When rats are in the home they will build their nests in clutter, or inside the walls. Outdoors however, they will have to dig burrows, which they can use to travel, store food, stay safe, and rear their young. The burrows will oftentimes be located in dense vegetation, or in areas that provide some sort of coverage, and they consist of one entrance and as many as two exit holes. If you notice a rat outside your home, there may be a burrow along the walls, or in some thick shrubbery.
Should you try to destroy rat burrows?
If you come across a rat burrow, you might be wondering if you should destroy it. The answer is no. Destroying the burrow will not really remove the infestation, and there may be rats inside which could startle you or even attack you. The best way to deal with the burrow is to call over a pest control pro, who will first remove the infestation, after which you can fill in the burrow.
However, you can prevent rats from entering the home if they set up a burrow outdoors. Rats will enter the home looking for food sources, and they will use their sense of smell to figure out if there are any from outside the home. So the first step to prevent an infestation is to keep your food in sealed containers and not leave any food out in the open for extended periods of time. This not only prevents rat infestations, it also keeps your home protected against other pests. You also want to make sure that you seal your pet food well, because rats also use it as a main food source.
You then want to move onto exclusion procedures. Rats will use any hole that is larger than a quarter of an inch to squeeze through the walls and enter the home. As such, you will have to inspect the exterior of your home, and use steel wool to block these small entrance points. Finally, you can actually prevent future burrows from being built on your property by keeping all the vegetation around the home mowed and as low to the ground as possible. Avoid having thick shrubbery and large grass to make the property less inviting to rats.
When it comes to removing the infestation itself, we can help you out. Contact us today if you’ve noticed any rat burrows or rat activity on your property.
