc along a small stretch of floor near the footprints and check for fresh tracks the next day.

 

 

• Rub Marks - Rats use established routes along skirting boards and walls due to their poor eyesight. Grease and dirt on their bodies leave smudges and dark marks on both objects and surfaces they repeatedly brush against. These marks may indicate rodent activity, but as smears may remain for a long period of time, they are not a good gauge of an active infestation.

 

 

• Burrows - Brown rats are well known for digging and excavating extensive burrow systems for shelter, food storage and nesting. They build burrows next to solid objects or structures (decking, garden sheds, garages etc.) and are also found in secluded, well vegetated areas such as gardens and wasteland.

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             Rats in your roof?

Dangers of Rodents
 

In the past century alone, more than 10 million people have died from rodent-borne diseases.  Although rodents are not major threats to our everyday health, it is justified to be concerned over the potential for rodents to transmit diseases. By their very nature and design, rodents make excellent “vehicles” for harboring and rapidly transporting diseases.
 

Lyme Disease 

 

Description: Skin lesions, fever, headaches, arthralgias

Carrier: All rodents

Mode of Transmission: Rodent tick bite

        

Salmonella (Food Poisoning)

 

Description: Causes intestinal disorders

Carrier: Rats, Mice

Mode of Transmission: Rodent feces contamination

 

Rat-Bite Fever

 

Description: Relapsing fever that may last several months

Carrier: Rats, Mice

Mode of Transmission: Bacteria in mouth and nose of rodent, transmitted via bite or scratch

 

Typhus

 

Description: Fever, headache, rash, respiratory attack

Carrier: Rats, Mice

Mode of Transmission: Rat flea bite

 

Plague

 

Description: Attacks circulatory & respiratory systems

Carrier: Various rodents

Mode of Transmission: Rodent flea bite or by handling an infected animal

 

Pox (Rickettsial)

 

Description: Lesion followed by fever, headache, rash

Carrier: House Mouse

Mode of Transmission: Bite of a mite which lives on mice

 

For more information and other diseases from rodents click "here"