Rats often carry dangerous diseases and can cause significant damage to your home, so if you find the rodents nesting in your house, you want to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Knowing where rats tend to nest is a good start so you can show professionals where to look when you need rat removal. Here’s what you need to know about rat nests in your home.

Signs You Have a Rat Infestation

Rats like to hide in the dark crevices of your home, say you may not see them until you have a full-blown infestation. If you look for the following signs, you will know if you are sharing your home with a rodent:

• Gnaw marks on food containers
• Chewed wires
• Droppings
• Strange noises in your walls
• Footprints

Rats multiply quickly, so if you have one rodent living in your house, chances are good that you have more rats in your home. It’s important to find the nest so that you can remove the entire family of rodents to prevent further damage to your house. Knowing where to look for a nest is important. Rats like to nest in some of the darkest and least used places in your home.

Attic

You can often find rats in your attic because these spaces are not used very frequently and are usually dark with plenty of materials for the rodents to use to make nests. You should periodically examine your attic for signs of a rat nest if you are concerned about having rodents in your home. Also, look for pieces of shredded insulation or other materials that could indicate a rat is making a nest.

Kitchen

Your kitchen may not seem like a lively environment for a rat nest because it is one of the spaces in your home that you use the most frequently. However, your kitchen is also where you store all your food. Once rats identify that this space is the easiest source of food in the house, they are likely to build nests behind your appliances or in your pantry where they can easily access food.

Laundry Room

If your laundry room is usually loud with the washer or dryer running, you probably don’t think of it as a likely place for a rat to build a nest. However, the space behind the washer and dryer is a prime place for a rat nest. Rodents have plenty of access to the materials they need to make nests in a laundry room, and heat from the dryer keeps the area warm and cozy. You probably don’t move your laundry appliances often to look behind them, so the space is undisturbed by humans for the most part.

Wall Cavities and Crawl Spaces

Young rats can fit through tiny holes in your walls and build nests in small crevices and crawl spaces in your home. You may have to remove small sections of drywall to look for a nest if you think that you have rats in your home.

What To Do If You Find a Rat Nest

If you want to get rid of rodents in your home, you must find a nest and remove it to get rid of the entire family of rats. This task is best left up to professionals who know what they are doing. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control has a team of staff members ready to remove rats from your home in a humane way, and we’ll even help you identify how the rodents got into your house and prevent them from returning.

Schedule an Appointment Today

Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control is ready to help when you need wildlife removal on Vancouver Island. Our team of experts knows how to remove rats from your home and prevent them from returning. Contact us today to schedule an appointment for rat removal.