Pest prevention: Close your door to rats

No one wants to see an uninvited guest barging into their home, but rats are particularly unwelcome visitors. In fact, for many households, an infestation of this type of vermin is their worst nightmare.

Therefore, it’s worth thinking about how you can stop rats entering your home in the first place. Although pest control insurance can be used to deal with an infestation once it’s occurred, prevention is always better than cure. Here’s the steps you should be taking to stop rats in their tracks:

Preventing entry

Unlike humans, rats have a whole range of ways they can enter a house – you’ll need to identify these and make them secure. Look for holes or gaps in walls and around pipes – fine mesh chicken wire and cement can be useful. If you’re unsure whether a gap in a wall or vent is being used as an entry point, put a ball of newspaper in the crevice and check back for movement the next day. Wire balloons and cone guards can be used to block the top and bottom of drainpipes, while wire mesh can be used to seal off ventilation holes. Bristle strips attached to the bottom of doors could also act as a deterrent.

Don’t give a rat a good meal

Rats need food as much as shelter, so it’s important you cut this off too. So don’t leave food lying around inside or outside your home. Keep kitchens clean and tidy and be wary of leaving morsels for other animals such as birds and hedgehogs – vermin may beat them to their tasty meal.

Secure your rubbish and dispose of it carefully. If you live near local shops or restaurants, contact the council if their litter is regularly ending up on your property. You should also avoid composting animal products and clear up fallen fruit from your trees.

Preparing the for the worst

With common estimations suggest there’s at least more than one rat for every human resident of the UK, keeping vermin at bay can prove understandably difficult. So it may well pay to be prepared for the worst by getting pest contamination cover in place. This type of policy can cover the treatment of rat and mouse contaminations in your house, cellars and adjoining buildings, along with the treatment of wasps and hornet nests in homes and gardens.

Having this type of insurance in place could certainly help you sleep a little easier at night.