Roof Rat Control and Pest Control Products - What Works and What Does Not?

Knowledge is the first step towards effective, safe Pest Control.

Roof Rat Control:

The pheromones in the rodent urine can last up to two years. Roof rats love to live in attics. It's warmer, drier and safer from predators. Unfortunately most attics are not equipped with roof rat toilets. But this is not a problem for the roof rats - they will just urinate and defecate all over the attic. And I do mean all over. It is amazing to see an attic where squirrels have been residing. Raisin sized dung all over the place and matted down insulation which is stained with and smells of urine. It is truly nasty - but not to the roof rats. The urine leaves pheromone trails which are like a welcome mat or "attic for rent" sign for future roof rats. This is why rat trapping, poisoning, or house sealing has to be done over and over and over by homeowners at great cost each time and most definitely accumulatively. I know this from experience and so does my pocketbook. I am in the pest control industry. I am, and have to be, familiar with many aspects of the industry. In one of the pest control classes I attended, taught by a pest control inspector, the inspector informed us that integrity was a big part of keeping our state license. As a part of insuring this, the inspectors would "shadow"/observe unawares a pest control operator and before an inspector does a sight, chemical, equipment, paper work, and service vehicle inspection he/she would often watch the pest professional from a distance without the pest control operator's knowledge he/she was being watched/inspected. The inspector teaching the class said that in the vast majority of times an animal was live trapped at a customer's residence or business the animal pest was unethically released within two blocks of where it was caught. In this case the pest would just return to the capture sight. Pest control operators in most states are required to take the pest at least two miles away from the capture sight before releasing it. The inspector told the class that our license would be in jeopardy if we were caught doing this unethical practice.

So if you hire a pest control company to live trap and/or seal your home or business - what certainty do you have that the pest control employee won't just let the roof rat out of the live trap just down the street? Again, this was not the exception but the majority according to the inspector's class. And if you, yourself, successfully snap trap, the pest or glue trap the pest, or zap trap the pest - What keeps other animal pests from following the scent trail to your home or property? Rodent Strobe really is the Long Term Solution for effective Roof Rat Control.

Roof Rat Control and Rat Control by means of wolf urine, coyote urine, fox urine, predator urine, or scents? Will these get rid of roof rats in the attic?

Roof Rat Repellents

Roof Rat Control by means of wolf urine, coyote urine, fox urine, predator urine, or scents? Will these get rid of squirrels in the attic?

Why shake away your hard earned money on odor repellents, that the academic pest professionals say do not work?
In the first place - been there done that. I can tell you from personal experience that this does not work for long - In my case it did not work at all. Besides I do not want more urine smell in my attic. Enough is enough. Oh! (But the web sites say) this will scare away the pest because the rat, mouse, mice, squirrel, raccoon will smell the predator urine and it will be frightened away. Please do not waste your hard earned money on these products. Too many people do.

Here's Something Else to Think About:

The MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for one of these products lists fox urine as a main ingredient. Where is all this dried fox urine coming from? Are there fox port-a-potties placed in the forest? It takes a lot of fox urine to produce these products. Where is it coming from? The largest source of fox urine on the market is supplied by the fur trade industry. Hundreds of foxes in cages with trays beneath each cage to collect the marketable urine. Do you want to purchase a product that does not give long term results? Do you want your money going  to support the fur trade industry?

Plastic Owls

There is a restaurant with a giant Paul Bunyan statue in the parking lot with a big axe in his hands. Is this scaring the human customers away? Have you ever seen a picture of a scarecrow out in a corn field with a bird sitting on it? – I have. Again, please don’t waste your money on a plastic owl – unless all you want is one or two days of roof rat control until the pest figures out it’s not real.

Will a radio in the attic get rid of roof rats in the attic?

This will work for a day or two but that is about it. I know people who sleep with a radio or a television on all night with the volume up. When asked how they could sleep with such noise they respond “Oh, I’m used to it”. The pest will get used to it too. No one likes to be kicked out of their home – roof rats are no exception.

Pellet Gun to get rid of roof rats in the attic?

What if you just wound it and it runs to its nest – IN YOUR ATTIC – and dies? Well, happy smells to you Annie Oakley. Besides, in many towns this is illegal.

