It’s that time of year in Fort Lauderdale that we in the pest control industry call “Fort Lauderdale Rat Control Season.” Even in Fort Lauderdale, during the last few months of the year, it gets a bit cooler than the Summer, which causes a spike in calls to our office for rodent or rat activity in someone’s home!
You might say, “rats are just a part of our tropical area, and there’s nothing you can do.”
Well then, you would be wrong.
I’m going to review the top five Fort Lauderdale Rat Control tips a homeowner can do to keep their home rat-free.
Five Fort Lauderdale Rat Control Tips on Keeping Your Home Rat Free!
Even if you don’t think there is a problem, you need to do these five Fort Lauderdale Rat Control tips to your home and property today.
Step One: Inspect your home aka Fort Lauderdale Rat Control
Inspect your home for any openings around the exterior of your home and seal them off. Check around all doors, windows, and garages for openings and seal off with new weather stripping or caulking.
Pro-Tips:
- Rats can squeeze their body through a half inch opening.
- Use concrete patch to fill holes around hose bibs, A/C plumbing, dryer stacks, electrical conduits, etc.
- Cap off vent stacks on the roof with galvanized screen 26 gauge or thicker.
Step Two: Overgrown landscape
Keep your landscape from being overgrown and trees and palms from touching the roof of your home. In warmer weather, rodents like to live outdoors, as the weather gets colder, they can walk across a branch onto your roof looking for a new home.
Pro-tips:
- Keep grass and vegetation cut short.
- Make sure there are no piles of debris around the exterior of the structure
Step Three: Attic Inspection
Inspect your attic for any rodent activity. If you find droppings or smell something funny, be careful not to touch or breath in too much up there. The air could be contaminated and can cause asthma and or hantavirus.
Hantaviruses can cause potentially fatal infections. Infection occurs by breathing air that’s contaminated by rodent urine and droppings.
If you find this, you may need a hazmat team to sanitize your attic and insulation cleaned out and replaced.
Step Four: Property Inspection
Inspect your property and home for any potential food sources and remove or seal them up. Do you have any fruit-bearing trees on your property? You need to make sure there aren’t any fruit laying on the ground.
Pro-tips:
- Make sure to pick fruit when ripe, or else you are just supplying the rats with a fast food stop.
- Make sure not to leave your bag of pet food on the floor, instead put in an airtight container.
- Keep your trash in sturdy garbage bins so that rats or any other animal cannot have easy access to them.
Step Five: Call JP Miller
Give JP Miller a call today if you want one of our QualityPro Certified Technicians to perform Fort Lauderdale Rat Control. We will do a thorough inspection of your home and property and offer you a detailed plan to keep your home off the open market for rats and rodents.