Rodent infestations in your home are a massive concern, not only because they are unhygienic but they cause a lot of damage to your home. They will take any opportunity to enter your home for shelter, food or water. Rodents are notorious for the damage they cause to your home and property from gnawing their way through walls, wires and cables. There is so much information out there about the best ways to avoid or deal with pest infestations it can be very hard to know what actually works. Although if you are dealing with a large infestation in order to avoid costly damages, it is best to call in a pest control professional like Endeavour Property Services who offer rodent control throughout Auckland. Although there are some simple things you can do to deal with pests or reduce the likelihood of infestations.
Prevention
Undoubtedly the best way to control rats is to prevent the infestation in the first case. Prevention consists of making your property as unattractive to rodents as possible. This includes removing any rubbish or organic waste like compost from your property. If you have a compost bin be sure to keep it covered especially if you are putting in food scraps, as these will attract rodents. Also, a good way to avoid rodent infestations is to seal all possible entries to your home. This could include cracks in the foundation as rodents can squeeze through very small spaces. As they will be unable to enter your home if you seal all entry points meaning they will have to find somewhere else warm and dry to live.
Deterrents
For some it is not about killing rats it's just about moving them on out of your home. These humane deterrents will encourage rats to move on. Common rat deterrents include peppermint essential oil, which can be used by soaking cotton balls and putting them in the affected areas. As for some reason rats hate the strong aroma of peppermint, this is a great deterrent as it is safe and humane and can be used around pets and children.
Poison
Poison is one of the most effective ways to control rats, but you need to use it with extreme care as it can be lethal to pets and children as well. A common poison for rats is bromethalin this poison works by causing cells in the rat's body to stop producing energy. Causing the rats cells to swell causing pressure on the brain and subsequently death. This product is reasonably fast acting working in 1-2 days which is a great solution if you need to kill rats fast. The other main type of poisons that are effective for killing rats are anti-coagulants, these products work by interfering with blood clotting. Although it is always important when using poisons to consider that the rats will not die instantly, so you need to consider the safety of your pets. As poisoned rats will run away and die, then their bodies can be consumed by your pets, causing them to be poisoned.
Traps
Traps have been used to catch and kill rats for a long, long time. These devices have proven to be one of the most efficient ways to deal with all kinds of pest rodents, big or small. Both home-owners and professional pest control companies make use of them nowadays. But in order for these traps to be effective they need to include a lure that attracts rats and mice towards them. For some reason people seem to believe mic and rats love cheese, but in reality, a much better bait for rat traps is cured meats like bacon.
