If you have a small garden, or a large plantation, you may discover that some of your vegetables and fruits go missing, or that something’s taken a bite out of them. So what exactly are you dealing with here? Is it rats? Let’s find out.
Norway rats are also known as brown rats or sewer rats, and they will burrow near buildings, under garbage piles, or beneath wood storage areas. They are also known to set up near gardens and agricultural areas. Their diet consists of a wide variety of foods, ranging from fruit, to nuts, fish, meat and grain.
Norway rats are always on the lookout for food and water sources. This will often lead them indoors, but they also thrive near garbage containers, since they don’t shy away from rummaging through trash in order to find scraps of food. However, if they can find vegetables, seeds and grains in gardens, they will definitely go for them. To make matters worse, rats reproduce very quickly, especially if they have access to ample food sources, so they can do quite a lot of damage to a garden.
To prevent this type of infestation, there are some measures that you can have in place. To start, make sure that you clear up any dense ground vegetation such as shrubbery and overgrown grass, because this type of vegetation makes for a great nesting location. You then want to make sure that you keep your garbage and compost piles secured, since their odors are big draws for rats. You can also take the extra measure of bringing in an animal that preys on rats. Cats are usually the animal of choice when it comes to rodent control, but you can also attract barn owls to your property by installing a nest box.
Controlling an outdoor rat infestation is different from controlling one that is indoors. You have to worry about harming other animals, trap placement, the types of poisons and delivery mechanisms for the poison, and several other factors that complicate the procedure. If you are dealing with an infestation in the yard, you also run the risk of the rats entering the home as soon as the weather gets cold. We can help you deal with such an infestation. Contact us today with any questions you may have or to set up an appointment.