What It Takes To Get Rid Of Rats On Your New Braunfels Property

It’s a universal fact that no homeowner wants to deal with a rat infestation in their home. Though, in Texas, it’s common to find all sorts of animals trying to find their way into your home, finding rat droppings on your property is still a disheartening ordeal. 

Unfortunately, it can also be quite difficult to get rid of rats on your own. In this blog, we’ve laid out some tips and tricks to help you identify these pesky creatures, the issues they can cause on your property, and why hiring pest control in New Braunfels is the best way to wipe out the problem completely. 

How to Tell If It’s Rats Lurking Around Your Property

The first step in taking care of a rat problem is to identify if they are the culprit. Some tell-tale signs of a rat infestation are:

• Rat droppings in your cupboards, basement, attic, or anywhere else in your home

• Gnaw marks on doorways, food boxes, or other areas of your home.

• Grease stains on the walls or countertops, due to their fur rubbing against it

• Holes chewed through garbage bags and food containers

• Noises in the walls, such as squeaking or scurrying

If you are experiencing any of these signs, you likely have a rat infestation. Though it’s not the best news, you can start to take care of the problem now that you’ve identified it.

Rats Cause Property Damage And Spread Diseases

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just co-exist with rats and they didn’t pose an issue to our health and homes? It would definitely make dealing with a rat infestation a lot easier. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case.

Rats can cause some severe property damage. They can get into the walls and chew through electrical wires (causing potential house fires), destroy your insulation, and even chew through baseboards. Rats can also ruin your furniture, clothes, books, art, and important documents.

Another reason why it’s important to take care of a rat infestation is because it’s simply unhealthy to be around. The diseases rats carry range from hantavirus, jaundice, cowpox, trichinosis, and more. Rats also often carry fleas that can easily spread into your home and onto your pets.

The Most Effective Way To Get Rid Of Rats On Your Property

There are several DIY ways to get rid of rats on your property, but they can’t guarantee that they’ll be gone forever. Some ways include: setting up traps for catch and release, using rat poison, and spraying essential oils of peppermint, cayenne, and other smells that deter rats.

The most undeniably effective way to get rid of rats completely is to hire a professional pest control company. In the hands of a professional pest control company, like Gold Star Exterminators, you can rest assured that your rat infestation will be wiped away.

Five Tips To Prevent Future Rat Infestations On Your Property

Rat prevention is one of the best measures you can take to ensure your home will be safe from future rat infestations. Here are five tips for rat prevention:

1. Seal any gaps or holes on your property. Rats can get through holes as tiny as half an inch.

2. Make sure any vents or chimneys are screened properly and that any weather stripping on windows is up to date.

3. Store firewood at least 20 feet away from your home. 

4. Be sure that trash, recycling, and compost receptacles have proper, tight, sealed lids on them both inside and outside the house.

5. Ventilate attics, basements, and crawl spaces, and make sure they stay dry.

If you think you might have a rat problem, don’t hesitate to call Gold Star Exterminators. It would be our pleasure to do our job well and restore your home back to its rat-free state.