No creature is as dreadful as a woodrat!
Who wants to live with them? Have you ever imagined a house with rats roaming here and there in your kitchen, lawn, and bathroom?
What a horrible imagination! If this happens in reality, you are not alone. Believe me! We are here to guide you. This article will tell you ways to get control over wood rats effectively
So, how to get rid of woodrats?
To get rid of woodrats, you can try killing them through snap traps or you can catch them alive in a cage or bait station. Natural remedies are also effective to kick off this rodent from your home like loud music, pepper or chili smell, ammonia odor, keeping a cat as a pet, and many more.
How to Get Rid of Woodrats?
Other common names of woodrat are packrat and bushy-tailed rat. They are species of rodents mostly found in the US and Canada. One of the most versatile behaviors of these rodents is a trading habit. In this habit, they may drop any object they are carrying in favor of shiny objects. They can chew up and digest materials like wood, wires, leather, cotton, and many more. Don’t take them easy, they are the smartest ever animals, too troublesome to chase, kill and catch!
How To Identify Woodrats
Woodrats resemble other rats in appearance. The only difference is that they are relatively larger than deer mice, harvest mice, and grasshopper mice. Packrats are darker in color with long bushy tails, large canopy-like ears, and broad sharp eyes. There are few signs that verify wood rat’s presence in your homes. However, there are so many species of this rodent and almost all of them eat up wood.
- Wooden scraps or wood dust near outdoor trees
- Long deep holes under wooden structures
- Wooden debris near furniture
- Rat pellet
Where To Find Woodrat In Your House
They are such notorious creatures that tracking them could be a real troubleshoot. Anyways you can find them through technical devices if you are clever enough. Install cameras on target locations of this rat to keep a check on their movement. However, there are a few common places where you can find them easily.
- Near wooden debris or logs
- In garages or stores where they can create the noise of cutting wires
- In pet cages as they love eating pet food like corn
- In bird feeding areas
- Near kitchen holes or cabinets
- Under the sink
- Around cactus
Habitat Of Woodrat
Naturally, every species of woodrat can survive anywhere in forests, residential areas, deserts, rocky slopes, hot areas, and woodlands. They build long nests or dens using debris, piles, twigs, or other materials. These dens are very complex structures similar to pyramids with caves of chambers inside. Some species even use plants like a cactus base to make dens. In fact, they are very clever animals. They know well that spikes on the cactus plants will keep them safe from predators. Bushy tail species love to live in high range areas where they build dens under the rocks.
Easiest Ways Of Getting Rid Of Rats
There are so many devices, methods, and items that you can use for this purpose. It is up to your preference whether you want to catch them alive or not. Natural remedies are also effective. Let’s see top easiest techniques to kick off woodrats quickly
- Catching rats through traps
- Natural ways of driving rats away.
Let’s start with traps.
1. Catching rats through traps
Traps are one of the oldest techniques of catching mice both without killing and with killing still in use today. However, nowadays traps are equipped with the latest technology. You can buy different types and sizes of traps easily. Let’s see how it works
Snap traps
Snap traps come in different sizes, colors as well as materials. Nowadays traps come pre-baited. You need just to pull the spring and set it near the area where rats live. Once a rodent triggers the pedals, the spring closes immediately. The rat will find no way to get out. It kills the animal quickly and is easy to dispose of. One of the biggest drawbacks of this trap is that you can catch only one at a time. What to do, if there are so many rats? Let’s see the next option.
Cage rat trap
If you want to catch rats alive, then go on for cage traps. These traps are specially designed to catch animals alive without any harm. After trapping, You can release them to far-off places. I like these traps for one more reason: that is you can catch as many rats as you want. In this cage, the trigger rod is located outside the trap so as not to hurt animals.
- The first step is to put the right bait like peanut butter, or guava.
- The second step is to place the trap if you want to kill the animal in the right place near the bait.
- The third step is to release the animal safely to far off places
Rat killer bait station
A Rat killer bait station is an advanced pre-baited device. The biggest advantage of this bait station is to kill without any harm to kids or pets at home. You can place it indoors as well as in outdoor rodent-dominated areas. You can monitor baits easily from the outside. Follow the steps and watch the video to install this bait station
- Open the station and put the blocks in the chamber
- Place the station in the right location where no human can go because rodents can smell humans easily.
- Place each bait station 10 to 20 cm apart.
- If you feel any rodent activity inside, dispose of it quickly and properly.
Follow the steps and watch the video to install this bait station
Electronic rat trap
Nowadays, electronic rat traps are the latest devices that can trap rats easily. Such devices are operated by chargeable battery cells. These are specially designed to prevent rats from escaping. You need to install them where you want indoor or outdoor. It has a light that will show when rats will get trapped. It kills with electricity. So, use it with caution. Don’t let kids or pets touch it when batteries are on.
2. Natural Ways Of Driving Rats Away
If you are scared of using traps, you can use natural tips to drive away rodents from your home. These tricks are without any side effects. Let’s see these simple ways
Turn on Loud Music
. Studies have shown that rats have very sensitive eardrums that can bleed even with a loud voice. If you turn on loud music or speakers for 30 mint near rat nesting areas, they will leave your home. However, there is no guarantee that they will not come back.
Sprinkle red Chilli or pepper
Rats have sensitive eyes too. If you sprinkle pungent smelly red chilies powder they will no longer stay in their nests. Keep on sprinkling this powder regularly to get rid of them permanently. You can sprinkle under kitchen cabinets, holes, and hidden areas
Unpleasant fragrant compounds
Animals like rodents have a well-developed sense of smell. They don’t like the unpleasant odor of different chemicals like ammonia. Mix 1 cup of ammonia in 2 cups of water and place this mixture near their nesting area, they would run away.
Keep a cat as a pet
Who is unfamiliar with Tom &Jerry? If you are extremely frustrated with rats then keep a cat as a pet. Believe me, it will guard your home against rats. It will chase them and even attack them. So let’s enjoy the fun of Tom and Jerry in your house!
Tips for making your house woodrat free
Although it is not easy to make outdoor areas completely rat-free. However, by following these tips, you can prevent them from invading again in your houses.
- Always dispose of wooden debris instantly as woodrats mostly feed on wood.
- Collect firewoods away from residential areas, These rats love woods.
- Clean the hidden areas of the kitchen and bathroom properly
- Fix the holes to stop their entry
- Seal the window holes and undersides of doors well
- It is well said to kill the problem, kill the emerging source. First of all, you should locate the breeding areas of woodrats to eliminate them.
- Don’t let them eat up wooden items. They may cause big damage to your accessories
- Carefully alleviate your outdoor lawns or stores or over tree houses. Once they build a den somewhere they will not leave that place easily.
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Related Question
How do you kill wood rats?
You can kill rats by setting a trap and using bait.
How do I get rid of rats fast?
If you want to get rid of rats quickly then install the bait station every 10 cm.
What smell will keep rats away?
Rats don’t like the pungent smell of pepper, red chili, and ammonia.
What home remedy can I use to get rid of rats?
You can sprinkle pepper near the rat nest to drive it away.
Final Verdict
It is wise to know how to get rid of woodrats from your house. This article covers old as well as the latest techniques to get control over wood rats inside or outside residential areas. If you want to catch them without causing any harm to them, you can try cage traps. In addition to traps, you can keep a cat as a pet to scare rats. All these tips are easy to apply and quick in the result. I hope after trying these tips you can make your home wood rat-free forever.
