Five Reasons We Do Not Like Rats and Mice

Rats and mice in Singapore will certainly freak the public. It is especially along walkways, ceiling and lurking among bins and food leftovers. It is a pest of poor hygiene and cause several diseases and safety risks. However what exactly are the key reasons we dislike these rat species? Rentokil shares some of the reasons why rats are not welcome and essentially how to get rid of rats effectively.

Rats are secretive and not easy to spot

Some pests such as flies and mosquitoes are active in the daytime that make pest detection and identification much easier, particularly when they are physically hovering around us. However, there are also pests that are nocturnal and active only at night, which hinders our inspection capacity. Rats are one example of nocturnal pests that emerge at night to search for food and perform their foraging. In addition, rats may not exhibit clear or obvious infestation signs unless inspected by a professional rat pest control. For example, droppings, smear marks, urine stains, musty smell and scratching sounds may go unnoticed, and allow rats to breed further.

In addition, they dig burrows and hide well within. Therefore, we could miss finding them unless equipped with professional tools and expertise to carry out the inspection process. One key element of a good pest management is to ensure efficient and adequate detection of pest presence. Be sure to contact the professionals to minimise potential negligence and slip-ups.

Good hiding capabilities from predators

It is not a pest easy to be caught, and requires multiple and digitalised methods to detect them successfully. This is because they can be in spaces that are either out of reach of sight among individuals. Firstly, they can climb and balance well. Thus, hiding among thin bars and beams along rooftops and false ceilings is no difficult task for rats. Secondly, they dig long and deep burrows to rest and store their food. They tend to nest there unless disturbed by a construction where they have to relocate. Thirdly, they hang around at undesired and poorly sanitised locations that most individuals would not access to. These include drains and sewers and in fact, it is out of reach if they lurk in the middle of the facility.

Finally, as they have agile and flexible bodies, they can camouflage themselves well among piles and clutters that make visibility difficult. Hence, clearing up clutters and junks and keep place clean is one useful way of pest prevention.

Read also: Find out the five key reasons why you should not delay housekeeping

Rats feed on almost anything they can find

Unfortunately, they are not choosy eaters and have an easy palette for food preference. In fact, almost any food source and availability in the home is applicable for rats’ diet. This includes the staples of cereals and grains, nuts, and even food ingredients such as meat and vegetables. In addition, they are unhygienic pests and will make do with waste and food scrapes, including decaying and decomposed food items. Thus, besides invading your kitchen and dining hall, be sure to keep your waste and garbage area out of bounds to these rats. Lastly, water is an essential survival requirement. Thus, regardless the type of premise you are in, presence of water and moisture is inevitable. This results in attracting rats to infest.

You may also like: Find out the common six mistakes that attract pests to your home

It requires an integrated pest management to eradicate rats

Rats are not easy pests to eradicate because of their complexities and strengths in protecting against predators. Hence, it requires more than just a one-off or “ala carte” pest control treatment when dealing with rat problems. Firstly, pest eradication requires multiple prong approaches by ensuring adequate lines of defense and protection barriers are introduced. Secondly, a combination of treatments may be required to fix all root sources, where series of different types of baiting units are deployed. Thirdly, there could be additional underlying reason resulting a rat infestation. They include property integrity, premise condition and set up and sanitation standard that has to be fix. Fourthly, user habits and lifestyle can affect pest attraction. Hence, the provider should incorporate pest awareness and education ensure adequate pest management.

Finally, monitoring is key to assure all pest eradication efforts are paying off. Pay attention to trends in reduction or surge in rat populations, changes to rat activities or lesser occurrence in infestation signs. Above all, integrated pest control is about accessing the overall and surrounding environment and activities taking, in order to rule out additional or unforeseen risks from happening.

Rats can cause detrimental damages and outcomes

They are a threat to homes and business because of the damages and health diseases they can cause. Here are some consequences and harm caused by the various rat species in Singapore:

• Rats gnaw to balance their constant growing of incisors, including wood, plastic, aluminum, wiring, cable and other foundation material that damages property, furniture and structure
• They are capable of causing hazardous incidents including short circuit and fire
• Damages to product packaging and ingredient, thus requiring product recall or replacement
• Food contamination and spread of diseases including the Hantavirus, Salmonella, Leptospirosis, Tularemia, and Lymphocytic
• Rats do bite and if they are infected, they can result in Rat Bite Fever that causes symptoms including fever, rash and pain.
• Allergies can be triggered from their dropping and urine among some individual
• Business implications and operation disruptions that impacts the financial condition
• Brand image and reputation negatively through negative reviews and media exposures

Read also: Equipped yourself with the complete guide for rats’ control in Singapore

What do we do if our homes have rats’ infestation?

