Well, Today I will be talking about How To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats .
Yes, A little off-topic posts like our usual posts such as
Snapchat Hack – How To Hack Snapchat Passwords
and other hacking or gaming related posts.
But recently when few of my mates shifted to our new place. Guess what gigantic rodents here and there like they are welcoming us.
Most of the problematic ones were the rats.
So, I thought why don’t I document my fight with them and show you the ways I researched to get rid of mice and rats.
Why to get rid of mice and rats ?
Rats and mice are very unpleasant and annoying animals. And when they appear at your house or property, you can find that these words we said is even understated.
Cleaning your home from rodent invasion is very tedious and quite costly process.
Especially if you are not familiar with your guests very closely. That is why you need to learn more about this topic.
A few facts about rats and mice.
What they like and dislike, and on what they depend, their weaknesses and strong points.
Important Facts You Should Know Before You Go To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
Water
Rodents are extremely dependent on water and live in places of its abundance. In order to decrease chances of them visiting you, you need to block access to both water resources and food (and its residues) as much as possible. Rats endure fasting and die without food in 3-4 days. They die even faster without water. If the moisture percentage is 45%, rats will die in 25 days, and at 14% – in less than a week.
Hearing
30-110 kHz is the range of mice hearing. Male mice, to attract females, emit ultrasonic screams in this frequency. This sounds are quite complex and they resemble songs of birds. Rats hearing frequency is up to 40 kHz, they are usually sensitive to rustling, but they don’t distinguish authentic tones.
Number
One colony can count up to 150 animals. They adapt to human activity quite easy, and alter their daily rhythm. Colonial lifestyle predominates.
Breeding
In warm conditions rats breed up to 10 times a year and 2-3 times a year in nature.
Rodents pregnancy is 20-25 days. The older the females become, their fecundity’s higher.
From the second half of summer, when the young generation of the first generation come into place, the number of rodents begin to increase dramatically, and reaches a maximum in the autumn.
1.5–3 months, is the time when mice and rats become sexually mature and begin to produce their offspring.
The abundance of food increases the intensity of reproduction.
Diseases Spread By Mice
Gray rat spread more than > 20 infections, 8 of which are lethal to humans. Rodents are carriers of a large number of parasites and carriers of the causative agents of many human and domestic animal diseases, including dangerous infections.
How fast rats are?
The speed of the rat is up to 10 km/hr. They are quite mobile animals with excellent physical data. They can also easily overcome barriers up to 80 cm in height. Rat runs from 8 to 17 km on average in 1 day.
Common Ways To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
1. Predators
These are natural fighters against mice and rats.
The main rodent’s enemy is, of course, is the cat. It is a natural hunter. As experiments (covering stray and living cats) have shown, on average one cat catches 57 rodents in one year. Cats are considered a good means of rodent control.
Each cat controls its own territory. In the private house the entire yard is under their control. A hungry cat quickly rushes at the killed prey and eats it; in other cases, it plays with the prey before eating: throws up, catches it, accompanying this “ritual” with jumps.
Though, we should note that there is a common misconception that cats hunt a rat. Gray rats are bigger in size, more aggressive and most of cats are afraid of them themselves. However, dogs can hunt rats.
Cause of their small size, cats do not pose a danger to humans, the exception is allergies or infections that get through scratched skin or with saliva on bites. Some Of the dangerous infections are toxoplasmosis, which the cat can get from mice and rats.
Allergies to enzymes found in cat saliva are the most usual reason people cannot keep cats. To decrease the effect of cat’s saliva exposure, vets recommend bathing the cat every six weeks. Frequent cleaning of the house and the installation of an air cleaner also helps.
2. Mice And Rat Traps To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
The traditional spring trap (or snap trap) is an old way of extermination was invented by Hiram Maxim. He also invented the Maxim machine gun. This is a plain device with spring levering’s. The bait is placed into the trap. Cheese is considered a common bait, however mice do not like it as much as nuts, bread or meat, and also peanut butter. After the rodent touches the trigger, the lever hits it and, in most cases, kills it.
Rat traps are used to catch rats in houses – they are of a larger size. The spring is powerful there are teeth at the base. Rats are much smarter than mice; there could be situations when a spring is triggered, and some rats often have time to bounce off the trap and then quietly eat the bait. It is usually advised that the equipped rat trap placed on the bottom of an empty bucket.
There are also rodent traps representing a wire cage with a slamming door. This are humane rat traps and the mouse, remains alive and unharmed. However, the area where it is to be released needs to be determined beforehand.
Electric Rat Traps
Operation principle: Rats die instantly and painlessly by a high-voltage discharge.
The disadvantage of mouse and rat traps are: the traps can be triggered by home animals and children. At the same time, it is needed to monitor constantly whether the “prey” is caught and, if it is caught, the body needs to be discharged and trap should be placed to catch the next one, and so on . If we take into account how fast they multiply, we can say that it can be an ineffective remedy at home, especially if the rodent number is big.
