Roof Rats and All That Racket

By Editor1SYS | April 23, 2019 0 Comments

There are many issues that a homeowner or even a tenant may need to deal with. Some are much easier to resolve than others; it depends on whether you can identify the issue and what steps you then need to take.

A banging and rumbling in your roof when the house is dark and quiet is not likely to be anyone having a party; it’s more likely to be the rats coming out to play.

The simple fact is that rats forage for food early in the morning and during the night, this is their natural hunting time and it matches when the house is at its most peaceful; effectively amplifying the sounds they are making.

It’s worth noting that the rats will live almost anywhere in your home but the roof space is their preferred spot because it is elevated. Elevation means safety and it is likely to be warm and dry as heat rises. In fact, the rats may actually be warmer than you are!

If you think you have a rat problem then click here to find out more about eradicating them.

Rat Reproductivity

Rats can chew through most things and are likely to cause damage to electrical wiring and other items in your loft space. This could potentially cause you an expensive issue.

What may surprise you is that rats can produce 5 litters in one year, they are only pregnant for 21 days and each litter can be as many as 14 rats.

Assuming the maximum, that means one rat can have up to 70 babies in a year! Of course, the fact that a baby rat is sexually mature by the time it’s 5 weeks old will indicate just how quickly rat population can grow!

The depth Of the Issue

Rats will be at their make the most noise in the spring and early summer; this is when the food is scarce. But food is scarce for all animals and having rats in your roof is likely to attract other predators, such as snakes. They will happily feed on the rats.

This may eliminate your rat problem but it will leave you with another issue, and you probably don’t want to be handling snakes.

Of course, their droppings and urine can cause health issues as well.

Dealing With The Rats

The simplest approach is to call the local exterminators; they are trained to deal with the rats, snakes, and any other creatures which have found their way into your loft space. More importantly, a good exterminator will ensure that the problem is completely eradicated and the access point is sealed up.

If you feel like tackling the issue yourself then you’re going to have to proceed with caution and place traps and poison in your roof space. But, you should also look at any potential access point for the rats and seal them up, preventing more from arriving after your problem has been dealt with.

And if the noise on your roof does turn out to be a party, you can always join in!