Mice & Rats Removal Services in Dallas & Houston, TX

Things to keep in mind when dealing with a rat or mouse infestation

• Rats trail their waste behind themselves while moving; this means they will contaminate every area they pass through, easily wrecking your insulation if they are in your attic.
• Rats carry numerous diseases; not only have they been implicated in millions of human deaths throughout history due to the diseases they carry, they also carry fleas and lice which have their own germs.
• Rats’ reproductive rate is astronomical; a single pair of rats can multiply into 15,000 over the span of just one year.
• Rodents make up the vast majority of wildlife infestations; even so, the majority of pest control companies are incapable of properly assuring their permanent removal from a property
• Rodents’ bodies are very pliable; they can infiltrate a structure via holes smaller than a quarter.
• Rats have very high metabolisms; they need to feed constantly in order to survive and nourish their abundant litters, and will go to great lengths in order to raid any food stores nearby.
• Rodents are very territorial; once they have come to think of an area as “home,” it is almost impossible to remove them without making use of extensive knowledge and methodology.
• Rodents are extremely destructive; not only do they gnaw on wood and vinyl, they will rapidly destroy any wiring they find, creating significant fire hazards.

Identifying a rat problem

Rodents and other wildlife species can be hard to differentiate once they take up home in your attic or crawl spaces. The following are some of the most recognizable indicators of the presence of rats in your home. If you are encountering any of these phenomena, set up an appointment with Trapping USA right away and let us do a free inspection to determine the cause:

• Scratching, chirping, or chewing noises at night, especially between midnight and 4:00 AM
• Sounds resembling marbles rolling across the floor
• Finding small crumbs of food in isolated areas without explanation
• Holes with chewed/gnawed edges in containers of food
• Spots of discoloration and/or small, hard pellets in dark, secluded areas such as cupboards where food is stored
• Chewed wires

Rat infestations are a force that can destroy homes, spread diseases, and absolutely dominate the urban landscape with their high reproductive rates and adaptability. But every problem has a solution. In the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, that solution is Trapping. The high volume of rat infestations throughout the region has allowed us to build up a strong base of experience in eliminating them. Rat populations are more than able to match rate at which the metroplex continues to expand. But they are no match for Trapping USA’s knowledge, methods, experience, and commitment.

Attic restoration for rat infestations

In addition to the filth, damage, and disease rodents can spread throughout your house or business as a whole, the insulation present in attic spaces is especially susceptible to contamination by rodents. Perhaps more than any other animal, due to their being so common, rats are responsible for destroying enormous volumes of home and business insulation in DFW every year.

Unlike many other intrusive species, rats and mice don’t designate specific areas to leave waste. This is one of the most immediately visible elements of a rat infestation in your attic. They continuously leave fecal droppings and urine stains behind them as they move through an area. While tunneling through your insulation, these waste materials rapidly accumulate along pheromone trails, inviting even more rats to follow. The longer rodents remain in an area, the more well-established these pheromone trails become as safe avenues of travel.

Rat and Mice Removal

Rats and mice are perhaps the greatest example of an animal that invades people’s homes. Due to the rapid growth of city centers such as Dallas and Fort Worth, residents are constantly coming into contact with new populations of these rodents. And due to rats’ particular characteristics, they are able to infiltrate such urban centers with ease, even to the point of thriving.

The result is that rodent populations in these rapidly growing urban areas will inevitably find their way into individuals’ homes. This is a constant issue which requires vigilance that is just as constant in order to be combated. It goes without saying that a rodent infestation is a cause of great concern for anyone. Not only is their presence unsanitary, they can also cause significant property damage.

The defining characteristic of a rodent is that it has two pairs of incisors that continue to grow throughout the animal’s lifetime. Rodents don’t chew up everything in sight out of malice or even stupidity; the fact that their incisors are constantly growing means they have to be continually worn down. If they weren’t, the teeth would continue to grow without stopping, going so far as to pierce the animal’s own mandibles.

The front of these incisors is covered with very hard enamel, whereas the rearward supporting structure is made of a much softer dentine. The act of gnawing wears down the dentine much faster than the enamel, which molds the incisors into finely honed chisels which can get through just about anything. Combine a chisel edge with a constant need to use it, and you can begin to understand the threat rodents pose to any sort of structure – including your home or business.

Adding to the problem is the rate at which rats are able to reproduce. Rats are not particularly capable of defending themselves against predators such as snakes and owls. Instead, rats have evolved a high reproductive rate to cope with their high mortality rate in the wild. They have adapted to being able to produce a high volume of offspring at a fast rate in order to keep their genes active. This evolutionary strategy goes hand-in-hand with their high mortality; with a high mortality for adults, more resources become available to the numerous offspring, and the species adapts to changing conditions more rapidly as well.

In cities, however, the danger posed by natural predators drops off drastically. This allows rats’ reproductive ability to come out in full force. The common brown rat, for example, can breed throughout the year, producing up to five litters each year. They give birth only 21 days after successfully mating, and each litter can produce up to 14 offspring. And within only five weeks, those same offspring are ready to mate themselves. The end result is that brown rat populations are able to absolutely explode if unchecked. In just one year, a single pair of brown rats can grow into a population of 15,000!

Rat and Mice Prevention

Witnessing a single mouse in your home could mean an entire family of rodents is living in the basement, walls, or in storage. This is because mice are active at night when we’re less likely to notice them. Seeing one is a visible sign of a mouse infestation. Thankfully, there are ways to rid your home of mice and rats and to prevent further incursions in the future. It takes a keen eye and a mindful plan moving forward, though.

The most effective method to prevent rats and mice is to hire a professional pest control technician. Before that, consider the following:

• Be sure all food not stored in a can or jar is safely stored in the refrigerator or heavy plastic containers
• Repair any holes in the walls, baseboards, or doors
• Remove any items from above the fridge
• When a technician arrives, discuss the situation in detail
• For ongoing control, clean, sweep, and vacuum the entire home regularly