Rats are very difficult to eradicate, especially if they are in your walls. They come into your property looking for a nesting area. That is why your wall filled with cellulose insulation or fiberglass is ideal place for these rodents.
Another problem occurs when you have dead rat in your wall. Malodor is what you’ll have to deal with. Dead body rat odor can persist for weeks. However, there are excellent ways to resolve all these problems. Get the latest information on rats-in-the-walls control and find out how to remove these invasive rodents forever.
Rat problems
If you’ve noticed signs of rat presence on your property, it’s time to beat an alarm. Like other rodents, these pests will quickly take up residence in such areas like walls and attic. They will steal food in your kitchen, chew on electrical wiring causing alarm system to fail and leave droppings. So, how to get rid of pesky rats in the walls?
To remove rats, you have to remove everything these rodents need to survive: water, food and shelter. Rats can live in any part of the building and understandably in between the walls. Look for evidence. Check walls for signs of runways. Usually they run along the same path, leaving dark track marks along your walls. These crafty creatures live and nest in the walls or just run up and down the structure walls, via pipes and wires as they travel through the house.
Is it easy to find rats?
Yes, pesky rats are easy to detect. As a rule, these creatures leave plenty of evidence. From chewing through the wiring to feeding on some fruit left on the counter, nasty rats can leave a mess. When your house is quiet, you can hear rats mowing around – running under foundations, between walls – or even chewing.
It’s essential to consider how well pesky rats climb and jump when planning your rat control strategy. A rat can climb up wires, pipes, shrubs and trees. It can run along power lines, telephone wires and tree branches. What’s more these creatures can jump vertically about 3 ft. and horizontally 4-7ft. depending on what surface – flat or elevated – they start on.
How to remove pesky rats in walls: Infestation and control
If you have rat infestation on your property, the best way to deal with it is to clean up, remove pesky rats and keep these bastards from finding a way back.
Remember:
- Sanitation;
- Eviction;
- Exile.
If you see 1 or 2 rats at night then you have medium population. If you have 3 or 4 rats at night or see them during the day then you’ll have high population.
If you want to crack your rat-in-wall problem, follow these smart steps:
Step 1. Find out how these annoying creatures are getting inside
You will never handle the rat problem until you find where they come from. Preventing rats from entering is not an easy job. But without this your efforts will be for naught. Inspect the whole structure and plumbing system. Check eaves, vents, plumbing stacks, and roof joints.
Rats love to find big or small holes/entries and climb wires and pipes up walls. Rats’ noises and sounds often help to pinpoint rat entry points.
Step 2. Seal up the entry points
Seal all holes and cracks in walls, foundations, floors and underneath doors.
Use such available-in-hardware-stores materials as:
- Sheet metal,
- Metal door sweeps,
- Roof cement and towel,
- Caulking gun,
- Tin snips and metal lathe/
Use roofing cement for sealing small holes and cracks and rodent resistant metal door sweeps for closing gaps under doors. When it comes to large holes, you are to use metal lathe for covering the ones and then cement for sealing.
Rats can easily climb walls. To stop new rats from entering structures you are to seal holes they use to get in. This is not an easy to do job as every house has many entrance ways. And since rats are good climbers you have to look high as well as low.
To seal holes we suggest using the following:
Cooper Wool – effective solution that will not rust and cannot be chewed through. The product is easy to stick into entry holes.
Cost: $30.00
Pur Black – designed for filling cracks, gaps and spaces on most any structure. Pur Black expands black foam that can be painted. The product can be used inside or outside and is great for filling any void or space.
Cost: $25.00
Step 3. Trap and remove pesky rats
If you have wall scratching in the wall, you have to puzzle out how to remove the rat. Before eliminating this creature eliminate the access hole. Once it has been sealed rat control can begin. You can trap rats with the help of lethal snap traps.
“Rats in the walls” is the situation in which you cannot easily set traps. We suggest setting the best rat traps in other areas you have access to such as in the attic or at the rodent points of entry/exit into your house.
