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Why Rats Target The Home

Rats have evolved a parasitic relationship with human beings, where they take advantage of our food supplies and our shelter to our detriment. Over the centuries, they have become quite good at surviving alongside us, to the point where they can evade our prevention methods and detect the best homes to set up in. Here are some of the things that rats look for in the homes that they infest.

Shelter

One of the main reasons for rats to infest the home is shelter. Winter is hard on rodents, because access to food is limited, the ground hardens, and the temperature drops. Inside the home however, rats will find heat, water, and plenty of food. On top of that, they are protected from predators, so it is one of the best locations they can set up if they want to survive.

Food

Food is a big draw for rats. They have an excellent sense of smell, which allows them to detect food even through the walls of our home. Once they sense it, they will try to gain access to it, and the only way to prevent this is to keep all of your food in sealed containers. This includes both your pet’s food and food that you throw away. It is not enough to keep your food in sealed containers, you will have to keep pet food out of the reach as well, along with the food that you throw away.

Accessibility

Removing all the incentives that rats have to get in the home can help a great deal, but there is one incentive that you can never remove and that is warmth during the colder seasons. As such, rats will look to take advantage of the heat in your home if even if they have no other reasons to get inside, and they will look for gaps and cracks in the exterior wall of your home

Once a rat infestation has started, it will shortly start to grow, doing more damage and posing more of a risk inside the building. To remove one of these threats after they have started, it’s best to get in touch with a pest control company.

Contact us today for more information on why rats target a building and what you can do to stop these pests from entering your home, or if you are currently dealing with a rat infestation, contact us today.