Get rid of roof rats in four basic steps.
Roof rat citrus damage.
Health concerns include salmonellosis and hantavirus as well as lyme disease which can be carried by infected ticks in the pests fur.
Skittish smooth furred and not well adapted to cooler temperatures roof rats are often mistaken for house mice.
As roof rats scavenge for sustenance indoors they contaminate food resulting in costly waste.
This provides the rats with a convenient food source close to warmth and shelter.
In late fall roof rats seek out warm nesting sites like the upper levels of your home or garage.
These rodents prefer to consume fruits sometimes referred to as the fruit rat or citrus rat and nuts although roof rats are omnivorous and will feed on almost anything available to them.
After harvest they damage fruit and nuts in bins by chewing them and leaving excrement.
You ve also seen some of the common signs of a roof rat infestation such as.
Half eaten citrus around your home.
The rats typically will target the lowest hanging fruit literally.
Too much citrus draws in roof rats.
Roof rats are food hoarders stashing supplies of food such as seeds and nuts.
Though they may be cute these critters can cause major damage by chewing on housing materials and eating stored foods.
Rats are active throughout the year and mostly at night.
Roof rats often feed on orange avocado and other fruits sometimes leaving hollow fruit skins hanging on the tree.
What you ll want to look for are any signs that the rats are present including droppings tracks gnaw marks burrows runways and rodent sounds.
Use a sheet metal or aluminum flashing that is at least 18 inches tall and wrap it around the base of the tree overlapping it by 2 or 3.
Video of the day.
Install rat guard around the trunks of the citrus trees.
Like most other rodents they carry diseases that can be spread to humans.
Just thinking about it probably gives you the heebie jeebies.
One of the reasons that roof rats have flourished in the east valley is because of the prevalence of backyard fruit trees especially citrus trees.
Step 1 in order to assess the severity of the rat problem and to get a better idea of where to bait and trap you will first need to perform a thorough inspection of the premises.
Learning how to permanently get rid of fruit rats is a must if you want to keep your home and produce as fresh and uncontaminated as possible.