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Sunnystate

Sunnystate Pest Control Brisbane, Queensland

Rats In The Kitchen

Rats in the kitchen

Rats in the kitchen can be of real concern as they carry disease and they will also make a beeline for any food sources. We have just completed a rat problem for a customer of ours that had this exact problem.

The property was in the suburb of Tarragindi in Brisbane and the house is a post-war home. These types of homes have many entry points where rats and mice can gain easy access.

The owners had tried their own rodent control measures but they hadn’t worked. Most people with a rat problem will try products from Bunnings before they call a professional pest control company.

This particular customer was that horrified about the rats in the kitchen she moved out during the treatment. After an initial inspection of the home, we came up with a rodent management plan to bring the problem under control.

There are a few important procedures that need to be done to eliminate rodents. We need to identify where their getting in, followed with a baiting and monitoring plan and then finally sealing entry points.

Rats in the kitchen, but where are they getting in

The first thing that needs to be done is an inspection of the property this will identify any entry points where rats may enter. In this case, the house was raised of the ground as it’s of weatherboard construction.

Checking underneath the house is an obvious place to start looking for entry points. In this case, the rats in the kitchen were harbouring under the kitchen cabinets. The piping leading into the house had some big caps around them making it easy for them to gain entry.

Once we have established where they are getting in it makes it a lot easier to come up with a solution and also where best to place the bait stations.

It’s important not to seal up the entry points until we are sure the rats have been eliminated.

Baiting the rats in the kitchen

The baits that we use these days are known as one dose baits. Once the rats have had just a small feed of the baits they will die. The time in which it takes to kill the rat is between 3-7 days.

The baits have a longer mortality rate to ensure that the entire colony is eliminated. The adult rats will send in the younger ones to test any new food sources first. This helps to protect the colony because if the first one to eat the bait dies straightaway the rest will leave it well alone.

So prolonged mortality is going to ensure the rest of the colony consumes the baits. This gives much faster control over a rodent problem and this is what we want especially when there are rats in the kitchen.

Monitoring the rat problem

Monitoring the progress of the problem is critical in eliminating the entire colony. Follow up inspections of the site and also the bait stations must be carried out.

In the case of rats in the kitchen as was the case with this client monitoring can stop once the situation is under control.

Commercial properties will need regular monitoring programs set up to maintain a rodent-free environment. Industrial warehouses and restaurants have the perfect environment for potential rat issues. Whereas residential properties are usually one-off problems and once the rodents have been eliminated and the entry points sealed no further monitoring is required.

The monitoring program can be over a period of a month for residential premises this will depend on the severity of the problem.

Signs That The Rats Are Gone

There are some telltale signs that a rodent problem is coming under control or eliminated completely. The bait we use is a green colour with a rodenticide called Bromadiolone. One of the first signs will be the change in colour of the rat’s droppings once they start to consume the baits their faeces will turn green.

Another sign is fewer droppings around the floor or harbouring places, rodents poo as they run so a decrease in droppings a great sign. Inspections of the bait stations will indicate how much activity if any is still there. This is done by simply seeing how much of the baits have been consumed over a period of time. Once the baits stop being eaten it’s a sure sign that the rodents have been eliminated.

Conclusion

Rats entering a house are very common but with some expert advice, the situation can be brought under control in a short period of time.

Correct placement of baits stations and identification of entry points is a crucial part of successful treatment.

Rats are very smart indeed and will outsmart anyone that doesn’t fully understand their behaviour. This is why it’s important to use a fully licensed pest controller that understands them.

If you have a problem with rodents or maybe rats in the kitchen contact us here at Sunnystate Pest Control and we’ll make your home rat-free.

CALL 0422 334 204

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Jason Neale Owner of Sunnystate Pest Control customer advice about Covid 19

About author

Jason Neale is the owner of Sunnystate we are a professional Pest Control and Termite company servicing customers throughout Brisbane – Ipswich – Gold Coast and have been in the industry for over 20 years and is also a keen blogger.