How to get rid of mice and rats in your house

Table of Content

• STEP 4: Remove potential food sources.
• D-Con Mice and Rat Poison Bait Station Review
• Where in the house rats are most likely to hide... says pest control expert 'The Rat Man'
• Learn how to identify mice and rats, use rodent control products, and build strategies to keep these pests out of your home.
• How to Get Rid of Rats Naturally & Without Harming Pets
• Mice
• STEP 5: Contact a professional pest control company.

You can buy rat traps singly or in packages of 2 or 3 at your local hardware store. Rat snap traps resemble the snap traps used to kill mice, but are about twice as large. Simply bait the trap with a bit of cheese, and set it near a rat's nest, or a hole where rats have been entering your house. If you're not sure where rats have entered, set the baited trap along a baseboard in a large room, like your living room or kitchen. Walk your property to look for any potential rat food, such as leftover pet food, fallen fruit, or spilled seed.

Rats are primarily nocturnal, so the signs of rats are usually found before the rats are ever seen themselves. The good news is getting rid of rats doesn’t necessarily mean hiring a pricey exterminator. Armed with the right knowledge and products, getting rid of rats on your own is very doable.

STEP 4: Remove potential food sources.

Because the rats aren’t instantly killed when they step on the glue board, it will take longer for them to die, making glue board one of the less-humane options. The Made2Catch Classic Metal Rat Traps are made of galvanized metal rather than wood, making them easy to clean and reuse . Some users complain that they are not the simplest traps to set, but the power and efficiency that the trap has makes up for the difficulty. Many were able to find success by using bait with the trap, as long as they tie the bait down and keep ants from taking it away.

You may noticesmall, dark, pellet-shaped droppingsalong main rat pathways. Since rats have poor eyesight, they also create and maintain established routes along the walls. In the wild, rats get the shelter they need from weeds, grasses, and other plants. In homes, rats will take refugeunder furniture, behind walls, or in dark, seldom-used cornersof the house.

D-Con Mice and Rat Poison Bait Station Review

If you need to get rid of rats naturally, you have a variety of options to choose from. While fumigating a home with poison gases is the easiest way to kill rats in your house, it’s an extreme step that often isn’t necessary. Instead of destroying their nests, you can make your home uninviting. This is a highly unique rat poison in that it’s not actually a poison in the normal sense of the word.

The Norway rat is more aggressive and larger than the roof rat, with an adult averaging 16 inches in length, including the tail. The tail of the Norway rat is slightly shorter than its head and body; if pulled forward, the tail of the Norway rat would not reach its nose. Beneath the surface, the rat tunnels and rooms are no further than 18” deep. They may include 3 feet of tunnels often leading to additional safety exits. They do carry diseases like rabies, bubonic plague, intestinal worms, parasites, fleas, lice, and other undesirable contagions. They’re sharp, long, and strong enough to inflict quite a bit of damage.

Where in the house rats are most likely to hide... says pest control expert 'The Rat Man'

Also known as snap traps, mechanical rat traps are probably one of the easiest and least expensive ways to get rid of rats. With rat traps, all you are required to do is set them, which after some practice only takes a few seconds. It’s a good idea to check them regularly, as a dead rat may attract other pests.

Make it difficult for rats to climb up pipes and doors by using a high gloss paint. You can also periodically spray the outside of your home with rat repellent, especially in the corners and in secluded niches. An apple cider vinegar and water mixture sprinkled around your house is said to keep rats and mice away. Likely access points include vents, drains, and appliance lines in your kitchen.

Maintain cleanliness in your open spaces like gardens, yards or basement and check for the signs of the hole by rats. The primary risk with the catch-and-release method is that you’re just handing your problem over to someone else. In all likelihood, the rats will wind up on someone else’s property or in their home. That’s not to say that we condone the killing of animals (we don’t), but depending on your location, catch-and-release may not be the ideal option. If you don’t wish to kill the rats, you can use a humane trap to catch them and release them far from your home.

The trap applies sufficient force to kill rats quickly without causing undue suffering, and you can dispose of the body without having to touch it. All of these qualities make the Authenzo rat trap a great, reliable choice for tackling your own rat infestation. The same things that have made rats so successful in spreading around the world make them difficult, dangerous pests in the home. Depending on the species, they can eat just about anything and they’re not as timid as other household pests, which can make rats dangerous to pets. They’ve grown resistant to disease and parasites that can hitch a ride on a rat and end up in your home.

How to Get Rid of Rats Naturally & Without Harming Pets

The landlord will have more power to coordinate between tenants and clear the building for extreme solutions, such as fumigation. After all, rats don’t respect private property and if one tenant is dealing with rats, it’s likely that many are. This is because EcoClear RatX works by blocking certain pathways in the brain and stops the rat from realizing it needs water. It will go without drinking and die of dehydration in a few days. This narrow focus is a huge benefit to RatX since it eliminates most of the problems that other rat poisons have. However, it can be a bit more expensive compared to other poisons.

Also, a pet can motivate a rat or mice colony to change its location. One of the well-known homemade rat poisons is the boric acid poison. Stir the mixture well and add more of the boric acid if it's too thin. They should consume the mixture and eventually die from the poisonous boric acid.

In nature, these rats live in trees and it’s likely that they’re entering your home through overlying branches. Trim any branches that hang toward your home to exclude the property from further unwanted visitors, and then start leaving traps in areas where you know that rats are active. The type of rat that likes dwelling in the upper parts of a home likes eating produce, particularly high-carb cereals, nuts, and fruit. Your home is always going to shelter invading rats from predators and the elements, there’s not much you can do about that. However, you can make your home inhospitable to a rat infestation by making sure they have no access to food and water. Get a secure lid for your trash can, don’t leave food out overnight, and try to find where the rats in your house are getting their sustenance from.