Rats may come across as stupid animals – after all they fall for obvious traps all the time. But as it turns out, they are quite intelligent. First off, they are very paranoid of any object that is new to their environment. Second, they will avoid areas where other rats have died, and foods that have killed other rats. This makes the rat control process a lot more difficult than first meets the eye. Here is how professionals deal with the natural intelligence of rats.

Use the proper bait

With rats, it’s very easy to use improper bait, because of the cheese myth. Contrary to popular opinion, rats are not really that fond of cheese. They’ll eat it, just like they eat trash, but they’re not very excited about it. In fact, they will go for grains or pet food over cheese, and if cheese is the only reward waiting outside the rat’s comfort zone, the rat would rather stay comfortable. So instead of going with cheese try something like candy, sausage or peanut butter.

Get them used to the control methods that you are implementing

Rats are naturally weary of any changes in their environment. In the wild, these changes could point to the presence of a hidden predator, such as a snake. This is why it’s important to acclimate the rats to any control method that you plan to use. If you are using traps, bait them, but do not arm them, and if you plan on using poisons, just use the clean bait for a few days.

Use tracking powders

Placing the traps or poisons in the right position is essential to their effectiveness, and in order to do this, you have to figure out where mice are most active. Sometimes, this is a simple task – you just have to find the droppings. At other times, you will have to get a bit ingenious. By using tracking powder you can find out the various paths that the rats use to travel through the home, and then place your traps or poisons close to these routes.

These are just a few of the tips and tricks pros use to make sure that their control method of choice is as effective as possible. For more information on how to deal with rats effectively, or if you have an infestation that should be removed, contact us today.