Other people may think that rats are super cute, harmless small furry creatures scurrying around from time to time.
Some may even assume they would make an excellent pet. A-Authentic Garage Door Service Co. would want to carefully warn you of the risks of pack rats found in southern Arizona.
How do you keep rats out of your garage?
If you like to keep pack rats out of your garage, there are simple steps you must take to stop them—and to get rid of the infestation.
- Sanitize your garage
- Stop attracting them
- Use rat traps
The most efficient way to pack rat control starts with keeping your garage sanitized and clean, as pests love to flourish in unsanitary and dirty environments.
Disposing trash properly and making sure your garage is well maintained to eliminate the possible nests or hiding spots of such rodents.
Clear seed pods and other debris from your yard and eliminate unnecessary objects and boxes to get rid of their possible shelter.
Another simple way to get rid of pack rats in your southern Arizona garage is to stop attracting them in the first place. There are a few things you can do to achieve this.
Stop storing food in your garage wherever possible—that goes for both unpackaged and packaged food. Anything edible must stay out of the garage. Likewise, ensure you don’t have any leaking pipes or other water sources.
It will also help if you keep your garage as clean as possible. Get rid of clutter and keep the area well-swept. Look around your garage and ask yourself, “could I hide there if I was a rat?”
Rat traps are cheap and simple to use. Also, they are not toxic in any way, so you could leave them out for longer periods without worrying about poisoning a family member.
Whether baited or not, it’s essential to check your traps to ensure other animals and insects are not attracted to the bait or dead rat. There are also various trap types you can use, like live traps, snap traps, and glue boards.
Snap traps are cheap plastic or wooden traps that are made to catch those big rodents. Ensure you pick ones that are made for rats to ensure they are killed and not injured.
Meanwhile, live traps take advantage of the rat’s proclivity toward wandering into tiny holes. They allow rats to get in but not out through a wind-up mechanism. Trapping a rat this way means you can release them elsewhere later on.
Ultimately, glue board traps are another choice, but they tend to be the least efficient method of pack rat control. Big rodents can pull themselves out of the glue or drag the board away if they are just hooked by the foot.
One area that is often overlooked is the bottom of the garage door – if you can see daylight, pests can get in. It may be time to adjust the door on its tracks and also replace the bottom rubber. The bottom rubber also helps to keep rain out.
If your garage door needs some TLC, give A-Authentic a call at 520.740.1050.