Tag Archives: Rat Trapping

salem oregon rat control

Salem Oregon Rat Control

Have you ever had rats get inside your home? We know what it’s like, and believe us it’s awful! Life turns upside down as you worry about what the nasty vermin might be chewing on inside your walls. Salem Oregon rat control requires a few unique tricks that we’re happy to share based on years of field experience trapping rats in homes and businesses all over Marion county.

Salem Oregon Rat Control Tips

No matter whether you live in Salem, Keizer or Independence, Oregon when a rat gets inside your home it’s enough to cause homeowners and tenants alike some real stress. Let’s go through a few tips that will help you effectively get rid of rats fast and help you avoid hurting yourself in the process.

most mouse traps don't work

Here are a few key questions to help you get started:

  1. Bait or traps?
  2. How to stay safe?
  3. How to get rats to take the bait?

Should You Use Bait Or Traps?

We know it might sound tempting to just open the crawl space door, throw a few packets of bait into the dark nasty opening and hope for the best. It’s definitely the easy option and even the method actually used by a few low-quality pest control companies.

But before you run for the crawl space opening, we just have to ask…how much will you like the smell of dead carcasses decaying inside the walls of your home? Use bait and a few days later your neighbors might think there is a dead body hidden under your house. Summer, Winter or any other time of year, using bait for Salem Oregon rat control inside homes is a really bad idea.

If you’re trying to get rid of rats from a barn, shed or another structure where decaying rodent smells is not likely to be the worst smell encountered then, by all means, break out the poison bait. Just make sure you don’t use it somewhere that pets and kids will find it.

For all other structures where nasty smells are not considered part of the experience, say “NO WAY” to poison baits. Rat traps require more skill and work but they are going to literally save the life of your nose!

Just to be clear, in MOST circumstances we suggest using rat traps instead of poison baits.

How to stay safe?

While mouse traps might not seem too intimidating, Salem Oregon rat control using high powered rat traps can be dangerous! I once accidentally caught my own finger while setting a rat trap under the sink in a restaurant–Bad Idea! I was lucky not to end up in the emergency room, and I’ve had a lot of respect for a loaded rat trap ever since.

Wear gloves. Rodents are basically disease spreading machines. Never touch rat traps, fecal matter (why would you want to anyway!) or dead rodents without gloves. Wearing gloves will also prevent human odors from contaminating rat traps. Basically glove up any time you’re messing with rat control.

Field ExterminatorWear a respirator too. Rodent like nasty, so the places they hang out are likely to have filth and disease. Some bacteria on rat feces can actually spread lethal diseases in a moist environment. That’s basically crawlspaces and attics so using a high-quality respirator for trapping rodents is essential to your future health.

How to get rats to take the bait?

You’ve called or texted our office to get the PRO rat traps that actually work, you set them wearing gloves, but how can you convince that smart rat to actually get into the trap? This can be a tough part.

Our field techs fought with this for years. Peanut butter frequently works, bread sometimes works, cheese never works. We put our heads together, did some technical research about dietary needs for different life stages of rats and then did massive testing. Eventually, we created our Rodent Magnet Trap Bait. We’ve had people from Alaska and about every other state in the US let us know it is amazing stuff.

rodent magnet trap bait

Rodent Magnet Trap Bait is a pet-friendly lure that drives rats and mice crazy. Rats will literally jump over stuff to get to it when the bait is placed on rat traps. It’s our field tech preferred go-to for every rat trapping job we do in Salem.

If you don’t have the right PRO grade traps and Rodent Magnet Trap Bait your efforts to catch rats will be handicapped–like a dwarf trying to play tennis.

Does All This Sound Like A Pain?

If you’re thinking I hate rats, I hate wearing respirators and I have a peanut allergy, then you’re actually like most normal people in Salem. Do you know what all of them do?

They just call us and we take care of the rats. No disease, no dead rats to scrape out of traps and no rubber gloves that keep getting holes when you try to put them on. Honestly, knowing what we know about rat trapping, even our sales team hires our techs to get the job done right.

Salem Oregon Rat Control Experts – Call Us at 541-636-0146

Locally owned for fast, exceptional service.

