When homeowners and residential renters are asked to list some of their more significant fears about things that can go awry at their homes, issues pertaining to rodent infestation usually are included. If you are among that group of people, you may wonder what you can do to get rid of rats or mice if you face an infestation. For example, you may wonder if there exists a spray product designed to get rid of rats in your home (or business).
The Availability of Spray Products to Get Rid of Rats
There is a simple answer to the question of whether or not there is a spray product to get rid of rats in your home or business. The direct answer to this question is: “No.” There is no reputable, reliable spray product that effectively eliminates rats from a home.
The reality is that you are not alone in desiring a single product that you can use to quickly eliminate rats and mice from your home. In reality, the best way to address a rat issue at your home or business is to be proactive. Prevention is the best course, as opposed to trying to rectify a rat infestation after it has already commenced.
Infestation Prevention: Shore Up Your Home
As part of taking a proactive stance, preventing an infestation in the first instance requires you to perform a thorough inspection of your property and identify any potential avenues through which rats might be able to gain entrance into your residence.
Rats will take advantage of even very small holes on the exterior of a residence to gain entrance into your home. An average adult rat is able to make its way through a hole the size of a U.S. quarter.
You also need to identify and rectify other attractive nuisances capable of drawing rats into your home. Improperly sealed garbage cans in and outside of your home are examples of items that can prove attractive to rats. In addition, puddles or pools of water around or in your residence are also attractive to rats. Thus, making sure waste cans are properly sealed, that food is not left lying around, and that puddles of water are dealt with, are all crucial elements of an overall strategy to protect yourself and your loved ones from rats.
Another infestation strategy is to make sure the grounds around your property are in order. This includes keeping shrubbery and bushes well-trimmed. It also means keeping your lawn properly cut.
Because of the lack of an easy to use spray to prevent a rat infestation, or to get rid of rats, you will want to consider other outdoor preventative strategies. A key tactic is to not plant shrubs, bushes, or other vegetation directly next to your home or business. Planting greenery in this manner attracts rats. It provides them with cover when they want to find a way to enter into a residence or business.
Dealing With an Existing Infestation
You need to respond to a rat infestation immediately after discovering one exists. The reality is because there are no easy solutions to a rat infestation (like a spray product), you need to seriously consider engaging the assistance of a professional exterminator. A professional has the experience, tools, and other resources to provide you with efficient eradication of a rat problem in your home or business. While the work of a professional is not as simple as using some sort of spray to send rats running, the work of a pro exterminator ensures that a rat infestation is expeditiously addressed.
Another factor that you need to bear in mind is that there will be a post-extermination set of issues that you will need to address as well. At the heart of these issues is the need to eliminate rat droppings and dried urine that will be left behind following this type of rodent infestation.
You need to understand those rat droppings and dried urine present health hazards. These biowastes need to be thoroughly and safely eliminated from your residence following the extermination process.
In the final analysis, due to the lack of an easy to use spray to prevent or eliminate a rat infestation, your best line of attack is to diligently strive to prevent a rodent issue in the first instance.