Rodents like roof rats are dangerous to have around your Bay Area property. They're destructive, aggressive, and huge vectors for disease, so it's always in your best interest to keep them away from your home. The problem is that roof rats are tenacious pests, and an infestation isn't easy to prevent, so if you want to protect your home and property this year, you need to know all the facts about these hazardous rodents.
Where Do Roof Rats Hide?
In nature, roof rats will hide in dense underbrush, leaf piles, thick shrubs, hollow trees, and ground holes, as these areas provide adequate shelter from predators and fluctuating weather conditions. Homes and structures offer even more stability, though, along with an abundance of places to hide:
- Attics
- Basements
- Wall voids
- Cupboards
- Closets
- Garages
- Underneath homes (raised foundations)
Despite their size, roof rats can fit through holes no bigger than the size of a quarter, which makes these pests nearly impossible to prevent. On top of that, most of their usual hiding spots are inaccessible without demolition, so a roof rat infestation is difficult to eradicate without the help of a local Bay Area pest control company.
How Dangerous Are Roof Rats?
A roof rat infestation introduces three different kinds of hazards into homes:
- Physical harm – Roof rats are aggressive when they feel threatened. They won't hesitate to attack if cornered, and their strong incisors are sharp enough to deliver a devastating bite.
- Structural damage – Rodents have incisors with open-rooted dentition, which means these teeth never stop growing. To maintain dental health, roof rats must constantly chew to keep them filed down to a manageable size. Roof rats will chew through wooden beams, roof shingles, electrical wires, metal siding, plastic, and rubber.
- Diseases and parasites – As vectors for disease, rodents such as roof rats are known to spread pathogens such as plague, salmonella, typhus, rat-bite fever, tularemia, and hantavirus. They also carry parasitic pests like fleas, ticks, mites, and intestinal worms.
Roof rats are dangerous pests that require swift action in the event of an infestation. Since they're nocturnal, it's difficult to discover an early infestation, but if you think you have roof rats in your Bay Area home, then you should call your local pest control company as soon as possible.
Roof Rats In The Bay Area Are Hard To Get Rid Of
Invasive rodents like roof rats are elusive, prolific, and intelligent, so home remedies with mousetraps and sticky traps aren't effective for the entire infestation. Rat poisons are dangerous to have around pets and small children, and using them also comes with the added downside of decomposing rodents within the walls of your home. It's not easy to get rid of roof rats, so let our pest experts at Bay Pest Solution Inc. take care of them for you.
Our company has been providing effective and affordable pest control in the Bay Area for over 40 years. We provide extensive rodent extermination services, exclusion services for preventing new infestations, and sanitation services after resolving your rodent problem. We use the highest quality pest control techniques available, so you can rest assured knowing your home is completely protected when you hire us for the job.
Five Tips To Total Roof Rat Control
Roof rats aren't easy to control, especially since they're wild animals, but with the help of our professional treatments and a few easy tricks, you'll be able to keep roof rats away from your home:
- Food storage – Store your pantry foods in airtight containers, clean up spilled food and drinks, and wash dishes daily.
- Trash storage – Install tight-fitting lids on all indoor and outdoor trash cans to help deter rodents.
- Lawn care – Fill in ground holes, remove yard debris, and clear out underbrush to reduce rodent shelter.
- Exterior repairs – Repair exterior damage using material that isn't easy to chew through, such as cement, thick metal siding, and steel wool.
- Moisture control – Fix leaky pipes, repair extensive water damage, and aerate your lawn to reduce moisture issues around your home.
You should never tolerate dangerous pests like roof rats in your Bay Area home. Reach out to Bay Pest Solutions Inc. today to learn more about our rodent control options.