2016 couldn’t depart fast enough for many Americans.  We said goodbye to many entertainers and the election didn’t quite turn out the way a lot of folks though it would.  One thing is for certain though and that is that rats had a very good year.  In fact, I would say that I probably had the most rat work ever in my work schedule this past year.   I really don’t have a great explanation for the overall increase in activity that I observed in some of these more rural communities. Some of it is easy to understand why with more people doing backyard farming (raising chickens for eggs and meat etc.) and this activity will certainly draw rats and there’s been some of that, but in other instances, some places with no real sanitation problem were being invaded also.  Some of the coastal communities like Portsmouth NH and Kittery ME were having more troubles with rats in 2016 and not just in the waterfront areas (in Portsmouth for example) with the high concentrations of restaurants (and therefore trash generated by operations)

Rats are opportunistic creatures to be sure and will take advantage of our activities or lack of activities with regards to sanitation around our homes. Most recently I serviced an account for rats (originally thought to be mice until I saw the damage they were doing) in which the homeowner was definitely asking for trouble and it found him. He had all sorts of trash in his garage and a lot of it was food waste that was improperly disposed of. He confessed he really needed to clean up the garage! It will be interesting to see what his compliance is like when I go back there next week. So what can you do to do your part to not be so welcoming to rats? Here are a few points from the leading expert in rodent biology, Dr. Robert Corrigan.

• Keep your own ‘nest’ clean (rats are attracted to unkempt areas around homes)
• Keep a lid on that garbage can (dispose of trash properly)
• Clean up after your pets because ‘fresh dog waste is like a candy bar for rats”

Photo Credit : CC0 Public Domain