I live in an apartment building on the first floor. Last week when I got back home from work, I was shocked! A rat cut me off and jumped on through the ventilation hole into the basement. It gave me the creeps and I start yelling like I just saw the Boogeyman.
Just imagine! Where you saw one rat there are definitely more. And it still creep me out because I live on the first floor and it can easily create a pathway in my apartment.
So, I schedule a meet up with all the neighbors to solve the rodent problem we have down at the basement because we don’t have a manager whom to call.
We left all fears behind, buckled up with courage, and dealt with this ugly rat problem we were facing.
The most important thing you have to do is:
Find out how rats are getting inside the building. Those rats are entering your home and basement somehow. You will NEVER solve your rat problem unless you find ALL the entry points. You must inspect the whole structure, from the ground up, and the plumbing system. Check vents, crawlspace holes, plumbing stacks, AC chases, EVERYTHING.
Deal with rats
Seal up all the entry points, even if there are many rats currently inside the building. If you leave the entry holes open, and then begin trapping or excluding the rats, guess what? Open holes mean more and more rats will keep coming in, and the job will never end.
Kill the bastards
I may be an animal lover, but I don’t have mercy with rats! They are really disgusting and can spread many diseases. So, trap and remove the rats. First, you can use the standard lethal snap traps. Second, you can use live cage traps. Third, you can install a one-way funnel door exit on the primary rat entry/exit hole, if you have identified it. We have used all of these methods. I must say that we absolutely do use the lethal snap traps in the basement. A neighbor said that this method is to be the most effective, and it’s more humane than a slow, painful death by poisoning. Set the traps on the rodent runways. Trap placement is absolutely key.
These methods seem to work, but only a few days passed since we’ve started to use them. It’s way more cheaper than calling an exterminator, and it appear to be extremely effective.
