If you want to prevent rats from entering your home, here are some useful prevention tips:
- Food - Keep food as much as possible in tightly closed boxes or glass jars. Do not pour leftover food into the toilet or sink. The brown rat lives in the sewers. The meals evacuated in this way are a source of food.
- Garbage Can - Do not leave your garbage lying around and throw it in bins with lids—plastic bags are too easy to pierce with their teeth.
- Pets - Get rid of your pet's food every night as this is an attractive source of nutrition for the rat. Keep pet food in closed boxes and do not leave it on the floor in paper bags or boxes. When you feed the birds with seeds, realize that it also attracts the rats.
- Avoid Disorder - A tidy and neat house and garden offer fewer hiding places for rats.
- Compost - The compost pile at the back of the garden with fruit waste, vegetables, and other green waste is a gold mine for rats, with both warmth and food. If you make one, be careful to check that there are no holes.
- Doors - A space of 2cm is enough for a rat to slip into it. Because of this, it is advisable to place a seal at the bottom of the door to fill this space. Also, beware of garden doors and barns.
- Cracks and crevices - Seal all fissures and cracks with grates. The grid mesh must not exceed 18mm. Preferably, install grids with a mesh size of up to 5mm, so even the mice do not pass. Rats can jump, do not forget to seal cracks in height, up to three feet.
- Hoses and Ducts - Holes in the walls to pass electricity or drains from the dryer, washing machine, and dishwasher are often larger than the pipes or ducts themselves. Rats can easily get in through these holes to move to other parts of your home. Fill these spaces with grates, steel wool or cement.
Ensure you follow these tips, and you'll sure have a home free of rats.