Once the rat has been removed, it is important to clean up the area to prevent odors from drawing other animals to the house.
How to find dead rats in the wall?
Yes, they do live in buildings and sometimes in high numbers. It’s not so difficult to find the dead creature. The smell will surely bring you to the place with a dead rodent.
Focus attention on where the odor is worst and go to that area. If the little bastard has died at the bottom of the wall, it’s possible to have access to this creature if you’ll cut the hole in the wall.
How to remove dead rats’ smells?
It often happens that dead rats are located within rafters or walls. Once dead, rats’ bodies are left to rot causing a huge number of issues. The length of time for the rat to decompose depends on the size of the rodent, humidity, temperature and many other factors. You may contact a professional rat exterminator to break through, but it can be costly. To neutralize the smell you are to use special products.
You will surely get the best results if you can apply special sprays directly where the rat died. But if you don’t have access to the location, we suggest spraying into wall voids or in crawl spaces where you think the rat died.
What to buy:
NNZ Odor Deodorizer – effective odor destroyer. The solution works well at killing dead body odors, urine feces, pet smells and more. It is odorless. Once sprayed, you will have an immediate sense of the dead rat body’s odor removed. The sprayer woks great when applied as close to the area of the odor as possible. But if you haven’t an opportunity to deliver it on top of the area you can apply it in surrounding areas.
Tip: If you can apply the product only to peripheral locations, you have to spray the product a few times for the desired results.
Roughn Ready – Disinfectant liquid that can be effectively used to kill off virus/bacteria and any contaminate – feces – left behind from rats. The product can be diluted or used at full strength.
How to apply: use a sponge, a mop or a sprayer. For best results, allow it to sit at least ten minutes.
Where to use: in attics, wall voids, crawl spaces and just about anywhere. The product is great for hardwood floors and surfaces like ceramic, porcelain, tiles and linoleum.
Cost: $15.00 for gallon
Of course, you cannot rid the world of rats. But you can do several steps around the home to minimize rats’ intrusions. Once rats are inside the wall, you have many options to first eliminate rats and then keep the new creatures from entering.
Home owner has turned his head and neglects to rid home of a severe rat infestation. I cannot afford to move. I am at a loss. Help!!!
Hello Bernadette, what part of the country are you living, for rat identification. And what type of home are you living in and do you know where they are entering your home?
Hi i have a serious roof rat problem I’ve tried many methods that didn’t work I had high hopes with my exclusion tube I made but they mustve found another entry/exit , they are in the walls and attic now . Can’t afford exterminator, been feeling sick lately and I’m never sick , my muscles ache , weakness , just so tired I think I’m sick from the rats 🙁 i don’t know what to do . I’m a Rehabber for wild rabbits and squirrels so I’m sure that has drawn the rats here too . Not sure why I’m writing this u probably don’t read these…. Phx AZ.
My husband and I tried everything! I went to hardware store bought a hose (plastic) about 2” and affixed it to my tailpipe and the other end to the wall and filled it with CO2 for an hour while I sat in the open garage reading a book. No more activity and horrible smell after a week. We cut out the Sheetrock and found all of them dead in their nest!
I’m planning to do the same thing. These creatures literally keeps awake at night, not because of noise but wondering what they’re up to knowing how smart, restless, and destructive they are. So I bought 6 six CO2 detectors to make sure the air will be clean when I get back in the house. Lord have mercy.
I have roof rats in my walls. I caught 3 of them in my garage but haven’t caught anymore since. It seems they are staying away from that area now. I know their entry point but I’m afraid to close it because I haven’t seen any presence of them in my attic. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to close the entry point then they’re just stuck in the walls chewing everything to get out?
This was better article than the 1000+ articles on line. Gives product information and more tips without too much fluff like how annoying rats are. That’s obvious. My only suggestion would be to add how to get rid of rats in walls if you live in an apartment and have no access to roof attic or crawlspaces. Your apartment may be sealed, but they are still in walls. What does a tenant do? Especially if noises are night mostly and landlord does not live on property. Thanks