5 Star Pest Control Service available in Albany, Ashland, Coos Bay, Corvallis, Eugene, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Medford, Newberg, Roseburg, Salem, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin, and surrounding areas.

rat looking for food

Getting Rid Of Rats – Tips For Success

Maybe you are hearing sounds in your walls, maybe your dog is alerting you to the rodent  threat or maybe you just happened across droppings, chewing or other signs of rodents within your home. One thing is now certain–getting rid of rats fast is your top priority. Below our expert Field Technicians share a few tips to help guide you to success.

Getting Rid Of Rats – Pro Tips

We have been getting rid of rats for years and we’ve learned a few things that are sure to help out.

Control Food Sources First

“Control the possible food and water sources to help with getting rid of rats faster. Many people don’t even know to look for common food sources like compost piles, pet food dishes, wild bird seed and organic fertilizers.” Justin W. – Corvallis Tech

Justin knows that by removing food sources, it will be easier lure rats into baited traps. Look for these food sources commonly used by rats:

  1. Remove pet dishes when pets are not actively eating.
  2. Store unused wild bird seed in metal containers.
  3. Remove organic fertilizer from garages.
  4. Clean up pet poop in the yard since rats can actually eat it-gross!
  5. Avoid putting food scraps in open compost piles until the rats are gone.

Set LOTS Of Traps

“Most do-it-yourselfers fail at getting rid of rats because they set way to few traps.” Jacob L. – Owner

We frequently get called out to assist with a failed homeowner’s attempt at getting rid of rats. Often the correct traps were used in conjunction with an appropriate trap lure. Success has evaded the homeowner because only a couple traps were set.rodent magnet trap bait

Our trained technicians often use 1-4 dozen traps, carefully placed in active rat travel paths to quickly and effectively capture the infesting rodents. For additional info about the exact traps we’ve found to be most effective and to purchase our scientifically engineered Rodent Magnet Trap Bait (proven to be more effective than peanut butter) call or text us at 541-636-0146.

Eliminate Rat Entry Points

getting rid of rats
Rat entry point-note brown rat smudge marks

“If funds allow, bite the bullet and pay to get your structure professionally excluded. The long term benefits will far out way the short term costs.” Kevin M. – Field Manager

Rats have a far better sense of smell than eyesight. When entering and exiting a structure, rats leave a distinct scent. Even if the intruding rodent is captured, other rats are attracted to the remaining scent and drawn into the structure. Kevin has found that our Professional Rodent Exclusion service effectively prevents rats long term.

Don’t forget that Rodent Exclusion often improves home energy efficiency and can save you on heating and cooling costs in addition to avoiding costly home repairs from rodent damage.

Rodents can enter any hole larger than 1/4 inch, so effective rodent prevention requires that every gap from the foundation to the top or the roof must be carefully inspected and addressed to effectively prevent rodent entry.  Rodent exclusion is a highly specialized field and requires extensive training. We’re Oregon’s #1 rodent exclusion experts as licensed Oregon contractors (CCB#153907) and have created the BEST and MOST EFFECTIVE, 100% WARRANTED rat prevention system. Call or text us now for additional details 541-636-0146.

5 Star Pest Control Service available in Albany, Ashland, Coos Bay, Corvallis, Eugene, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Medford, Newberg, Roseburg, Salem, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin and surrounding areas.

Rat Prevention

How To Prevent Rats

Rats seldom travel alone.  While one may have explored its way into your crawlspace or home, it’s highly likely that it will soon bring others.  Pregnant females often look for warmth in homes (especially in colder months) and can take up residence in your attic or crawlspace with a family already en route.  While rodent removal can be done, many customers inquire as to what they could do to stave off future problems, or how they could have kept the current problem from having occurred in the first place.  As our rodent removal experts work with rodent infestations all across the state of Oregon, we are always asked these same questions.  They are questions about prevention, not simply removal, and we have answers.

Effective Rat Removal (With A Problem)

Time and again, we have inspected rat infested structures, designed rat  removal plans, and implemented successful extermination efforts.  The knowledge we’ve gained from each of these unique structures and various infestation traits has allowed us to create a rat extermination process. It has  functioned so well that we can even guarantee successful rat elimination with 100% confidence.  So what’s the problem?

