Do Rats Leave The Attic During The Day And What Else To Know

Rats, like many other rodents living in a house, can cause a range of problems for those who live in the house as well as the building itself. Many homeowners ask the following question, “Do rats leave the attic during the day?” since they think that they don’t bring harm to any place except the attic.

While we suppose that rats happen to be ground-dwellers, they in fact climb very well and can find a path to the roof of the house very easily. A rat in walls may be rather annoying, actually.

We must always remember that rats together with bugs they usually bring are highly dangerous for people and pets living in the house. In addition to this, they damage your house in many areas.

But, unfortunately, rats can move all over the house and cause health problems and damages as well.

Health Issues

Rats happen to be notorious carriers of diseases and they were even responsible for the bubonic plague burst several centuries ago. We know that this kind of plague has died out, but there are still many diseases that rats can bring to your house.

• Contamination

Rats can eat any type of food but they prefer a vegetarian menu and don’t often kill something to eat. They have enough abilities to sneak into any food source located near their nests. Therefore, food and water can be easily contaminated with their saliva, scat or urine, which can harm people.

Some of the diseases which rats can carry are Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome and others.

• Scratches and bites

Rats in wildlife aren’t usually friendly – if they get caught in the corner and have no way out, they can bite or scratch anyone who tries to come closer to them. If this has already happened, the one who has been hurt has to seek medical help immediately to make sure that they don’t have any diseases.

• Mites and fleas

These rodents usually come together with other critters who cause diseases, for instance, fleas and ticks. They can also infect anyone who lives in the house, people and home animals as well.

Video: Do Rats Leave The Attic During The Day

Watch this video and find out what’s the best way to keep rats out of the attic And additional important information.

How They Affect Safety

We all should remember that rats in walls not only happen to be disease carriers, but they also may succeed in spoiling your property and causing some safety risks. They can be the following:

• Chewing

Rats are known for chewing during all their lives since they have constantly growing teeth and need to control them. For this, they usually chew various materials, such as plastic or wood.

It can happen that rats choose to chew something important in your attic: pipe insulation, pieces of electrical work etc. They can even damage wires with their teeth and create a safety hazard or your appliances breaking down. The most dangerous hazard is the possibility of fire-starting because of the damaged electrical wire.

• Burrowing

Rats are likely to form their nests and breed in your attic, but they can also develop huge burrow systems on the ground. Such burrows can result in some structural damage, especially if they are made under decking, gardens and houses themselves.

How You Can Notice Rats Living In Your House

There are several things that can make you think that you have invaders in your attic:

• Droppings – they are rather small  but can be found usually in corners of the attic or on their ways to food sources;

• Scratching and other rat noises – it is possible to catch such sounds in the evening or at night when it’s quieter everywhere. Actually, an animal in the attic scratching at night may sometimes not be a rat. Some other animals such as mice in the attic also produce sounds. If you want to learn more, you can find it online even in the form of videos, just ask, “What do rats sound like?” or “What do rats in the attic sound like?” Try to find other types of animals’ noises in the attic at night in order to be able to define rats, for instance, “What does a mouse sound like?”. Rodents in the attic produce similar sounds, but you will be able to differ them if you study more;

• Running tracks – usually, these rodents use the same roots, so they leave footprints and tail marks there;

• Damage – rats are likely to leave small tooth imprints and bite marks in different places.

How To Deal With Rats In Your Attic

Dealing with rats in walls needs to be thought about very carefully since you can make a lot of mistakes.

If you are ready, you can follow the next steps:

1. First of all, you should study the places which rats in attics choose to live and investigate them in your house;

2. In order to get rid of rats in attic, you should seal all the holes and gaps through which rats can go in the attic. They have to be made of the material which can’t be chewed by a rat in attic;

3. Then you have to put the traps into any places where roof rats in attic can be and where they are likely to go and search for food sources. You won’t be able to catch a rat in wall or rats in ceiling, so you have to put something to your traps which will attract them;

4. The last step is to get rid of all the rats in the house. Later you will need a full clean-up and decontamination if you need.

If you are afraid of or just don’t want to do it yourself, you can call for a professional company, whose specialists have a license and all the needed qualifications and skills to get rid of rats and noises in the attic.

In Closing

If you had the question “How do rats get in the attic?”, we hope that this article has managed to give a full answer. We also hope that all the knowledge about rats in the attic and house walls will be helpful.