Rat Traps: some things to consider before you purchase.

This is a way to control pests. BUT, there are several drawbacks. First, be careful for your fingers – if it can snap a mouse’s spine it can certainly break or severely hurt a finger. Children can get hurt. Family pets could get hurt. Emergency rooms are expensive.

Mouse traps, mice traps, rat traps are meant for smaller rodents. Roof rat control via this method could mean a large roof rat caught in one of these could suffer for hours. A large rat (and rats can get as large as a small cat) might possibly have to be killed while still caught in the trap. Pest control manuals recommend attaching snap traps to a larger board so a larger wounded animal caught in a trap doesn’t drag it elsewhere where it will die and smell and be hard to retrieve. I have personally seen a large rodent in an attic that caught its foot in a snap trap. The rodent then retreated with the snap trap attached to its foot into an inner house wall and became caught in between the attic wall and the open attic space because the trap would not fit back through the space between the wall and the attic. This animal would have died in the wall and would have rotted and smelled had it not been found and removed.

If you use a rat trap, or a mouse trap, or a squirrel trap that is designed to kill the pest - what if it has babies living in the attic or wall spaces of your property? They die and the smell is horrible! Plus then you have to go through the expense of having a pest control professional crawling through your attic and possibly cutting into your walls to remove the dead litter. But with Rodent Strobe if the strobes are turned off for short periods of time (several hours) during the first few days - the rat, or squirrel has a chance to remove its young and the whole family leaves. This is roof rat control that does not leave a rotting dead animal in your walls or attic. This is truly the best way to get rid of roof rats, raccoons, bats in the attic, rats in the attic, skunks under the house and opossums in the attic or crawl space.

Pest control manuals give guidelines on disposal of trapped and killed or injured pests. First, warnings are made that a wounded animal can be very dangerous. Secondly, dead pests can carry diseases so wear the proper protective equipment. Third, It is recommended that the dead animal be sprayed thoroughly with a clorox and water solution before removal and disposal. Also be aware that the dead pest may have fleas that have been feeding on its blood and if one of its fleas bites you then you could be infected with a pathogen. Lyme disease, a disease that was once thought only to be in deer ticks, has now been found in fleas. The “black death” was spread by fleas on roof rats.

Rat traps and Roof Rats aka. Attic Rats.

Been there, done that. If you have roof rats – good luck, I had none. With literally dozens of traps and multiple baits – over seven years I didn’t catch a single roof rat. I could smell them. I could hear them. I saw their droppings. I just couldn't’t catch them and neither could four pest control companies. You have got to have a really bad problem with roof rats to catch them – by “bad problem” I mean an over population and fierce competition for food sources. And to solve the problem you have to catch them all and then you have their lasting scent trail to worry about.

Moth balls in the attic for roof rat control or rat control is illegal and toxic to humans.

The use of moth balls in an attic or other spaces to get rid of roof rats in the attic is illegal in all 50 states. If you use moth balls to get rid of roof rats, bats in the attic, and raccoons in the attic or any other vertebrate pest or even suggest their use to someone you are committing, at least a misdemeanor, and even a felony in many states. If you are considering using Moth balls to get rid of squirrels in the attic then you need to read this - Moth balls are toxic to humans and pets. Most moth balls are made from naphthalene which is derived from coal tar. The gas emitted from moth balls is heavier than air and will seep from your attic into the lower levels of your home – your living areas. Many people will recommend moth balls to get rid of roof rats in the attic and other pests. In states such as Arizona, California, Florida and New York this simple recommendation is a felony. Moth balls take oxygen out of the air. Their purpose is to suffocate moths in a contained environment. It is similar, very similar to running a car engine in a garage with the garage door closed. Several years ago a friend had a yard man tell her to put moth balls in her attic to drive out the squirrels. It worked for a while but the amount of moth balls she had to put in the attic spaces to drive out the squirrels made her house stink of moth balls. Now, my friend could not smell the moth balls after several days, but everyone who entered her house was over-whelmed by the odor. I have asthma and when visiting her it greatly bothered my asthma. Two years later the lowest places in her house, such as bathroom cabinets, linen closets, etc. still smells of moth balls. Many people who make this huge mistake then spend years trying to get the moth ball smell out of their house. Good luck! To this day, freshly laundered towels that have been placed in her bathroom cabinets soon acquire the smell of the moth balls. Again, my friend could not smell the moth balls but everyone who entered her house could. Same thing with roof rats, squirrels and mice - they get used to the smell - unless you use so many moth balls that the toxic vapors are so heavy that the squirrels or other rodents can’t stay – which means these heavier than air toxic vapors are seeping down into your living areas and into your lungs and into your blood stream. Did you know that babies that have been wrapped in blankets which were stored with moth balls have been found to have high levels of naphthalene in their blood streams? Moth balls for rodent control, been there – smelled that, in most cases it is illegal and very toxic.