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The problem is that before we arrive, and in the time it takes us to exterminate an infesting rat population, damage to the home can occur.  Rats can be destructive, and sometimes wires are chewed up, causing short circuits and damage to heating systems.  The rats can damage water lines, enlarge exterior entrance points (leaving you open to other infestations later), and disease spreading urine and feces is always left behind.  It doesn’t take long to realize that the ideal scenario would be to block rodent access before an infestation can even begin.  Preventative maintenance and habits can solve this problem, and there are many reasons to undertake them.

The Cost To Fix Problems Left Behind By Rats

To get a better idea as to what it can cost to fix the damage rats cause, we interviewed Tom, the owner of Mahalo Heating & Air Conditioning, LLC. Tom detailed just a few of the estimated costs of repairing damage caused by rats to heating and cooling systems.

Repair or Replace a Damaged Dust System                                                    $2,500-$8,000

Repair or Replace a Damaged Thermostat Wire                                           $200-$500

Duct System Cleaning                                                                                              $300-$500

Monthly Increased Heating/Cooling Costs (Holes In Duct Systems)    $500-$800+

Tom concludes what we already know; preventing a rat infestation can save homeowners LOTS of money.

Is It Really Possible To Prevent Rats?

From our field experience we know that in order to prevent rats, all entrance points over ½ inch have to be sealed up. This includes entry points on the roof, around the exterior, foundation, doorways (especially garage doors), and even pipes and wiring leading into the crawlspace underground.  Some homes are simply not built with this in mind, or they contain extensive remodel components that make sealing all small gaps virtually impossible, or cost prohibitive.  While complete rodent proofing remains the absolute best, and permanent, solution to rat prevention, it’s simply not a viable option for some structures.

A Completely New Rat Prevention Idea

Let’s go back a bit…  There was a time, early on in our company’s history, that we were faced with a problem.  We wanted to come up with a successful way to prevent rat infestations from taking root in homes.  Determined to discover what it might be, the entire Bug Zapper Pest Control team got together.  Fueled by late night pizza, the creativity got going and a ton of ideas were presented.  No idea was off-limits.  As we discussed these, we knew that while ideas are great, they really do nothing without real-world evidence and trials.  So, we decided to field-test some of them to see what worked effectively in the real world.  We all had a lot of pride in our 5-star reviews and were not willing to offer a new solution unless we all felt 100% confident we could guarantee its effectiveness for every home in Oregon.  We had some great customers who were willing to let us try out our system, and we are indebted to them.

Not pictured: A satisfied customer, personally. Pictured: A technician at a customer's house in mid-satisfy.
Not pictured: A satisfied customer, personally.
Pictured: A technician at a customer’s house in mid-satisfy.

Things came together, and some ideas won out over others.  Months later, the glitches had been worked out and the results were reviewed by our team.  The conclusion:  Together we had developed a 100% foolproof system that works at every home regardless of construction style, age, location or other factors.  Compared to the huge costs of repairing rat damage, our new rat prevention system really could be priced at several hundred dollars each month.  It was worth it.  However, we also felt that rats populations were causing a huge problem and we knew that helping to decrease their numbers was something that needed to be available everywhere, and not simply for those with large disposable income.  Populations of rats are indiscriminate, and put our communities health at risk.  The best solution to decreasing this problem is to hit rats wherever they take root, in any neighborhood, for any customer.  We decided instead to retool the process to make our new rat prevention system affordable for everyone.  It doesn’t lower the rat population much in an area if only one house takes action, so we’ve priced our system in a way that many homes can take part.  Every member of the Bug Zapper team lives here in Oregon, too, and if our neighbors prevent rats, then our own homes and families are safer too.

Guaranteed Rat Prevention System

Even with our guaranteed new rat prevention system, every home requires a custom plan to establish a rat free zone within your home. This all starts with a detailed inspection by our rat prevention expert. He will go over the details with you about how our new system works, how fast you will see results, and exactly what the cost will be for your home.

Find out if your home might be at risk by asking your neighbors if they have seen or caught a rat recently.  If yes, this is a good indicator that your home is in a HIGH RISK ZONE.  Call or text us now to schedule a PRO inspection before that first rat gets inside your home!

Locally owned for fast, exceptional service.

5 Star Rodent Prevention Service available in Albany, Ashland, Corvallis, Eugene, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Medford, Newberg, Roseburg, Salem, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Woodburn, Tigard, Tualatin and surrounding areas.

Call/Text 541-636-0146

For Information Today!