3. Toxic substances (Rat and mice poisons) To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
The following way to exterminate rodents – rat poisons.
Most of poisons against mice and rats operate on similar principles: the rodent is lured by the poisoned bait and must eat the chemical, after particular time it dies. Mice die in hours; rats die usually after 5-10 days.
Rats are way more intelligent than mice and have the ability to adapt to poisons.
They can also recognize them and avoid them. If an animal from rodent generation survives after trying a poisoned bait, then the next generation will be more resistant to this poison.
For instance, poisons that have been effective in Moscow in the 1940s have almost no effect on modern rats in this city.
4. Extermination (deratization) Services To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
Deratization services are suggested by special companies that eliminate rodents, most often with the help of particular chemicals. In relation with other methods, this one is quite costly, and it also depends on the floor space. A few months rats and mice will not be visible, but there is a possibility that after some time they will com e back and new treatment of the rooms will be required. Therefore, most of extermination service inspectors conclude a one-year contract and carry out sanitation with a particular frequency.
Disadvantages of rat poisons
The poison spreading area should be chosen carefully. Poisons should be spread in places inaccessible for pets and small children.
You also need to understand that the poison quickness varies. There are some poisons which requires only single intake, and there are others which are needed to be consumed several times by rodents.
That is why certain factors need to be taken into account when choosing BEST RAT POISON.
Usually after some time from being poisoned, rodents tend to escape from their hiding spaces: between the walls, ceilings or under the floor, and die there.
A dead rat will rot and it will cause an unpleasant smell that is difficult to get rid of. One other point is that the poison will need to be regularly “updated.”
5. Trivial Methods Of To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
One of successful tools to get rid of mice and rats is: with the help of ash. Wood ash needs to be taken and finely chopped, and then it should be filled with dry floors of the cellar and cellar should be at the rate of one bucket of 5-10 m². The ash contains alkali, which deteriorates rodent organs. Rodents lick it, and this causes following irritation of their mouth and stomach. That is why, rats and mice are forced to relocate to another place.
Also, another effective trivial method of rat control is small broken glass scattered in the places of where they stay. The paws of mice are very susceptible and cuts from glass fragments are very painful for them.
6. Ultrasonic repellents To Get Rid Of Mice And Rats
It was said in the start of this post, that rodents communicate on ultrasonic frequencies from 30 to 110 kHz.
This is perhaps the most modern and sophisticated method of rodent control. The action principle- powerful ultrasonic attacks impact rodents and make it impossible for habitat to live and reproduce. And since rodents are social animals and live in families, the effect of the device completely blocks the communication between them and negatively affects their nervous system (it makes rodents crazy).
Today it is quite effective and long-term method of rodent control. One-time investment in this safety measure brings safety of the property and peace of mind (the cost of one device usually from 20 to 60 dollars).
The effectiveness of ultrasonic repellents is proven by experiments conducted in research institutes.
These devices are harmless to humans and pets, you also need to ask certificates of conformity, hygiene and safety.
Advantages of ultrasonic repellents.
Ultrasonic waves are very unpleasant, for the whole mouse and rat family, so the entire colony leaves the habitat.
Animals do not die, so it removes the unpleasant odor possibility, as in the case with poisons.
Devices do not need to be periodically checked (not the case with mousetraps), they work constantly.
The electricity they spend is quite low. The most powerful ones are not more than 10 W.
The service life of one device is up to 11 years.
Cons of ultrasonic repellents.
Devices must work constantly (if the device is turned off, the rodents may come back).
Ultrasound is partially absorbed by the fuzzy surfaces, so it is not recommended to send the main beam of ultrasound into them.
Limited range of acting. These devices are designed to work indoors, on the outside ultrasound will act only at a distance of 15-25 m, and then it will “dissolve” in air.
Methods of dealing with unpleasant smell.
If you have used several methods of dealing with rats like poisons and managed to exterminate them at home, a very unpleasant smell suddenly appears.
This is a smell of their dead bodies which are stuck in different places. This may be a sign that the dead rat body is somewhere in your room, and when it starts to decompose, the smell will become stronger and stronger.
That is why, the smell must be taken care of immediately, as soon as you feel it, because it may get worse.
To do this, you can use following methods
The first step is to find the dead body of a rat. It is quite easy to do this. It is advised to be armed with gloves and a gas mask, cause the smell of a dead rat found will obviously be unlike the fragrance of violets. Having found the carcass, it should be put in a plastic bag, hermetically sealed, then taken out and discharged far away.
If the rat died on the street, the ground under it needs to be scrubbed and thrown away. The smell has already managed to soak it.
If you are unlucky, and the rat has died in the room, then the place where its head touched, should be covered with salt. The salt will absorb the bulk of the unpleasant smell, and after that you can throw it away, and wash the floors.
We hope this info will be useful for you if you face the rodent problem in your property.
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