Customer LoginRats: Sewer Rats, Norway Rats, and Brown Rats are all the same Rat!
There are the instances that sewer rats may have already gotten into your house; if that’s the case there are some things you can do to get rid of the problem. One of the best methods to get rid of sewer rats is to contact your local pest control service, www.a1exterminators.com. Or you can set up traps; even sticky traps can be effective. One thing to keep in mind when setting up traps is that if the sewer rats have been in your house they are familiar with the environment because they memorize locations and pathways when they are searching for food and water. This causes a problem because if there is a new object in their path, like a trap, they are going to be more hesitant of it because they know it was not there before. Sewer rats are tricky, dirty rodents. We hope that you don’t encounter these problems, but if you do, you’ll know what you’re in for; and these tips will help prevent you from having a sewer rat problem in the first place.
- Check around your house for any openings, such as holes, cracks or crevices. Rats can get into a home in an opening as small as a quarter.
- Also check your vegetation as sewer rats will dig burrows underneath things planted in the ground as well. Remember they can dig down three feet.
- Sewer rats like dog and cat food, if there are food bowls left outside for your animal there is a high possibility sewer rats will stop by. Your pet’s water bowls especially attract sewer rats.
- Make sure to clean trash cans, sheds and crawlspaces on a regular basis. Also make sure that these areas are always dry, and closed tightly.
- Rats will eat anything so ensure to clean up thoroughly after parties on your patio.
- Keep a clean and sanitized house and yard. Any presence of garbage will attract rats.
Rats: Sewer Rats and the Diseases They Carry
Sewer rats are disgusting and dirty rodents. Like many other rats they carry diseases, and can spread them to people. Most of the time sewer rats spread diseases without them even being present, because the feces and urine sewer rats leave behind are the transmitters of the diseases to people. These dirty sewer rats leave their mess and also walk around people’s houses contaminating everything they touch, if you are not aware of it and do not keep a clean house you are putting yourself and your family at risk of infection of any of the diseases the sewer rats carry. Also some of the diseases that the sewer rats carry can be transmitted through water. This happens if their urine gets in your water supply, pool water or in your toilet bowl water- which may get your dog sick if they drink out of the toilet. To protect yourself and your family and your pets be aware of the diseases. Here are some of the diseases sewer rats carry:
- Leptospirosis: transmitted though contaminated water, often contaminated with sewer rat urine. These bacteria can cause symptoms such as high fever, chills, muscle and head aches, jaundice and more. There are occasions when there are no symptoms present, to ensure if you have been infected your blood or urine should be tested as it can be mistaken for other diseases.
- Hanta virus: airborne virus, symptoms do not occur very quickly once they happen, they are similar to the flu and last about a week. If still sick heavy breathing can occur and you should be taken to a hospital because it can be fatal.
- Crypto (Cryptosporidiosis): this waterborne disease has the symptoms of nausea, abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and weight loss. There isn’t an exact treatment, but medicine can help it is best to get to a doctor for help.
- Weil’s disease: transmitted through rat urine, it is often on contaminated food that people end up eating, shows flu like symptoms but can also cause jaundice and throwing up, is best to see a doctor right away.
- VHFs (Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers): transmitted by breathing in infected sewer rat feces and urine. Symptoms of this disease are fatigue, dizziness, weakness, muscle aches and high fever. There are worse symptoms that can develop so if you think you may have been infected or know that you were in a place with rat feces it is best to get to a doctor right away.
There are a few things that homeowners will notice if sewer rats are in their home. For one they will leave droppings behind. These droppings can transmit the diseases they carry, so again it is best to contact a professional for help, www.a1exterminators.com. Urine from sewer rats is also a way to discover they are in your home, often one will find dried up urine stains, but may also find fresh urine. The traces of urine can be seen with ultraviolet lights if need be. Other signs of sewer rats are gnaw and smudge marks that can be left behind on a number of household items. Gnaw marks are usually found on boxes, corners of walls and other surfaces as sewer rats have very strong teeth and can bit through anything from a cardboard box to wires. Smudge marks are usually left on pipes, beams and rafters as the sewer rats make their way through spaces in your home smudging the dirt on their bodies onto fixtures they cross. Also if you notice any burrows made under or near your home or vegetation in your yard there may be some sewer rats on your property. If you notice any of these signs of sewer rats call your local pest control service right away.
If there are sewer rats in your home you need to be extra cautious as these rats can easily contaminate your home with the diseases they carry. They are nocturnal so at night they come out to look for food and water. While looking for food and water they can be scurrying across your floors and counter tops leaving behind feces and germs. They also will invade pantries in search of food and eat through the boxes just to get to the food inside of the box. Finding food containers with holes or gnaw marks are definite signs that you may have rats in your home. Bowls of fruits left on the counter are not a good idea. Even if the sewer rats were to decide not to eat it they could walk on it and contaminate it with out your knowing. Another food source they can contaminate without your knowledge is dog or cat food. If the pet food is in a bag the rats can eat right through it and contaminate the food. The safest thing to do is to keep the food in a plastic container with a lid, just like the cereal. This way you are not risking your pet’s health. Keeping food on higher shelves may sound like a good idea to keep these sewer rats away, but they will actually climb in order to find food and or shelter.
Sewer rats really do come into homes through toilets, so be extra careful!
Another item sewer rats are always in search of is water, because they can not survive long with out it. A good way to cut them from any water is to keep your toilet seats down this way they can not get into the toilet for water, also sewer rats are swimmers so they are not afraid of jumping into a toilet for some water. Sometimes this can be how sewer rats get into your home, by coming up through the pipes and entering through the toilets.
Having sewer rats coming in through the toilets is a scary thought! An even scarier thought is that these rats can get into a home from an opening as small as a quarter. If sewer rats aren’t already in your home and there is an opening somewhere then they will get in, especially if they are looking for food and water.
No matter where sewer rats may be living they are always looking for a place where people are because they know if there are people near then there should be food and water close by too. So make sure to keep a clean house and don’t leave any food out, otherwise you’ll be attracting sewer rats right into your house.
Sewer rats are a hazard to have on your property. If you have any contact A1 Exterminators to get rid of them. www.a1exterminators.com