Rat Control in Melbourne
Melbourne is home to all kinds of pests, including:
• Rodents (rats & mice);
• Possums;
• Flying insect pests;
• Crawling insect pests; &
• Birds.
Tim Clinnick is the senior pest manager at Pest Control Empire, a major player in the Melbourne based pest management space. Tim says, “Far and away the most common complaint we have involves rodents. Rats and mice are absolutely everywhere and no suburb is immune”.
Rat Control Requirements
The three types of rodents that require pest control in Melbourne are:
1. The common house mouse;
2. The Norway Rat; &
3. The roof rat.
The common house mouse has adapted well to living among humans. Mice are smaller than rats and are far more likely to enter an occupied home than their more cautious rat relatives.
Due to their small stature mice are able to enter tiny gaps to gain entry into a home. Common entry points for mice into Melbourne homes and offices include:
• Weep holes;
• Gaps around pipes;
• Trees that overhang a roofline; &
• Gaps under doors and around windows.
Tim continues, “Our clients are quite often perplexed as to how a mouse or mice have found their way into their homes. I simply explain that if you can fit a pencil into a gap, then that’s more than enough space for a mouse to enter. I also explain that mice can actually scale vertical walls. If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it but it’s true!”
Mice are brazen and can often be seen scurrying around a lounge room or kitchen in search of food. Tim adds, “Mice are very confident if not cocky. I’ve had a few elderly clients that like to eat in their rocking chairs. They often relay stories of mice living under the rocking chair and pillaging food direct from the client’s plate!”
Mice are also inquisitive. It’s this trait that pest control managers in Melbourne use to bring about their demise. Tim says, “We try as far as possible to eliminate any possible food source. This includes putting all food packages into sealed Tupperware style containers, sweeping up all spills, keeping fruit in the fridge and other vigilant hygiene practices like taking internal garbage bins outside daily. We then add rodenticide in locked style bait stations and place them in strategic locations. The inquisitive nature of a mouse will lead it to investigate and feed within the bait station. The rodenticide we use is very effective and will soon lead to the death of the mouse and all his rodent friends.”
The Norway rat also is known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norwegian rat, Parisian rat, water rat, or wharf rat is a very common pest in Melbourne. In fact, it’s the most successful mammal on the planet, behind humans of course!
The Norway rat lives hand in hand with humans and their preference is to dig long and continuous tunnels to provide harbourage from the weather and predators. Tim adds, “Often we receive a call from a client advising that a rat or rats are seen scurrying under their deck. When Norway rat is startled it will run to its burrow. In instances where clients have a deck, it’s very easy for a rat to create a burrow system underneath. At some very infested homes, I’ve crawled around subfloors and observed hundreds of burrows. It’s quite a sight to behold!”
To control the Norway rat we can add locked bait stations around the area where they are tunneling. We can also add tracking powder into each accessible burrow. The powder attaches to the body of the rat. Rats are social and live in groups. They groom other rats as well as themselves. A rat contaminated with tracking powder that gets groomed or grooms itself can lead to death to the colony.
The roof rat is Melbourne’s biggest pest control issue. As the name suggests, these rats inhabit roof cavities. Tim notes, “Our clients call and say it sounds like there’s a party going on in their roof space! Instantly I think of the roof rat. Due to their nocturnal nature, this rat is particularly annoying as it keeps Melbourne homeowners awake at night”.
Signs that you have a rat issue in your Melbourne roof space include:
• Noises at night;
• Scurrying sounds;
• Chewing or gnawing sounds;
• Fighting or mating sounds; &
• Musky odours.
Tim concludes, “A telltale sign of a rodent infestation is an agitated cat or dog. If there’s a rat or a mouse sleeping in a wall, a cat or dog will sit in front of that wall, often for hours on end. This is a dead give away that your Melbourne house is home to rodents”.
We’re a respected provider of rat control and pest control services in Melbourne and surrounding areas. Melbourne is home to many pests and we can help you with them all. Contact us on 1300 665 573 for a quote on your pest control Melbourne needs.
