“how to get rid of rats outside the home” – we get asked this far too often!
Rats are one of the most common pests that homeowners have to deal with. Unfortunately, they can cause a lot of damage and can spread diseases. In order to protect your home and family, it’s important to understand the best ways to get rid of rats. Here are some tips and advice to help you get started on ridding your home of these unwanted guests.
Identify the Problem: Understand What Attracts Rats and How to Spot Signs of Infestation
Rats and mice are attracted to your backyard if it provides a reliable food source, such as birdseed, pet food, compost piles, and other organic materials. They also look for shelter, warmth, and protection, so they may hide in woodpiles, sheds, and other dark places. Additionally, they like water sources, so they may be drawn to water features or leaky pipes in your yard. Finally, rats and mice may be attracted to your yard if there are no natural predators, like cats or owls, present.
Rat Infestations in Portland, Oregon are Common!
It’s no secret that Portland, Oregon has a rat problem! In fact, there are many species of rats living in the city and its suburbs – the most common of which are roof rats. And of course, where there are roof rats, there’s likely to be other pesky rodents, such as mice. Here’s a quick list of the common rat species in the area.
1. Bushy-tailed Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea)
2. Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis)
3. Western Pack Rat (Neotoma cinerea)
4. Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)
5. Northern Pocket Gopher (Thomomys talpoides)
6. Rock Mouse (Peromyscus difficilis)
7. Townsend’s Vole (Microtus townsendii)
8. Western Jumping Mouse (Zapus princeps)
9. Oregon Vole (Microtus oregoni)
Getting Rid of Rats Outside – The Problem with Rat Bait.
Rat bait will not always be the best solution to your rat problems because it can be extremely dangerous for both people and pets if not handled properly. Rat bait can contain toxic chemicals that can cause serious harm if ingested, and even when used as directed, can be harmful to the environment. Not only can rat bait prove to be an enticing food source to unintended creatures, such as birds and even our beloved pets, but its effectiveness relies heavily on consistent use in combination with other forms of rodent control – making it a long-term, albeit hazardous, solution.
So, What About Rat Traps for Getting Rid of Rats and Mice Outside?
Despite their best efforts, rat traps are not always successful in catching and killing rats due to their sharp intellect and ability to quickly learn how to evade them. Rats can remember where they’ve seen traps before, recognize their shape and smell, and even distinguish the sound of them being set. What’s more, they can develop trap-shyness if they’ve been caught before, and will be averse to them going forward. On top of that, if the bait isn’t to their liking, it won’t be a successful trap.
Getting Rid of Rats without Poison…Yes We Can Do It!
Eco-friendly rodent control is a method of pest control that focuses on non-toxic and humane methods for eliminating rodents from your home or business.
Eco-friendly rodent control incorporates preventative measures like sealing cracks and crevices, eliminating food sources and nesting sites, and using humane traps to release the animals into the wild. It also uses natural repellents such as peppermint oil, cayenne pepper, and garlic to effectively keep the rodents away.
Natural Rodent Control Uses Integrative Pest Management Strategies
Utilizing a combination of common sense techniques and methods, Integrative Pest Management (IPM) offers an effective approach to keeping pests at bay. A variety of strategies are incorporated into IPM, such as physical, biological, chemical, cultural and genetic methods, all with the goal of monitoring, preventing and controlling pests.
IPM’s mission is to protect crops, people, and the planet by minimizing pest risks and pesticide use through tactics such as introducing natural predators and parasites, deploying mechanical and cultural controls such as trapping, handpicking, crop rotation, and observing sanitary measures. In addition, IPM may involve the use of chemical pesticides when necessary, but only after other measures have been exhausted.
Determine the Most Efficient Way to Get Rid of Rats in Your Home
So you’ve got mice running around in your backyard, and you’ve got rats making their way into your home. We get it! Getting rid of mice by setting up mouse traps or rat bait doesn’t seem efficient, does it? Well, here are our 3 pro tips to getting rid of rats outside without poison.
1. Throw Away that Rat Bait and Try Rat Birth Control.
Throw away that rat bait; dealing with rats just got a whole lot easier with rat birth control.
To prevent rat populations from becoming unmanageable, rat birth control is implemented using a variety of contraceptive agents. At Campbell Natural Pest Control, we use Contrapest – a sweet liquid formulation that gradually sterilizes both male and female rats – to effectively combat pesky pest problems. Don’t forget: a single rat couple can give birth to a thousand babies in one year! If you want to keep their population from getting out of control, take advantage of our convenient liquid birth control solution – you won’t even need to kill any rats!
2. Kill Rats Naturally by Adding a Predator
Hate the idea of rat poison? We do too! If you’re struggling to get rid of roof rats then why not try owl boxes. Owl boxes are designed to provide a safe nesting and roosting area for owls. When owls are present, they naturally hunt and eat rats. This reduces the rat population in the area of the owl box, since the rats become a food source for the owls. In addition, the presence of the owl boxes can deter rats, as they may perceive the owl box as a potential predator.
3. Rats in your House? Talk to a Professional Rat Removal Expert!
DIY rat extermination and rat control is certainly no easy task! Portland, Oregon is home to quite a lot of rodents that know how to make their way into your home. The best way to deal with high rat populations is to contact your local pest control company. Professional ‘rat exterminators’ will:
- Look for signs of rat infestations both inside and outside the home.
- Get rid of rats from the outside: We can use a combination of live rodent traps and ethical quick-kill traps (if needed). We do not use toxic rat bait.
- Sanitation: Rats invade crawlspace, damage and dirty insulation. We remove dead rats and nesting material from the property. Rodent nesting material is filled with urine and feces, damaging human health.
- Implement preventive strategies & long-term solutions: If you’re trying to get rid of rats outside and from inside the home, then implementing preventive strategies is important. This can include adding a rat birth control station to your property, trapping rats, and of course eliminating things that attract rats to the home.
Get Rid of Rats Outside! Implementing Long-Term Solutions to Stop Rats from Returning
Based in Portland, Oregon, Campbell Natural Pest Control is proud to offer ethical and eco-friendly rodent control and rat extermination throughout Portland. We get it! Dealing with rats and mice can be not only stressful but also gross!
We offer our innovative natural rodent control through Beaverton, Fairview, Happy Valley, Gresham, and more!
So, stop tolerating rats and mice! These pesky little critters shouldn’t have to rule your home. Talk to the Campbell Natural Pest Control team to learn more about getting rid of rats outside.