How Pest Control Bristol Help Prevent Rat Infestation

A rat can be a deadly pest if you are not careful of the signs of infestation around you. During the winter months, many animals, including pests, like to take shelter in warmer areas, and that would include your own home or even your car if you didn’t take preventative measures. Rats and mice are known to spread more than 35 diseases through their droppings, saliva, or direct contact with the pests themselves. They can drop up to 25,000 fecal pellets and cause Hantavirus, Tularemia, and Plague like deadly diseases. Pest Control Bristol, is, therefore, essential to keep yourself safe and keep hygienic surroundings. 

What are the signs to look for an early rat infestation?

• Rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers, cupboards, storage bins, under the kitchen sink.
• Nesting material lying around, such as shredded newspapers, fabric, or dried plant matter.
• Food packages, newspapers,  andclothes having distinct holes chewed through them in storage spaces.
• A foul smell coming from hidden areas.

So what can we do ourselves to prevent infestation or get rid of a rat infestation? Here are some easy steps to follow:

• SEAL YOUR HOME: 

Rats can squeeze through even a nickel-sized hole in your house. The first step in preventing an infestation of rats is to check for even the smallest holes and gaps inside your home and car. It is best to look for them inside, under or behind kitchen cabinets, floor corners, corners of the wall, around the fireplace, around doors, around the pipes under the sinks, washing machine, floor vents, and dryer vents. Attic and basements are also where rodents like to nest the most. Fill these holes with material such as steel wool, cement, hardware cloth, etc. You can also put caulk around the steel wool and metal sheets in place to seal large holes. 

• USE TRAPS: 

There are two kinds of snap traps available to catch mice and rats. Mice are generally smaller than rats, so they need different snap traps than rats. Set a trap by using a little bit of food such as peanut butter tothe bait pan and set it with the bait pan in the direction of the wall. Place snap traps anywhere where you may have found rat nesting signs such as attics and basements, crawl spaces, and even your car. This method may take some time to catch the rats compared to mice but sealing your home, keeping your food away would eventually make the rat take the bait and get caught. It is better to use snap traps instead of glue traps or live traps because these kinds can scare the mice and rats into urinating, which contains germs and increases your risk of being exposed to diseases.

• ELIMINATE FOOD SOURCES FOR RODENTS: 

Keeping your surroundings clean is the easiest way to prevent rats from coming in and taking shelter. It can so happen that some rats can still come in, and their sharp teeth can chew through flimsy plastic packaging of food and tear holes through your clothing even when your home is clean. Keep your food in thick plastic or metal containers with a tight lid. Keep garbage cans with tight lids and keep them clean. Clean up spilled food right away, and clean outside cooking utensils such as grill pans clean. Keep pet food away and tightly packed after you are done feeding your pet, and keeping bird feeders or squirrel away from the house. Also, keep any clothing storage boxes at least a foot away from the ground whenever possible.

Rat’s infestation can be scary to many people, but prevention is very easy. Suppose you are caught unaware and your home is infested with rats and other such pests anyway. In that case, emergency pest control Bristol services are also available, which quickly assesses the damage and eliminates the problem for a safer environment for you.