How to get rid of Brown Rat - Central Pest Control

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Rats and Mice still on the Move!

Winter in Ireland means for Rats and Mice that it is time to sought after shelter and furthermore a food supply, as the weather turns colder, and rats and mice don’t hibernate during the winter months.

Rats are our most common pest that we receive calls for from distressed Homeowners and Businessowners. Here at Central Pest Control, we have experienced an increase of calls this winter for Rodent Infestations as the temperatures have been particularly cold and are staying this way for some time.

As the temperatures decrease, rodents start to move indoors from the cold and in search of a food supply to stay alive. Having a Rodent Infestation can cause a lot of stress on home and business owners. This stress is caused by the facts that rats and mice will gnaw their way through your property, spread diseases, and contaminate food stuff just to name a few.

Have you heard of Musophobia?

Musophobia is an overwhelming fear of rats and mice. Some individuals suffer from severe revulsion at the sight of a rodent in their home, business, or workplace. This can even lead to depression, stress, and other anxiety disorders.

Rodents can cause harm to the health of those living in a property or working in a business where a Rodent infestation has occurred. As we know Rats and Mice spread diseases. It is when humans come in to contact either with rodent urine, their droppings or contaminated food by rodents, they can become very sick. Disease such as Salmonella, Leptospirosis and Rat-bite fever, are all carried by Rats and Mice. These diseases are all very unpleasant and will cause flu like symptoms at the least, such as chills and fever.

Along with dangers to human health, Rodents will also cause damage to your property if they make themselves comfortable in it. Rodents’ incisor teeth are continuously growing, and this therefore causes them to gnaw on almost anything in hope of filing down their teeth. Rats and Mice will gnaw at almost anything such metal, wood, concrete and even glass. They have been known to gnaw through pipes and cables which can become a big concern for home and business owners causing flooding and fires.

If you believe that Rats or Mice have made their way into your Home or Business, Contact Us at Central Pest Control, with over 36 years in dealing with Rodent infestations, you’re in safe hands with our fully licensed and trained technicians who are always happy to help.

Why control Brown Rats?

Brown Rats carry many nasty diseases which they can spread to humans, normally through their urine. including; Leptospirosis or Weil’s disease, Salmonella, Listeria, Toxoplasma gondii and Hantavirus.

Brown Rats can inflict a great amount of structural damage. They can cause serious fires by gnawing away the insulation around electrical cables, floods by puncturing pipes and even death by chewing through gas pipes. The insurance sector have estimated that rodent damage to wiring is responsible for 25% of all electrical fires in buildings.

Brown Rats can ruin an organisation’s reputation. If clients and customers spot evidence of rodent infestation in the premises you manage, they are unlikely to want to do business with you.

Property owners have a legal obligation under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 to keep premises rat and mice free, or, if Brown Rats pose a threat to health or property, to report infestations to the local authority.

How to prevent Brown Rats?

You can put steps in place to try and prevent a Brown Rat infestation:

Eliminate any harbourage points such as sealing gaps around pipes and under sheds; rats only need a gap of 15mm to gain entry.
Remove potential nesting sites by keeping yards and gardens clean and tidy, by cutting back overgrown areas and clearing any piles of wood/debris.
Ensure that drain inspection covers are in a good state of repair.
Cover any household waste where Brown Rats can get access to it, close dustbin lids and cover compost heaps.
If you feed garden birds, do not do this to excess and use a bird table or feeder basket if possible.

How to get rid of Brown Rats:

Brown Rats are adaptable, highly mobile and breed rapidly, this combination can make rat control a difficult task for the untrained individual. For any Brown Rat infestation, we would always recommend contacting a professional pest control company, preferably a member of the IPCA. They are trained in rat control and will have access to a range of professional use rodenticides which are not available to the public.

However, if you decide to carry out the work yourself then you can buy amateur use poisons and traps from a hardware store or garden centre. Most rats are wary of new objects such as traps or poisons placed in their environment and will avoid them for a period of time prior to exploring them, so don’t expect an instant success. When placing poison or traps, make sure they are in a safe and secure place out of reach of children and pets.

WARNING: When using rodenticides always follow the instructions on the label, and importantly search for and dispose of any dead rodents in a safe manner.