What to Do When You Find Dead Rats in the House?

Living in a rat-infested house is certainly very disgusting and annoying. Nonetheless, to deal with dead rats in the house is far more disgusting and frustrating to every homeowner.

It’s not suggested, but we think it’s important for you to understand that you shouldn’t handle dead rats directly because in fact - rat as a pest can transmit numerous diseases to humans including Hantavirus, Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis and more.

This article will highlight a few important things in how you have to deal with a dead rat at home, these including:

• Dead rat health issue
• What to do with your dead rats?
• Tool & equipment in disposing of a dead rat
• How to dispose of dead rats in a safe manner?
• How rat control specialists help you with live or dead rats?

Dead rat health issues

Pest rat is considered as dirty animals which carry many diseases which they can spread to humans, and cause unpleasant things in your home whether dead or not.

Various pest species rats are known to transmit a set of serious diseases to humans. According to the CDC, there are at least 35 diseases spread by rats to humans through both direct and indirect contact with rats.

Direct transmission

• Handling infected live or dead rats
• Contact with rat faeces, urine or saliva
• Getting bitten by a rat

Indirect transmission

• Through other pests, such as ticks or fleas that have taken a blood meal from infected rats
• Eating food and/or drinking water that contaminated from rats urine or faeces

In short, based on the above-mentioned facts - handling and disposal of infected dead rats are considered as a potential disease which can be transmitted through direct contact with rats at home.

What to do with your dead rats?

Please be advised: Rentokil strongly does not advise you to dispose of the dead rats by yourself.

If you're forced to do so - below are the tools, equipment and steps you have to follow when you decided to properly handle dead rat removal to reduce the health risk.

Tools & equipment in disposing of a dead rat

You need the following tools and equipment in disposing of a dead rat yourself, such as:

• Rubber or latex gloves
• Respiratory protection, such as a dust mask or respirators
• Plastic bags
• Trash bin

How to dispose of dead rats in a safe manner?

Follow these step by step in the disposal of dead rats below:

1. First thing, first. You have to wear your rubber gloves and respiratory protection like a dust mask.
2. You have to be extra careful in separating between dead rats and the traps you used to catch them. Do not touch the traps with bare hands, because it’s not only full of germs and bacteria - yet it will also leave a scent on the traps if you’re planning to re-use it again.
3. Place the dead rats in a plastic bag, including their nesting materials, droppings and foods.
4. Seal the plastic bag tightly and do not press the plastic bag to expel the air inside, due to many bacteria or germs that rats might carry.
5. Place the full bag in another plastic bag and seal it too.
6. Throw the bag into a covered trash bin and put it outside your house.
7. Wash the gloves you used in doing all of these steps with soap. Once it has done remove the gloves away to the trash bin.
8. Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water.

How rat control specialists help you with live or dead rats?

The problem is dead rats are most-likely invisible to every homeowner. In most cases, you can only smell the rotten smell of dead rats like in your attic or worse, your walls or air vents.

Of course, we completely understand that you might be avoiding the responsibility of disposing of dead rats by yourself. Rat control specialists will provide the most effective rat control services best suited to your problem and take good care of any dead rats that have consumed rodenticide, which may expire in an inaccessible location (such as a cavity wall or under floors).

If you think you have a rat infestation in your house, don't hesitate to contact a professional rat control service.