About Rats & Mice

Xpest Control Services offers the safe eradication of rats with teams servicing Alberton, Bedfordview, Benoni, Bryanston, Centurion, Fourways, Johannesburg, Kempton Park, Midrand, Pretoria, Pretoria North, Randburg, Sandton.

Problems caused by rats, mice & other rodents:

• Rats, mice and other rodents will live wherever they find food – in domestic houses, factories, warehouses, cupboards, underground drains and sewers.

• Rats can cause damage to structures, consume stored edible goods and contaminate foodstuff with excretion and hair.

• Rats are known to be carriers of numerous different parasites that are easily transmittable to humans, such as Salmonella, Rat Bite Fever, Typhus, and others.

• Female rats are able to produce up to 10 litters each year and she has 6–12 babies per litter. These offspring will reach maturity and be ready to mate within two months.

• Rats are creatures of habit and will memorize specific pathways and use the same routes repeatedly.

• Rats will constantly gnaw on virtulally anything pliable such as wood, electric cables, bricks and ceramics, in order to wear down their perpetually growing incisor teeth.

• Rats are excellent climbers and are able to scale up walls, traverse drain pipes and use adjacent trees and branches, even overhead telephone cables, to enter any structure.

Preventative measures you can take to:

All animal food (for dogs, birds, etc) should be be properly stored and not left out in any position accessible to rodents. Foods left out act as an attractant to rats. When feeding your  animals, rather pick up the leftover food immediately. Ensure that plants and branches are a fair distance from walls or roof outside your property, and do not make contact at any point. These point can serve as ‘bridges’ which rats (and ants) will utilise to climb and gain access to your premises. Be sure to close up any and all potential points of access, including gaps around pipes where plumbing enters the building. Also check for gaps in the back lining of cupboards and seal up wherever it seems necessary. Also ensure that no food is left out on countertops, or in the sink overnight. All food should be stored in durable sealed containers and inside cupboards.