Rats in the Suburbs in Wall Township, NJ home.

Challenge

Although mice are the most common rodent infestation we treat, every so often, homeowners, like this one in Wall Township, NJ find themselves with a rat infestation. Rats are not just an inner-city problem. They sometimes make their way to suburban and rural areas as well. According to the homeowner, there was active rat activity for at least two months, so by the time I arrived, the rats were well entrenched. Rats are exceptionally intelligent rodents and can be wary of new objects introduced into their environment, such as traps. During my inspection, I determined that the rats were entering the home from under the deck. They had gnawed a hole in the header board and sill plate in the crawl space. This was a clear demonstration of the ability of rats to enter structures using their sharp and powerful teeth to bore through thick wood. 

Solution

I started treating this infestation with snap traps baited with bacon, a usual irresistible favorite of rats. They like bacon as much as we do!  I placed traps in the kitchen as well as in crawl space where the rats were first entering the home. No takers. The rats did not go for the bait. I also used bait packs and bait blocks. Again, they were left untouched. The rats would not go for them. Rats, like mice, follow the same trails for foraging, so my next attempt was to use tracking powder, applying it to their burrows in the yard, under a low deck that abutted the home, in a hole in the sill plate, in the crawl space, and into the wall voids in the kitchen. My partner on this job discovered other active areas in the house that needed attention. 

We made sure to cover all the bases for a successful treatment. With a rat infestation, we need to do it right. This is one rodent that you do not want to invade your home. As it turned out, the tracking powder was highly effective and worked beautifully to knock down their population. The rats consume the powder when it gets on their fur and tries to groom it off. Rat activity ceased. I located and removed three rat carcasses. On the final follow-up servicing, I sealed the entry point int he crawls spaces as well as holes in the kitchen wall and under the sink that they were using to gain access to the living areas of the home. This was a challenging job and the results paid off.