If your home is experiencing an infestation of rats, it is vitally important that you identify their early warning signs quickly in order to take preventative steps that will halt disease transmission and pests from proliferating further.
If you hear scratching noises coming from your attic, this could be a telltale sign that roof rats have made nests there while searching for food and water sources.
Tracks
Rats are opportunists that enter homes to find food, shelter and an ideal breeding ground. Once established in your home, their population can rapidly multiply.
If you suspect an infestation in your attic, take immediate steps to rid yourself of rats. They can spread various diseases throughout your home as well as cause extensive property damage.
Predators also tend to chew through wires and insulation, leading to costly repairs and creating an overwhelming mess in your attic.
To avoid an attic rat infestation, seal off all entry points and eliminate potential food sources such as garbage or pet food from inside your home, storing garbage far from it and moving mulch or piles of leaves away from its vicinity.
Once they find an adequate space to live in, rats will take great strides to ensure their own protection. They’ll defecate frequently and their pellet-shaped droppings will spread a foul smell throughout your attic over time.
Smells
Rats are nocturnal creatures, emerging at night to search for food and water sources. Additionally, rats are skilled climbers and can gain entry through even small openings into your attic – so keep an eye out for signs of rodent infestation.
Droppings are another telltale sign of rat infestation in loft spaces. Their pellet-shaped litter typically measures 12mm long and lies near areas where rats find food sources.
Urine can also be an indicator of rat infestation, with its unmistakable musky scent. Composed of urea and water, urine breaks down into nitrogen and ammonia when exposed to moisture, giving off its distinctive stench.
Be sure to inspect all food cabinets with metal lids and containers to reduce rat infestation. Rodents are known to chew through metal and wood structures easily, which makes storing groceries in sealed, rodent-proof containers even more important – although finding such solutions may prove challenging, the effort will certainly pay off!
Nests
Rats can build nests in attic spaces by using materials like insulation, paper or cloth scraps as nesting materials. Their nests typically appear in hidden spots within an attic space.
Rat droppings or urine stains in your attic are telltale signs of an infestation, providing access to disease, pathogens, and parasites that threaten both human health and pet wellbeing.
If any of these signs exist in your environment, it would be prudent to contact a professional service for proofing and pest control immediately.
Rats can cause considerable damage to a home when they gain entry, eating through wood beams, electrical wiring and insulation – as well as your belongings like furniture and antiques. Furthermore, their presence poses a potential fire hazard, with rats chewing through electrical wiring which short circuits.
Damage
Rat infestation can wreak havoc in your home. Rodents have the capacity of chewing through walls, electrical wires, pipes, wood and insulation – just to name a few things they can consume!
Once inside your home, rats will use any materials available to them to create nests – this includes loft insulation, cardboard and even soft materials like cloth fibers.
Animals that nibble at water pipes and vents will also create leaky environments and fire hazards in homes if these holes are not sealed properly, leading to leaky dwellings or fire hazards.
If you suspect an infestation in your attic, look out for chewed wood and electrical wires which might have been chewed as nesting material by rats. Also, chewing on wiring could expose copper that can spark and ignite flammable materials like wood or shingles causing serious fire risk.
Your attic could become infested with urine and feces from rats and mice. Not only is this unpleasant but can be a source of disease as well. Pest professionals offer easy solutions for ridding yourself of rodents and their waste safely.