Rat - Facts and Pest Control

Rat on its appearance is a big mouse, with a bigger body, bigger ears, and bigger tail. This rodent is big in size and huge in damaging capability. Rat is a pernicious rodent because it damages and infests homes. Rat commonly appear in tunnels and canals, when the rain starts to fall and flood they go out on it.

The most common type of rat that appears is the brown (Rattuss Norvegicus) or black (Rattuss Rattuss) rat. It brings lots of damage to humans. 

I remember a news when a rat bites a newborn baby inside an incubator that caused wounds to the baby. 

Rat do not care for someone, especially those that were the undomesticated type. If they feel hungry or when there is a threat, they immediately respond to injure or damage anyone.

Rat brings many diseases that make a human's body to weaken, to be bedridden or even death. From contact to its body, urine, and feces, to where diseases may acquire. Like leptospirosis, murine typhus, sodoku, Lassa fever, hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, bubonic plague, rat bite fever, diabetes Miletus, Haverhill fever, and immunosuppression. 

See, not so few diseases but many, as in many. Required action and extermination are very necessary. We need to make a move to exterminate those big crawling pest rat before it's too late. They are fast so we must be much faster to make an action. 

There are plenty rat in the vicinity of our house because of auntie’s eatery business. I always see one in canals but sometimes in corners of our house. 

This is truly a big problem on each of us because of the health risk and property damage it makes. 

Logically, these rat are very dangerous to my auntie’s eatery because of the food they always serve to their customers which are subject from infestation. It is like a circle of rat in an eatery. 

Like mouse, rat also quickly multiply in numbers. Reducing them in numbers is a must until it goes down to zero to eliminate the infestation. 

Now, I have some tips that is truly effective for eliminating and preventing to spread those crawling creatures. Here are the list of tips:

1. Keep your place clean
This the first step to prevent rat entering your house. The reason why the rat goes in a specific area is that it go there with a purpose. 

It maybe the food, mess(as their home), or shelter. Cleaning is very necessary and putting things into right order.

2. Put rodenticide bait
This is simply a bait with rodenticide. An easy way to eliminate those creatures. Rat naturally seek for food. 

Catching or searching for them is not anymore needed. You just need this type of bait, when they eat it, they will automatically go out because of blindness, seeking for light and will be dead. 

Just dispose and bury it if it is dead and you’re good to go for some other action. Be sure to wear gloves when handling rat.

3. Use rat trap
Obviously, rat trap is much bigger and is different in design than a mouse trap. You can make your own or buy at your local market if you can’t make one. 

Put some food bait like peanut butter and let it sit for hours. Be sure to put it near holes or tunnels wherein rat go in and out. If you have a catch, set it free in the forest.

4. Put repellant or barrier in holes or corners of your house

• Mothball – tried and tested to repel rat because it contains chemical and scent that makes rat uncomfortable.

• Pepper – rat generally don’t like smelly and sneezy powder. As it leads to nose irritation and difficulty in breathing.

• Bay or laurel leaves – rat do not know that this leaf is deadly for them when ingested, the tendency would be that they will eat it because they considered it as food.

• Steel wool or metal screen – Metal is a perfect barrier against rat, blocking their way. It is more hard and durable than the teeth of rat which are (just made of calcium). 

5. Call for a pest control
If you are incapacitated to handle the situation, lend a hand to experts. Allow them to handle the situation because they are professional exterminators.

Remember:

• Do ever made a contact with rat barehanded because of the possible contamination.
• Do not hurt it, otherwise, if they survive or escape from your attack, chances are they will recompense resulting into more damage to your home.
• Don’t put bait with chemicals near your food because of the risk of contamination( this bait is for rat and not for human).