The Covid-19 Pandemic and Rat Infestations. Now What!

A perfect storm of residential rat invasions has been created by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, it is imparative to get rid of rats.  People are producing more food waste at home, now that restaurant trash generation has decreased. Streets are emptier, so normally skittish rats are more likely to go exploring. According to experts rats can cover two to three (or more if they are really hungry) city blocks easily in one night. They are able to travel out of the city  or business districts and into people’s yards and homes.
No neighborhood is safe. Contrary to popular thought, rats are not just an urban problem or a companion to poverty. Rats do not discriminate. Their hunting grounds include: residential homes, mansions, estates, apartments, businesses, hotels, just about everywhere a human being lives.
Instituting an anti-rat program is essential to keeping rats and the destruction they cause and the diseases (salmonella, rat-bite fever, Murine Typhus, Leptospirosis, etc.)  they carry, away from your home. Seal gaps under doors or other entrance points into your home. Make sure your trash stays in tightly sealed, lidded bins.  Avoid keeping yard debris, like leaf piles or construction materials around the house.  Clutter is a rats best friend.  It gives them a safe place to live and raise their young.
Know the signs of rat infestation. Look for droppings and gnaw marks. Check around dense vegetation or shrubs, (rats like to dig burrows in areas with heavy ground cover). Keep your eye out at night, that’s when  rats are most likely to be active.
If our challenges now aren’t enough, rodent experts worry about what will happen when the country starts to reopen. Biologists warn that people could face nasty surprises when they return to workplaces where rats have had months to flourish unmolested. Especially worrisome are closed restaurants, which, even if they were rodent-free in February, might not pass rat inspections when the businesses are opened later in the year.
The coronavirus pandemic has everyone worried.  Raising awareness and sharing expert tips can help keep rats at bay.
If you have a current concern about a rat infestation, don’t wait.  Contact a pest control professional.  They are open for business and ready to help get rid of rats.  Don’t worry, pest control is a non-contact, essential business.  Call now.