Rats don’t care about Covid
Just when you thought this year couldn’t get any worse—2020, the year of the global pandemic. Businesses, offices, and restaurants close their doors suddenly, many leaving behind food and unemptied rubbish bins – perfect conditions for rats and mice to thrive.
This year, our towns and cities are being overrun with rats as the pandemic has left many places empty of human traffic. Unfortunately, business owners only checking their premises periodically may not notice the tell-tale signs of a rat infestation until it has taken hold. Have a look below for typical signs.
Rats are very destructive creatures. They gnaw on electrical cabling, furniture, and structures of buildings, each of these causing their issues. This is a physical need for rats as their incisor teeth continually grow. Hence, the gnawing keeps them at a reasonable size.
Rats also leave many droppings and are carriers of many serious diseases such as salmonella, which can be very serious – even fatal!
How to distinguish between rats and mice – rat droppings are roughly the size of a jellybean, and mice droppings are the size of a grain of rice. So it will be easy to spot if they have been on your premises!
Signs to look out for include:
- Jellybean sized droppings
- Items being chewed
- Scratching noises
- And of course, as the rats get braver sightings of them themselves
What can you do about it?
Keep your home or premises clean: regular sweeping or hoovering, wiping down surfaces, Etc. Keep any foodstuffs in closed containers – Rats have a fantastic sense of smell. They will be able to smell your Christmas chocolates hidden away in the loft!
Thankfully there are now several vaccines for Covid-19 being developed and have even started to be rolled out. Hopefully, we will see a return to something like everyday life – businesses opening their doors and calling an end to the free reign that pests such as rats have had in our towns and cities.
If you think you have a rat infestation, please use a professional pest control service. Unfortunately, rats are difficult to deter without proper knowledge and equipment.