If you see long cylindrical droppings on the insulation or air conditioning ducts, it is likely from roof rats in the attic. If the droppings you see have white tips on the ends, you’re in the clear – these are only lizard droppings.
Roof rats are experts at getting into attics. They are great climbers and are often referred to as palm rats due to the prevalence of these types of rats in palm trees.
They can cause damage to your attic by chewing through electrical wires and cables, which can result in fires if they are not removed from the attic. They also contaminate insulation in the attic with their feces and urine, making them extremely destructive to your home.
The majority of the time we get a call about noises in the attic at night, people automatically assume it is from mice, however, the vast majority of the time it turns out to be noises from rats. But what do rats in the attic actually sound like? Is there a way to differentiate between rats and other rodents.
Since rats are nocturnal, you’ll likely hear the noises in the attic at night when they are most active. Rats can be very fast so you may hear it quickly scurrying across the attic. Since they prefer to follow the same runways over time, you may hear frequently hear the noises in the same area of the attic.
If you hear scratching sounds in the attic, it’s because roof rats like to create nests. While they nest in the attic, they get food and water from outside so they leave and re-enter the attic throughout the night which can create noise in certain areas.
You may be wondering how to catch a rat in the attic at this point. First thing’s first, there is more than one rat up there. Putting up one snap trap just isn’t going to do it.
Often we’ve found there to be between 5-10 roof rats total in and around a home by the time you hear noises in the attic at night. Also, roof rats are a suspicious bunch. You could put some tasty peanut butter on a trap up in an attic full of roof rats and it won’t be touched if it’s not placed properly.
Rats often stick to their runways, usually with one side of their body along a wall or wood, often on the edges of the attic, near the roofline. Rats also like to run along wires in the attic.
A good way to spot their trails is to look for rub marks (greasy black spots created by their dirty bodies rubbing against things repeatedly.) Roof rats also urinate and drop feces randomly along their runways, making their detection relatively easy.
If you still can’t catch a rat in the attic, it’s likely because they are happy with the food they are getting outside and aren’t interested in the bait you put on your traps.
Since there is food source in your attic (hopefully,) roof rats leave nightly to get their food outside. Some of their favorite outdoor food sources are mangos, bird seeds, nuts, and garbage.
Successful rat removal requires sealing the entry points on the outside of the house to prevent them from getting back inside in the future. This is called rodent proofing or rodent exclusion. If you successfully can seal all the rodent entry points, the ones trapped inside will get hungry and will be forced to go for your traps.
So, trapping roof rats in the attic isn’t as easy as popping open the attic access and putting a trap inside of it. At this point, you may considering roof rat poison. Stop considering it.
Yes, it will kill some of the roof rats. No, they will not go die outside while searching for water. We have seen time and again where homeowners or inexperienced pest control technicians put roof rat poison and bait in the attic. The horrible smell of decaying rats always follows a few days later.
By using rat bait inside your house, you have no control over where any rats that eat it will die and decompose. Usually it’s in a wall void or other inaccessible area, causing a very bad smell throughout the house for weeks. Also, roof rat poison won’t solve the underlying problem of rats being able to gain access to your home and attic.