1. Nose, eyes, and lung irritation.
2. Difficulty breathing, asthma worsening, asthma attacks.
3. Headaches, nausea, dizziness.
4. Cancer – moth balls are possible carcinogens.
5. Effect on babies- skin rash, anemia, jaundice.

Learn More About:

Mothballs

Ultrasonic Repellers

Professional Services

Odor Repellents

Roof Rat Control and Rat Control by means of ultrasonic pest control, ultrasonic repellents, ultrasonic repellers?

Been there, done that too! I wish I had my money back. That ultrasonic thing was expensive and the owner of the company told me how great it would work. Yeah buddy. Did you know that several of the leading vertebrate pest specialists - PhD. Professors, experts in the field have tried to get the Federal Trade Commission to ban ultrasonic pest control devises because they do not work? The Federal Trade Commission has published a warning to all ultrasonic pest repeller manufacturers and retailers. There may be an initial effect but research shows that the pests return and become habituated (get used to the noise). How long do ultrasonics work? Research shows that the repelling effect last for 1-3 days, but after 3-7 days the pests become habituated to the noise and continue living in the space not bothered enough to leave their home. Additional research confirms that ultrasonic pest repellers may have a partial or transitory effect, but have no persistent effectiveness. Most academic researchers urge legislatures and consumers to view ultrasonic pest repellents with skepticism. The New York State Consumer Protection Board cautions against using ultrasonic repellers. In addition to this, contrary to the claims of many ultrasonic pest control device sellers, there is scientific evidence that some of these devices cause hearing loss in pets, most especially dogs . Even the US Army does not approve of ultrasonic pest control devices.

I traveled to San Diego to speak with the vertebrate pest expert who does the pest control products investigations for the Federal Trade Commission. When I told him I had a pest control product that I needed some help in designing container and field experiments for product testing the first thing he asked me (with a look of disgust) was “this isn’t another one of those ultrasonic pest repellers is it? – Those things don’t work”. I can proudly say that he seemed very impressed with my product, especially when he was in a dark room with my strobe flashing and he was commenting that it was making him dizzy as he moved around the room. Then I observed him try several times to turn on the lights with the wall switch and his hand was meandering around for several seconds before he was able to secure his hand on the switch and turn the lights on. I was one happy camper.

With the Rodent Strobe line of pest control strobe lights the problem of habituation is completely solved. The rodents can not adapt to the constant high intensity lightning bright flashes. We have found that if a squirrel or rat is living in a house wall that it accesses through a space that is protected by a high intensity strobe that the squirrel or rat will give up going to its nesting area in the wall. It just is not worth it - see our How It Works page.

Attic squirrels and rats are good mothers. If their young are in what the rodent mother deems an "unsafe" area she will move them to another place that she sees as safe. We recommend that a person using our pest control strobe lights simply turn off the strobes for a few hours at a time during the first few days to allow the mothers to move their young. Then when all the attic squirrels, attic rats, raccoons, etc., are gone - turn on the strobes and leave them on (they are extremely energy efficient - only 4.8 watts for our squirrel control strobe). Problem solved! No dead, rotting squirrels or rats. No dead or sick family pets. No repeating and repeating the squirrel trapping, or rat trapping nightmare.

Resources and Links

Rats
Brown Rat
Black Rat
Rat Flea
Black Death aka Bubonic Plague
Squirrels
Rodentia
Photos of common rodents found in the US by the CDC