Perish the thought that a rat does find its way into your property. Whether you are extremely squeamish or whether you are entirely nonplussed, what can you expect and what action should you take if you suspect of discover rodents in your Plymouth property?
It is about that time of year – the temperatures have dropped and it is cold and wet out there. It is not nice living conditions for anyone and it is no surprise to start discovering guests in your house. Spiders come in as the autumn arrives and then come the rats and mice. They don’t want to sleep under the decking in the garden if they can find a warmer place to rest. If they can find a nice warm property with cavity walls or a nice roof space then even better.
How do rats enter your Plymouth property?
You may think that your property is safe against the threat of these creatures not being aware of any visible entry spots. It is surprising however, how these rats can reduce themselves in size and squeeze through even the smallest gaps but if they want in, they will try their very best to do so.
The lifecycle of a rat
It takes around 3 weeks for a rat to mature and be able to fend for itself. At 5 weeks, they are sexually mature. They can then live for between 2-3 years. Many rats tend to only live for around a year though due to predators and interspecies conflict.
A female rat can produce around 5 litters a year and the gestation period is 3 weeks. When you consider this, a rat that gives birth to a litter in your property has produced several more opportunities for even more rats to be born in only a couple of months.
What if it is just one rat?
Now, if one lone male rat or female rat (as long as she is not pregnant) finds their way in, unless they find a mate there is only going to be one rat to worry about. If that rat is pregnant and looking for someone to nest as is entirely possible, then you could find yourself overrun in no time.
That is why it is imperative to take action. One rat can cause damage – imagine the damage that several rats can inflict on your home. Not only that but if you have small children then you have to consider carefully the impact of rats and the diseases they carry.
‘When’ rats cause damage, not ‘if’
It is not a case of if a rat causes damage, it is a case of when! Rats have to gnaw to keep their permanently growing incisors short. You can’t expect a rat to not chew through timbers, skirting boards, wires or anything else it deems as fit to do the job.
Of course, you can get rid of the rat but will that get rid of the problem? What happens if another rat gets in? How did the last one find its way in and how long has it been there? Can you be sure that there aren’t more. it is time that you looked at rat control Plymouth and take some firm action.
Call the professional rat control Plymouth experts
Calling in a professional pest control expert is key – they know what they are looking for, have thermal imaging equipment and all of the right skills and experience to find the rat, the source of entry, any other offspring that may be wondering around and to prevent the problem recurring in the future. Matt and his team are experts at catching even the most wily rats so give us a call on 01752 929292 and we will help you.
