Rats are sneaky. You may hear them rummaging your pantry or roaming over the kitchen tops. But as you are about to catch them, they’re gone. They often make you feel their presence in the dark. Turn on the light, and it seems nothing was there.
Signs that there is a rats nest inside your properties are not your imagination. These house rats leave clues that tell you if they exist.
Some of the clues that you have to be keen on seeing in your homes are these:
- Rat or mouse droppings
- Gnaw marks everywhere
- Filthy garbage area after cleaning them
- Rummaged food on your pantry
- …and more (read on to know what are those)
What is Rats Nest Like
Rats create nest-like birds on the tree. While the birds scavenge for twigs, dried leaves, and some use pieces of small pebbles to build their nest, rats have their mechanism of nesting.
Roof Rats Nest vs. Norway Rats Nest
Roof Rats will have their nests up on the ground. They are the ones who frequent the attic and the trees. They love fibrous materials to nest onto.
Norway Rats or sewer rats will nest on the ground floors. When outside, they will burrow the garden soil and create hollow spiraling holes. Inside they will borrow inside mattresses or piled-up papers.
While the roof rats shred the material in pieces, the Norway rats tear the materials or papers in small irregular flat sheets and create a circling nest.
Physical Signs of Rats or Mouse Nest Inside and Out of The Homes
The number one sign of a rat building nest somewhere in your home is gnawed marks on walls, electric cords, or on the edges of your furniture. They bite into things that they find fitting for making their nest.
See if you got the following signs. It tells you that rats have found a nesting ground in your attic or under the ground.
1- Damaged storage containers, boxes, cabinets
Roof rats are the ones common in a few states of the US. A typical nesting ground for them would be someone’s attic. Most of the time, here is where you put away your storage boxes—old items for keepsake.
If you want to pinpoint where the pests breed, exclusion or elimination is what you can do.
You are lucky if you catch them in those boxes. You can initially tell if the mickey-mouse-eared-pests are huddling inside storage boxes.
Here are specific signs that may catch your eyes.
- Tiny hole at the bottom of the container.
- Pieces of cloth or shreds of the materials inside are dangling outside.
- A smell of stench lingers near the items.
- A dropping will be sure to emerge on its covers or around.
2- Tattered pieces of clothes
You might be keeping your mats or bedsheets in the attic. Even if you conceal them in a tight lid box, a house rat will surely make its way. Such pests are relentless, and they will burrow even onto the thickest barrier, you flee and heavy duvet covers and mattress.
You might see a small hole or a puncture on the folded sheet. These are not typical slits or damage on the cloth. These are signs that your mattress and bed covers become a rat’s nest.
3- Shredded papers or newspapers
Another potential breeding ground of rats in your attic is your file of old newspapers. If you have your documents also hidden away in here, then you must worry.
Seeing shredded papers means no other than rats breeding on your property. You will find a mouse hiding under it if you use the basement as the storage area for old documents and cardboard.
4- Crumpled and torn plastic bags apart
There is a more valid reason why not to use plastics. If you think your home is safe by keeping polymer containers to keep mice and other pests from destroying the food or items, you must think again.
If you can see gnaw marks on wooden walls, and the tin can covers of your garbage bin, the rats can burrow their teeth into a thick polymer.
One morning if you wake up and see that micro pieces of plastic material seem to linger around your plastic storage, then the rats have found a cozy spot!
When you unravel crumpled plastic bags that had been folded and kept away, you might scream and shout your way while finding little creepers huddled tightly sleeping. Please do bother them and immediately throw the entire item away.
Advantage of Identifying Early Signs of Nesting Rats
Rats are hard to kill. And hiring professional rat exterminators should be the last resort. If you still have no plan to call these guys, it means your place may not yet be experiencing an infestation. While you can still follow the traces of where the pest might tuck away their breeding ground, eliminate them right away, you can check for a homemade rat poison recipe and traps. Here are the benefits of doing so.
- Early resolution of pests problems
- Prevent infestation
- Secure your property
- Health and safety of the family
- Avoid diseases that filthy animals cause
- Seclude your home earlier from other pests like squirrels, bats, shrews, and more.
Other Signs that Tell You of Rats Nesting
Aside from the signs that your eyes caught, there are things that your other senses may detect telling you that rats are nesting within your property. Be aware of the following:
- Rumbling noise in the attic or under the stairs in the basement
- Squeaking sounds in the middle of the night
- The foul smell that you do not know where it is coming from
- Leaking urine from the ceiling. It might be rats nesting above the roofs
- You feel tiny bite marks around the creases or folds of your mattress and other surfaces
What do you do if you find a rat’s nest?
If you found a rats’ nest, it may already be a sign of infestation or its beginnings. You might see 5 to 10 rats in one site, but there is more to know, so check out how many rats in a nest in the previous post. You may have not only one nest in the attic but a colony.
If you happen to track one, you must be prepared. There is probably a pack of baby ice cuddled together while waiting for the mama mouse covered under those shredded pieces of materials.
Before you scream, have some helpful tools ready. You need to get that nest out and not let the tiny, fragile mice get out. Have these following items handy:
- Rubber gloves
- Protective coat
- Garbage bag, a bin or box with covers
- Old clamp spoon or a glover with a long handle
- Disinfecting spray
You have two options for getting rid of the rats’ nest. One is DIY, and the other is with the professional rat killers. See first if you can handle the pest on your own. If you find no success in your initial DIY solution, then it’s time to call the pros!