We definitely do not welcome the presence at home or at our workplace. Facing them up close and personal can be stressful and scary especially for individuals developing a phobia for pests, or in an environment with public facing conditions. Here are some tips you can adopt if your home (and work premises) has a rat infestation:

• Pay attention to where you have seen rats scurrying around and collate a list of insights and information to share with a pest control specialist
• Start clearing up the junks, piles and clutters to prevent rats from hiding further and allow more visibility in rat detection
• Clean up the home and rid of waste, food debris, grease and grime build-up that attracts rats as food source
• Make sure to keep the home dry from water and moisture as all pests (not just rodents) require water for survival
• Inspect the home for its’ integrity such as cracks, holes, gaps, crevices and any opening that could be potential rat entry points
• Fix any leaking pipes and defective plumbing facility to prevent moisture building up from the leaks and spills
• For premises such as offices, inspect the IT server room for presence of rats’ signs as they can gnaw on cables and wires and cause short circuit and/or fire
• Engage comprehensive and integrated rat control solution to control the rat infestation level.
• Make sure you do not miss out mice control as part of your pest control solutions as they do lurk in homes and offices as well
• Adopt a diligent rat prevention tips habit among families and employees by eliminating entries and food source availability for rats
• Learn to detect and identify signs of rats proactively and monitor your infestation condition with your pest control company

What do we need to know about rodent control?

Digitalised rodent control solutions to heighten control standards

You may have seen pieces of sticky glue boards placed under key risk areas. They include refrigerator, cabinets, shelves and furniture or “boxes” or cages with labels along wall skirting and strategic corners. These are some options of rat control in Singapore. However because of the smart and intelligent nature of rats, getting rid of rats can be challenging and tend to be ineffective.

Firstly, rats belong to the nocturnal family and has limited visibility in terms of identifying their breeding and activities sites. Secondly, they usually hide at tight corners and secluded spaces, typically at high up locations including crawl boards, ceilings and roof beams. Thirdly, they are sensitive and cautious and not fall into traps and lures, or any items and surrounding deem unfamiliar. Hence, a digital rodent control system can optimise the detection level 24/7 and trigger a signal in the event of a rat activity. This means, more accurate and adequate placement of rodent baiting units to lure and trap rats successfully. As the solution is connected to a command center, this means recording all activities and history among various locations for effective monitoring and trend observation.

Baits and lures must be alternated regularly

It is not ideal using the same type of bait to lure rats on the long term to avoid their immunity resistance and familiarity buildup of the bait. In addition, as rats are attracted to cereals, nuts and seeds. Professional specialists do use natural baits in a careful manner. This is to avoid resulting in food supplies for other pests to feed. Hence, adhering to proper pest control standards and engaging consistent service frequency is essential. For premises such as high dependency and food sensitive environment type of lures have to be safe for application and according to regulatory compliance.

There are various rat baiting units for different functions

Did you know there are more than five types of baiting stations to control rats at different conditions and environments? Depending on the rat species, units can cater to trap rats and mice with different entry point sizes. In addition, some compounds require three lines of pest defense and baiting units are designed to withstand outdoor conditions that are sturdy and waterproof.

For tight spaces with deployment constraints, there are traps designed to fit those locations. There are areas with heavy and serious rat infestation with overpopulation of rats. For such conditions, the multi-trap baiting unit is complied with HACCP standards to manage heavy rat infestation, with a capacity trapping of up to 20 rodents. One key feature of the unit is its anti-putrefaction liquid that manages odour control and a dial indicator to monitor the number of rats trapped. Finally, digital rodent control solution equipped with sensing technology helps to detect and track rats’ movement while optimising the control level with targeted placement of the units.

Useful information and articles on rat control

There is information, facts, tips, pest myths and challenges around rats and mice that we can be overwhelmed. At times, pressing questions and curiosity around what attracts rats to a premise, effective ways in rats’ eradication and challenges in dealing with them are unanswered. Rentokil Initial shares a library of useful articles and blog topics that you may visit for knowledge and awareness.

Equipping oneself with pest awareness can aid in taking proactive action against pest infestation. Additionally, it minimises the impact and damage resulting from the infestation. This includes minimising structure or package damages, reducing financial implications including recovery and replacement and health and safety conditions.

• Will using peppermint oil help in eliminating rat problems?
• Why is eliminating rodents in challenge in Singapore
• What baits should we use to lure and trap rats?
• When are rats most active in searching for food?
• Find out the rat infestation signs to look out
• Seven essential facts of rats we need to know
• Why is pest proofing for rats critical for a premise?
• What are the harms and dangers caused by rats?
• Learn the difference between rats and mice

Call Rentokil Singapore at (65) 6347 8138 for pest control services today.