Pest Control for Birds & Rats

Pest Control for Rats

• One of the first things to consider for controlling rats is sanitation. Rats need undisturbed seclusion to effectively inhabit an environment, which they find in collections of newspapers, firewood, storage boxes, and other items that are commonly stored around a house or inside a building. Removing these items or storing them off the floor or ground is helpful. Keeping vegetation such as shrubbery and plants around the exterior of a structure trimmed down will reduce places for rats to inhabit. Regular trash removal is crucial for controlling rat populations as well.

Mechanical and Chemical Control Methods

• Sealing off the entry points where rats can enter a structure is necessary for their control. Electrical and plumbing conduits, soffits and eaves, and doors and windows need to have less than a ¼-inch gap to keep rats out, even less to keep mice from entering. Metal and concrete are the best materials to use for sealing because they are nearly impossible for rats to chew through. Snap-traps and large glue traps are also effective. Rodenticides are commonly in the form of bait traps, which usually take a few days for mortality to occur. All traps need to be monitored for carcasses and changed regularly.

Pest Control for Birds

• Controlling birds becomes necessary when they affect food supplies and create health hazards because of the diseases and viruses they can carry. Habitat modification is important to bird control, and is accomplished by keeping trees trimmed and shrubbery thinned. Birds are also controlled by using noise to frighten them away. Intermittent alarm blasts, recorded bird distress sounds, and small explosive devices such as firecrackers and timed exploders fueled by LP gas are effective tools in bird pest control.

Mechanical Options for Bird Control

• Bird spikes are an effective tool for bird pest control. They come in steel and plastic and are easily installed on ledges, roof lines and window sills to prevent birds from landing and roosting. Netting is used to cover open areas such as atriums, courtyards and gardens. Installing plastic slopes over common roosting areas such as eaves, ledges and open-beam roofs creates a slippery, angled surface that discourages birds from landing.

Other Bird Pest Control Methods

• One of the more popular devices for bird control is to use an owl replica. Owls are natural enemies of many birds and a life-like owl figure placed along roof lines and other areas where birds commonly roost will have an effect. There are also commercial products available that consist of a sticky substance that is placed in roosting areas. Birds find this substance to be a nuisance and a deterrent to their landing and roosting.