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Identification.

There are several species of rats in Atlanta, Georgia. The two most common, rat removal professionals deal with, are the Norway rat and the Roof rat, both of which thrive in urban environments throughout the greater Atlanta area.

Norway rat, or Rattus Norvegicus, brown rat, house rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, is not a native to the United States. They hitched a ride over on boats with our European ancestors. These rats typically have a brownish gray color fur on their back and head with a whitish underbelly. An adult Norway weighs about 1lb. They have small ears and a tail that is shorter than their body and head. The Norway rat has swept across America and can be found anywhere in the continental U.S.

Roof rat, or Rattus Rattus, black rat, is also not a native to the United States. The adult roof rat is smaller than the Norway weighing about ¾lb. It is uniform in color. The tail is longer than its head and body and its ears can be pulled over its eyes. The roof rat is found along the coast line of the United States

How, when and why they become a nuisance pest.

Rat removal may be essential for a healthy home. Rats can become a nuisance for a number of reasons but, the primary concern is the fact that they carry just about every disease known to man; Murine Typhus, Rat-bite fever, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome, and Eosinophilic Meningitis.

Rats will reside in attics, walls, basements, crawl spaces, or in any living space accessible to them. Rats are considered colonizing animals, it is not uncommon for buildings and homes to contain several of them. These groups of rats can keep you up at night with nocturnal attic noise or noise in walls.

One female rat can live up to 2 years and is capable of producing 200+ offspring in her life span. Rats will live inside buildings and carry out their breeding and damaging habits year round.

Damage they cause.

Chewing- Squirrels are members of the rodent family. Like all rodents, to keep their teeth sharp they must chew. Squirrels will damage soffits and fascia boards by chewing and allowing water to enter into your home. Worst of all, they will chew electrical wires. A squirrel will chew wire insulation until only bare copper is left which if gone unnoticed, can be a potential fire hazard.

Contamination- When rats and rodents are occupying your home they will use it as a latrine and can leave behind a lot of droppings and urine in the attic (a single rat defecates up to 60 times daily). These rodent droppings not only smell bad, but they pose a potential health risk, and the smell will attract new rats for years to come.

Insulation- Many Atlanta area homes are already under-insulated since the time of construction. Because homeowners do not spend much time in the attic little consideration is given to the attic insulation. After rats have resided in the attic for any period of time insulation damage is a common site. Loose fill insulation will become matted and compressed allowing heated air to escape into the attic in the winter and hot air to enter the home in the summer.

We are greater Atlanta's premier animal waste removal and insulation contractor.

Rats cause millions of dollars of damage each and every year to all types of structures and food stocks.

Atlanta, Georgia rat removal & rat control.

Urban Wildlife Control does not use poison to control rat problems due to the risk of primary or secondary poisoning of predators, pets and children, and the possiblity of the rats dying inside homes (please refer to wildlife removal FAQ's). Rodent trapping, habitat modification, and exclusion are the most successful ways of taking back your home, business and property.

First, a trapping program must be initiated to begin rat removal. Once the amount of captured rats starts to decrease all holes a ½" or larger must be sealed properly. All food sources and shelters (bird feeders, wood piles, etc.) must be removed or modified.

Although it is seemingly impossible to remove all rats from outside your home they can be removed from inside and the amount of pleasing habitat can be reduced to lower the overall rat population outside to suitable levels.

Learn more about our service in the rat pest control FAQ's.

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