Rats

If you suspect you have a possum or rodent issue, Call 1300 164 831 and speak with our animal expert for advice, For our process outline please see booking page.

In nature, within rat populations, a social hierarchy develops within a burrow or natural structure like a fallen tree. Stronger males become dominant, while weaker males remain subordinate. Colony’s (whilst dependent on individual behavioural characteristics) will usually act like an ant colony, with individual groups of animals given task’s, ranging from sentry ar guard animals to collecting animals, who keep the nest stocked with food, the latter normally being the younger animals and therefore the louder due to their constant movement in and out during night time hours. When a female is oestrous, several males mate with her sequentially, in the order of their social dominance. When the colony grows too large, and the dominant animals feel that it has become unsustainable (approximately every 4 – 6 weeks on average) they will force up to 30% of the younger population to move out. These animals become outcasts and are then in need of a home and try to take up residence elsewhere. This results in a week or so of rustling, squeaking and scrambling noises as the colony goes in to, what in effect is a “CIVIL WAR”. These are the animals you will need to prevent starting a colony that comes from your surrounds after you have eradicated your colony, a regular baiting regime will control new colonisation from neighbouring colonies.
Rats exhibit aggressive behaviour when threatened. They may fight, chase, bite and box. Rats dwell in cities, suburbs and rural areas, in fact anywhere that a reliable freshwater supply and any form of shelter is available (so everywhere). They are largely dependent on a fresh water supply from human stormwater systems & human communities for basic survival. They are curious explorers and often explore new surroundings. Rats are known to travel great distances, in built-up residential areas, this is usually through the underground stormwater piping system, and are cautiously wary of unknown objects in their established foraging paths. This scepticism makes trapping and/or treating a rat colony particularly difficult. This is why it should be left up to the professionalsDue to the constant growth of rat incisors, they have a desiring need to gnaw; this helps them keep their teeth at a healthy length. This gnawing in a roof in your home is BAD NEWS as it generally involves the chewing on your electrical circuits and internal timber work. Over time this gnawing can prove extremely costly.

Rats can also carry disease and have unsightly and potentially harmful toilet manners. I have personally been in many a roof space and have been faced with the putrid odours associated with a rat infestation. It is never a pleasant experience. It doesn’t matter how many holes you seal up, rats will either squeeze through some other opening or just as quickly, chew a new one for themselves. Proper professional treatment is by far the best and in our opinion the only answer to a rat infestation.

What We Do Differently

At POSSUMS PLUS we, at every inspection, check for possum entry/exits and rodent activity before giving you a full and extensive written report on what is getting in, making noise and from where, before we do any work, and at the completion, feel confident enough in the results to give you a full 12 month guarantee….. indefinite for rats! (so long as scheduled retreats are kept up to date) No other pest company is offering that, not that we know of anyway. That’s confidence for you ….Whilst the average person can and will throw “rat sack” or another supermarket brand of poison in the roof to kill the rats, it’s not always the best way to manage them. This will usually leave a few of the wiser rats to survive, and in just a few short weeks you will be back where you started…still with a rat colony! What’s more, they may become bait shy to the treatment as a whole. In other words, THEY KNOW WHAT IT IS, and won’t touch it as a result.We, on the other hand, understand the importance of eradicating the entire colony in one fast and direct swoop. We do this by using the highest quality Brodifacoum based treatment. We use this in a quantity that you can be assured will wipe out every last rat. The poison works by halting the rats bloods ability to clot, and in doing so, causes the rat to bleed internally, which in turn produces a thirst that forces the animals to search out their usual water supply, then after consuming comparatively large amounts of water the rat will die quickly and painlessly…. well away from your home. It is very rare for rats suffering from our treatment to die in the treated building.

What We Will Do For You!

We initially wipe out the colony with our tried and tested methods. We place enough treatment, in an appropriate way, to rid you of all resident rodents within your buildings colony, the treatment will then act as a preventative measure to catch any new comer’s after this for a period of 6 months, at which time a re-treat is highly recommended, then annually after that to prevent new colonisation. Sometimes, on rare occasions, in highly rat populated areas, more frequent re-treating may be required. We will endeavour to assess this for you at the initial inspection process, but can usually only accurately diagnose the extent of this issue in this case during the first 3 months after initial treatment. Our treated statically covers 99.5% of all buildings in our coverage areaPlease call us if you need any advice at all.now on 1300 164 831.