How to Get Rid of Rats in a New Home in the Country
Living in the country certainly has its charms, but sometimes that country lifestyle comes with a few uninvited guests. Rural locations often include farm fields, forests and other places that are natural homes to both field mice and rats. If you spot one rat in or around your home, chances are there are more where that one came from. The best way to deal with a rat problem is often a combination approach, trying a number of different methods and then concentrating on the most effective ones. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Put out a small amount of cat food to encourage the feral cats in your part of the country to add your home to their route. Feral cats in rural locations tend to roam from place to place in search of easy prey, and they can be a big help in eliminating your rat problem at its source.
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Examine the interior and exterior of your home for places where rats could be entering your home. Even large rats can squeeze through very small holes in the foundation or cracks in the doors. You would not expect a new home to have these defects, of course, but even a small gap in a door can be enough to allow rats to enter.
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Find the spots where the rats are coming in by placing a fine sheet of talcum powder down on the floor around the areas where have spotted rat droppings. This can help you trace the route the rats are using to enter your home, and take the necessary steps to plug up the hole.
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Use ultrasonic pest repellents that plug into the electrical outlets in your home. These are not 100 percent effective against rats, but they can be enough of an annoyance to encourage the rats to go elsewhere, especially when combined with other rat fighting techniques.
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Practice good food hygiene by never leaving food sit on the counter overnight, and wiping up any crumbs or spills right away. Rats are coming into your home in search of a free meal, and if you remove that source of food they should quickly move on to a more accommodating home.
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Invest in lockable metal garbage cans with pressurized lids, and place all your household waste in these cans right away. Rats have an incredible sense of smell, and they are often drawn to the garbage bags at rural homes. Garbage bags can be especially attractive to rats in a country setting, since those rural rats must travel farther for food than their city counterparts.
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Tips & Warnings
Be careful about using poisons and traps, especially if you have children or pets in your home.
Do not use ultrasonic pest repellents if you have pet mice, rats, hamsters or other small rodents.
References
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