Attic Rats Removal: How to Get Rid of Rats in the Attic

Rats, according to Macroevolution.net, carry diseases, including bubonic plague, salmonella, rat-bite fever, leptospirosis, tapeworms, murine typhus, and others. These are passed to humans by biting, by infecting human food with droppings and urine, and infecting skin wounds with urine. They also transmit these viruses indirectly by blood-sucking insects, mites, cats, and dogs. It is therefore important that you do not allow rats to stay in your home – particularly in the attic. If you know that these creatures are living in this part of the house, it’s time to do something about it or to call professionals to help you in attic rats removal.

Trace their entry points

Solving your attic rats problem starts with the checking of windows and doors in the attic, as well as utility lines, downspouts, and roofs. Find clues as to where they frequently enter by tracing their urine, droppings, and fur. You may also try this trick: dust the floor with flour and come back and look for footprints.

Close the access points

Soon as you have determined where rats go in, close off all these spots. You should consider using steel mesh so they will not be able to reopen it by chewing. Yes, they are a bunch of excellent chewers as they can easily gnaw woods and concrete.

Place traps

Position traps in the attic. However, do not set them up – at least not yet. Leave them for a few days and put cheese (or whatever food that will attract them) beside them. This is your way of making them comfortable with the objects first. After a week, set these traps. Because they have become familiar with the traps, they are not aware that these are meant to catch them.

Attic Cleanup

After you have successfully completed attic rats removal, it’s time to cleanup rat urine and droppings. Here are ways how:

  1. The very first step that you need to take is to wear plastic or rubber gloves. You can also use dust mask to protect yourself from dust and from smelling bad urine odor.
  2. Mix bleach and water to come up with a cleaning solution or you can just buy disinfectant. Squirt it directly on the urine and droppings. Soak them for five minutes.
  3. Never touch it with your hand covered with gloves. You should still use paper towel to clear up the area. Focus while you are doing this. You may accidentally touch your face.
  4. Discard the urine, droppings, and paper towel into the garbage.
  5. Spray the area with cleaning solution or disinfectant again. Brush it comprehensively to make sure that nothing will remain.
  6. Wash your hands – still with gloves – using soap and water. You may also consider disinfecting the gloves. Then take them off.
  7. Clean your hands using soap and warm water. Now, you are done with attic rats problem.

You now know how to do attic rats removal. Are you sure you’d like to engage in this type of job yourself? Sometimes, it is better to hire people – professionals at that – to solve your attic rats problem. They are well trained to perform this task for homeowners like you.