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How to Stop Your Property from Being Infested with Rats

Rats are often seen as unwelcome visitors, especially when they invade our homes or businesses. These highly adaptable and intelligent creatures are known to carry disease and cause significant damage, making it crucial to understand the factors that attract them. By understanding what draws rats into our spaces, we can take proactive measures to keep them at bay. In this blog, we’ll explore the various factors that make an environment appealing to rats and what you can do to prevent infestations.

1. Food Sources: The Main Attraction

As rats are omnivorous, they eat anything (even their own babies!). Therefore, one of the most significant reasons rats invade homes and buildings is the availability of food. Rats are opportunistic feeders, meaning they’ll scavenge for whatever food they can find. This can range from general household waste to pantry items, pet food, or even crumbs left on the floor. The following food sources are especially attractive to rats:

• Human Food: Rats are most attracted to food that is easy to access. Open bags of cereal, crumbs in the kitchen, or spilled food on the floor can entice rats into your home. They have an incredible sense of smell and can detect food from a distance.
• Pet Food: Pet food bowls, especially if left out overnight, can also attract rats. They may also target pet food storage areas if the containers are not sealed properly.
• Rubbish: Rats will often scavenge in trash cans if they are not securely sealed. Open or overflowing garbage cans are an invitation for rats looking for a free meal.
• Compost: If you maintain a compost bin, be aware that rats are attracted to decaying food and organic matter. While composting is an eco-friendly way to dispose of organic waste, improperly sealed bins can provide easy access for rats.
• Bird Feed: Rats are drawn to bird feeders, especially if seeds are spilled on the ground. The availability of bird seed can be a consistent food source for rats, particularly during colder months when food is scarcer.

2. Harbourage: Shelter and Hiding Spots

Rats need shelter to survive and thrive, and they prefer to nest in areas that offer safety from predators and easy access to food. Sheltered areas with little disturbance allow rats to live and breed in peace, so finding such spaces around your property is one of the primary things that attracts them.

• Cluttered Spaces: Rats are known to nest in places that provide hidden spaces, such as piles of newspapers, boxes, or old furniture. A cluttered basement, attic, garage or garden can provide the perfect hideout for a rat infestation.
• Crawl Spaces and Attics: These dark, undisturbed spaces are often the perfect place for rats to create their nests. Warm and isolated, crawl spaces and attics offer protection and often go unnoticed for long periods, allowing rats to breed (up to 200 offspring, per pair, per year!) and multiply in secrecy.  This is where they can also cause a lot of physical damage without your knowledge, such as chewing electrical wires, water pipes and rafters potentially causing fire hazards, leaks and destruction to your property.
• Wall Voids and Ceiling Gaps: Rats are excellent climbers and can squeeze through very small openings. Gaps around vents, pipes, or cracks in walls and ceilings provide easy access points for rats to enter the home. Once inside, these areas offer a safe environment for rats to nest.
• Under Decking and Sheds: Outdoors, rats seek shelter under decks, porches, or in sheds that are poorly maintained. These spaces are often undisturbed, making them ideal for rats looking to nest and breed.

3. Warmth and Comfort

Rats are warm-blooded creatures, and during colder months, they will seek out warm environments where they can survive and reproduce. This is especially true in colder climates, where food sources become scarcer and shelter becomes more important. Your home’s warmth can be a major factor in attracting rats, particularly during the fall and winter months.

• Heated Homes: During colder seasons, homes become a haven for rats looking for warmth. The warmth of a house offers rats an ideal place to live, and they’ll often enter through cracks or small gaps in windows, doors, and vents.
• Heated Basements and Crawlspaces: These areas are often warmer than the outside environment and are attractive to rats. If you have a basement with a furnace or water heater, it may act as a perfect warm shelter for these pests.

4. Water Sources

While rats can survive without food for extended periods, they cannot survive without water. Rats will often seek out reliable water sources to sustain themselves, making homes with accessible water an even more attractive target. Areas that consistently provide water attract rats, especially in dry seasons.

• Leaky Pipes and Taps: Leaking water fixtures or pipes in kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and utility rooms provide easy access to water for rats. These leaks may go unnoticed for some time, allowing rats to access a consistent water supply.
• Pet Water Bowls: If you leave water bowls out for pets overnight, rats may be drawn to them. This is especially true if the bowl is large or if there are multiple sources of water scattered throughout the property.
• Standing Water: If there is standing water in your yard due to poor drainage, it can attract rats looking for a water source. Puddles, ponds, and even birdbaths provide an accessible water supply for rats.

5. Overgrown Vegetation and Landscaping

Rats are also attracted to properties with overgrown vegetation or dense landscaping. Tall grass, thick shrubbery, and vines create hiding spots and shelter for rats, and they can use these areas to travel between different parts of your property unnoticed.

• Bushes and Shrubs: Overgrown shrubs provide excellent cover for rats, allowing them to scurry from one area to another without being seen. Rats can nest in these shrubs or use them as hiding spots during the day.
• Tall Grass and Weeds: Rats love long grass because it offers concealment, giving them an opportunity to hide from predators and people. Long grass also serves as a direct route into your home, particularly if the grass is close to entry points.

6. Easy Access Points

Rats are excellent climbers, swimmers, and burrowers. They can enter homes through surprisingly small openings. It is essential to seal any cracks or holes in the exterior of your home to prevent rats from finding a way inside.

• Cracks and Holes in Foundations: Even the smallest crack in a foundation can provide rats with an entry point into your home. Over time, these cracks expand, allowing rats to slip inside unnoticed.
• Unsealed Vents and Chimneys: Rats can access homes through unsealed vents or chimneys. If you have a fireplace or attic vents, be sure to install protective screens or covers to block rats from entering.
• Open Windows and Doors: Rats can squeeze through open windows, vents, or gaps around doors. Always ensure windows and doors are properly sealed, particularly during colder months when rats are more likely to seek shelter indoors.

7. Other Attractants

• Human Habits: If you have a habit of leaving food out, especially in places like the kitchen counter or dining table, rats will be attracted to the scent of leftovers or crumbs. Regularly cleaning up food waste and storing food in sealed containers will make it harder for rats to find a meal.
• Birds and Wildlife: Sometimes, the presence of other animals in your yard, like squirrels, birds, or other small creatures, can indirectly attract rats. They may see these animals as prey or competitors for food, further increasing the likelihood of a rat infestation.

Conclusion: How to Prevent Rats from Entering Your Home

Now that we know what attracts rats, it’s essential to take preventive measures to keep them out. The best way to avoid a rat infestation is to eliminate their food, water, shelter, and access points. Regularly check your property for cracks and holes, keep food sealed tightly, clean up pet food and spills, and ensure there is no water leakage. With the right precautions, you can make your home a less inviting place for rats and protect your property from the dangers they bring.

By understanding what attracts rats, you can take control of your living environment and minimise the risks associated with rat infestations. Whether through sealing entry points, reducing available food, or maintaining a clean and tidy home, there are many strategies to prevent rats from becoming a problem in your life.  If you do encounter a rat infestation in your property, we can put down the necessary treatment to eradicate them from your property and advise on how to proof your property and prevent them from returning.  Contact us today!