Follow these 4 steps for Rodent Control and Exclusion

Step 1: Build Them Out

• Seal all possible openings larger than 1/4 inch to exclude both rats and mice. Rats can walk on utility wires so be sure to check around the roof and eaves for any entrance holes.
• Seal openings where utilities enter buildings with metal screening (mesh) to tightly cover all vents.
• Doors should close tightly with no gaps at the bottom. All windows, especially basement windows near ground level, should have tight-fitting screens.

Step 2: Eliminate Food Sources

• DO NOT store garbage outside in plastic bags. Plastic garbage bags should be placed inside garbage cans with tight-fitting lids.
• DO NOT leave pet or bird food on the ground. Store pet food or bird seed in a container with a tight-fitting lid.
• DO NOT leave ripe fruit and vegetables under trees or in the garden to decay.
• DO NOT place food scraps in compost piles.

Poor sanitation and the presence of garbage allows rats to exist in residential areas. Good sanitation will effectively limit the number of rats that can survive in and around the home. This involves good housekeeping, proper storage and handling of food and refuse. Outside dog pens must be properly maintained to reduce potential rat problems.

Step 3: Eliminate Nesting Sites

• DO remove any piles of debris or building material such as old bricks or boards that may provide shelter for rodents.
• DO stack lumber and firewood at least 12 inches off the ground so that rats cannot burrow underneath and stack material away from buildings.
• DO clear brush, weeds, and heavy ground covers, especially around foundations and cut back tree branches, rats can get into your house from branches that hang over the roof.
• DO keep your kitchen sink rinsed clean and use garbage disposal as little as possible. Rats can come up the sewer pipes and can follow the food in pipes up to your toilet. If there is a rat in your toilet flush it! (And keep the lid down).

Step 4: Baiting and Trapping

To kill a rat, use a rat trap!

The best trap is the large, simple, inexpensive wooden "snap trap." They are sold in hardware stores and farm supply stores. Wire cage traps are more expensive but somewhat more successful than snap traps. Trapping can be an effective method of controlling rats, but it requires more skill and labor than most other methods. It is best to try trapping first in homes, garages, and other small structures where there may be only a few rats present.

Trapping has several advantages:

• It does not rely on inherently hazardous rodenticides;
• It permits the user to view his or her success; and
• It allows for disposal of trapped rats, thereby eliminating odor problems which may occur when poisoning is done within buildings.

To use the trap:

• BAIT IT with pieces of apple, potato, raw bacon, nutmeats, or with peanut butter spread on a cotton ball, a whole peanut in the shell. A small, non-baited, cotton ball works well because mice are constantly searching for nesting material.
• ATTACH IT firmly to the ground or solid place to keep the rat from dragging the trap away.
• PLACE THE TRAP near where you have found the droppings. Make sure the trap is safe from people, children, pets or animals who could get hurt from it.

For best baiting results:

• Place bait between the source of the rat shelter and their food supply.
• Place bait or bait stations near burrows, against walls or along travel routes.
• Use traps or glue boards where bait is risky such as near foodstuffs.
• Place bait where floors and walls meet, if possible.

You should use caution about putting poison where children and animals may get into it by mistake. Also, poisoned rats can die in hard to reach places causing a very bad smell. If proper exclusion techniques and a sound sanitation program are used, the need for rodenticides are reduced. However, rodenticides may be useful in bringing a rodent problem under control or as a maintenance program to prevent rodent populations from becoming established.

Before beginning a poisoning program, estimating the number of rats or mice present is helpful. The following criteria are useful in estimating the number of rats in an area.

• No rats or a few present: No sign. If rats are present, there are only a few, and they may have only recently invaded.
• Few rats. Old droppings and gnawing common. One or more rats seen by flashlight at night; no rats seen in daytime.
• Large numbers present: Fresh droppings, tracks, and gnawing. Three or more rats seen at night and rats seen in daytime.

Mice tend not to wander as far from the nest as rats. Thus, a rough measure of rodent density may be obtained by sprinkling talc or flour at 20 to 30 foot intervals. The number of rodent tracks left in these patches is a good indicator of how widespread the rodent problem may be. Rats and mice have poor eyesight and are essentially colorblind. Therefore, poison baits can be dyed for safety. Poison grains and pellets dyed a bright color can easily be avoided by humans.