Rats, in particular, can be frustrating to deal with because of their large size and ability to gnaw through all kinds of materials. There are two main rat species in New Jersey: black rats and brown rats.

Black rats, often known as roof rats, are dark brown to black and have scaly tails and large ears and eyes. They can get to be about 16 inches long when including their tails, and are known for their skills at climbing. Because of this, they are often found in attics or around rooftops.

Brown rats, also known as Norway rats, aren’t so good at climbing but are great swimmers, and they are often found on lower levels of buildings. They are a brownish-grey color, and they have more stout bodies and smaller eyes and ears than roof rats.

What Issues Can Rats Cause?

Both Norway rats and roof rats can be extremely invasive, and they can chew through all kinds of things, including wiring, plumbing, plastic, drywall, and more. They can also be exceedingly messy as they spread their droppings throughout a building. These droppings can lead to respiratory problems. Along with this, rats’ fur, urine, and feces can cause asthma attacks and allergy problems.

Lastly, rats are known to spread diseases including tularemia, rat-bite fever, and salmonellosis. On top of that, they often carry parasites such as ticks and fleas, which can spread even more illnesses.

Because of all these reasons, it’s very unsafe to have rats on your property, and trying to prevent them in the first place is much simpler than eradicating them.

Some Effective Rat Prevention Tips

Unfortunately, rats can be rather difficult to control for a couple of reasons. To start with, they have adapted to live near humans, so they are adept at living alongside us and evading us. Secondly, they can reproduce quickly and fit through holes the size of a quarter, making it hard to isolate and eradicate them.

However, there are still some measures you can take to reduce the factors that attract rats, such as:

• Keeping kitchen areas cleaned consistently so that rats aren’t attracted to the smell of food waste and crumbs.
• Cover trash cans both inside and outside with lids and taking out the trash often. Also, remove trash from around your property and excess clutter.
• Reducing moisture around your property by fixing leaky plumbing and using dehumidifiers.
• Storing pet food indoors in airtight containers.
• Covering holes in vents with mesh wire to make it harder for rats to get inside.

These tips can help minimize the risk of a rat infestation but they are not likely to be sufficient to eliminate a population.

How Can You Remove A Rat Infestation?

If you already have rats around your home or business, the simplest and safest way to remove them is with help from Alliance Pest Services. Our pest control plans will completely remove these dangerous rodents and keep them from coming back around.

To get started, give us a call to request a quote or book your first service.