DID YOU KNOW? These 6 Things Attract Roof Rats to Your Home!

Pests bring tons of headaches to every house and its owner. Among these unwanted guests are roof rats. 

Also called ship rats, roof rats cause a lot of nasty problems at home because of their droppings and urine. Cleaning up your pets’ stool is fine but roof rats’ dung are not welcome. What’s more, rats put human lives and pet lives at risk of infections and diseases because of their excrement and bites. 

In terms of damages on house buildings, roof rats are also leading culprits. They access holes and make them bigger, too, to enter important house areas. Wall reworkings, floor replacements, ceiling restoration and roof repairs to be done pile up because of them. They munch on electrical wires, which can lead to electric shocks and fires. No doubt, small but terrible are roof rats. 

These alarming points are reasons enough to urge every owner of a roof rat-infested house to do something in order to get rid of these pests. One of the first steps to stopping the infestation is determining what drives roof rats to your dear home.

You may not know or notice, but your house becomes an ideal crib for these yucky rats because of some things around it that grab their attention. Be enlightened by checking out the list below. These 6 things actually attract roof rats to your home!

1 – FALLEN FRUITS FROM TREES

Gardens are what many homeowners and soon-to-be ones plan to include in their house’s structure. It would be a delight to have fruit-bearing trees surrounding the place, too. You can conveniently and personally plant, grow and harvest fresh food. There is nothing like it in the world! 

But you should be watchful because fallen fruits shine bright in the radar of roof rats. When they see fruits lying around the house, especially on roofs, on the door front and on window sills, they will not think twice to come and feast on them. Eventually, they will discover your house and access pathways into it. 

The most basic and best technique to solve this is by picking all fallen fruits around the house before roof rats eye on them. 

2 – HUMAN FOOD AND PET FOOD

Roof rats do not go on diets and do not reduce their meals. They eat what seems like food to them. Of course, they eat food even if they do not own it. They eat humans’ food and pets’ treats without permission. 

Uncovered food and improperly sealed food containers are attractive to roof rats. Be it meat, vegetables, cereals, sweets and whatever, expect these rodents to take them. Pet food scattered on the ground, left by your dogs, are obvious snacks that they won’t be reluctant to run for. 

This is why it is vital to tightly lock all food boxes. See to it that there will be no fissures for these annoyers to steal and contaminate your tucks!   

3 – DIRTY TRASH CANS

If humans hate the smell of dirty trash cans, roof rats call it paradise! 

Your home’s trash bins are stunners for these pests, especially if you do not cover them, if you do not segregate and if you do not throw rubbish responsibly. Disease-causing bacteria can build up in overly grubby wastebaskets and be acquired by people in your house. Roof rats make the spread faster. 

Although litter bins, inevitably, are not a clean zone, do your best to keep them decent and presentable at least — presentable for people and not for rats. 

4 – VEGETATION AND INDOOR PLANTS

Potted plants and areas of vegetation are also interesting for rats. They are an ideal hiding hub for them, so they can do more to destroy your quiet living. Peppermint shoos away roof rats, so put this scent around your plants. 

5 – PET STOOL

Even when your pet already digested their food and released it off their bodies, their food is still a meal for parasites such as these irritating roof rats. Your pet’s manure which you weren’t aware of is appealing to them. Yes, your dog’s and cat’s feces don’t just make your backyard stink; it also calls roof rats to come over. 

To resolve this, instantly tidy up the areas where your dear furry babes discharged. Best, train your lovelies and teach them to do a whoopsie only on designated areas. In that way, you won’t overlook any house space when you’re cleaning up their wastes. 

6 – ACCESSIBLE OPENINGS

Uninvited, roof rats gate crash. They do so by passing through tiny holes around your dwelling and not through your entrance door. As long as they can fit in cracks, they will not back out but will push themselves through.

Block unnecessary gaps. Install traps to stop them from entering through inevitable openings in your house. Minimize the sizes of these passages if possible.

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DON’T ATTRACT RATS!

Now that you know that these things found in your abode are magnets to roof rats, be more responsible through properly cleaning up inside and outside your house and surely securing all your stuff. In that way, these pests will not be encouraged to invade your pleasant dwelling. 

Call expert roof rat exterminators when you see the need to do so. From then on, take care of your house better. Through that, you will also be able to keep your whole family, including furry babies, safe and healthy. Attract all goodness not roof rats!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. She finds quality and well-researched writing as a worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. For her, it’s restoring and fulfilling to the heart and a great way to clear the mind while loading it up with fresh learning. Film critiquing and filmmaking are among her interests too. Giving all the glory to God, Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.