Top Tier Norway Rat Extermination & Exclusion Richmond VA

If youre having a problem with rats in Richmond VA, theres a high chance its the Norway Rat. They are the heavyweights of the rodent world. These rats are chunky, brown, and can grow up to 9.5 inches long. A quick way to tell them apart from their relative, the Roof rat, is by looking at their tail and their face. A Norway rat has a tail that is shorter than its body, and they have much smaller eyes and ears.

While Roof rats like to stay up high in attics, Norway rats are ground-dwellers. They prefer to stay low, usually nesting in basements, crawl spaces, or in burrows they dig right next to your home's foundation.

Rats aren't just destructive; they are dangerous to have around your family. They carry several serious diseases, including:

• Leptospirosis: Spread through their urine.

• Rat-bite fever: A bacterial illness.
  
• Salmonellosis: Which happens when they crawl over your food surfaces.

How to tell if you have an infestation:

• Droppings: Norway rat droppings are about 3/4 of an inch long and have blunt, rounded ends (they look like large pill capsules). Roof rat droppings are smaller and have pointed ends.
  
• Grease Marks: Rats have disgusting, oily fur. As they run along the same path every day, they leave dark "rub marks" or grease stains on the walls.
  
• Noise: You’ll hear heavy scratching or scurrying in the crawl space or the lower level ceilings.

• Damage: Look for large gnaw marks on wood or chewed-open food boxes in your pantry or basement.

These rats are incredibly strong and destructive. They can chew through almost anything to get into your house, including wood, plastic, loose brick, and even softer metals or concrete.

One of the most common ways I see them getting into Richmond homes is through their sewer system. Norway rats are amazing swimmers and can actually tread water for days. If you have an uncapped or broken sewer pipe, they will without a doubt enter through them.

I recently completed a rat extermination service in the Mary Munford neighborhood where a homeowner had a broken pipe behind a finished basement wall. They didn't even know the pipe was cracked until I noticed drain flies, which is the #1 indication of a sewage leak.

Because there was no access to the main sewer line and no other entry points, I recommended calling a plumber to scope the line from the upstairs bathroom. They ended up finding the crack in the pipe that had been chewed wider by the rats. To take care of this, the homeowner unfortunately had to rip out the sheetrock and the framing in order to get to it and have it repaired. It’s a perfect example of how a small rat problem can turn into a massive demo & repair bill very quickly. There are plenty examples I could share of my experience in dealing with rats but take my word for it, they are extremely efficient at getting into your home.

To add insult to injury, rats are highly "neophobic," which is a fancy way of saying they are terrified of new things. Unlike mice, who are curious, a rat will avoid a new trap or bait station for days just because it’s new to their environment.

When dealing with rats in Richmond VA, its also possible to experience something called  "bait aversion." If a less experienced company or a home owner attempting DIY methods uses a cheap or weak bait, a rat might eat just enough to get sick but not die. If that happens, that rat will never touch that bait—or anything that smells like it—ever again. This is why the treatment must be done the right way the first time, by a seasoned pest control professional.

When it comes to rats, I don't just throw some bait around and take your card info. I come in with a plan to get rid of the problem for good. Because rats are so smart and nervous about new things, I use a specific, multi-step process that I’ve perfected over my 14 years in the business.

As always, everything starts with a thorough inspection. Ill start by walking your foundation looking for burrows. Then, I’ll be combing through the lower levels of your home—the basement and the crawl space are usually the most important. I’m looking for where they travel consistantly, their droppings, and exactly how they are getting in. I’m also checking for broken or abandoned pipes that were never capped off. In many older Richmond homes, a basement might lead into a crawl space, creating a perfect maze for a rat. I’ll find exactly where that maze begins.

The first question I’ll ask you is if you have tried to get rid of them yourself and what you used to do it. If you’ve already put out snap traps and they failed, those rats are now trap shy. If you’ve used hardware store bait, they might now have "bait aversion." If you’ve used traps, I’ll switch to bait. If you’ve used bait, I might have to use snap traps. 

Before I set a single trap, I clean up the old rat crap. This is important for tracking progress. If I leave the old droppings, I have no way of knowing if the rats are still active in that spot a week from now. By clearing the floor, I can track exactly where new activity is happening.

Because rats are neophobic (terrified of new things), I don't bait my stations on the first day. I put down tamper resistant rodent stations in key spots around your foundation and possibly in the basement, but I leave them empty for a few days. I want the rats to get used to them. I’ll know they’re comfortable when I see their droppings inside the empty stations. Once they trust the box, Ill come back and load it with a highly attractive rodenticide.

Two weeks after the baiting, I’ll be back to check the progress. Sometimes, a rat will eat so much of this professional bait that they die almost immediately. If you find a dead rat or worse, you start to smell one,  just call me. I’ll come out and remove it so you don't have to deal with the smell.

This is where a lot of less-experienced technician go wrong. I never seal the entry points until I am 100% sure the rats are gone. If a rat gets trapped inside your house with no way out, they will freak out. A panicked rat will chew through almost anything or end up in your living areas to find a way out. They will also avoid every trap and bait station set because they are in survival mode. 

Once the exclusion is finished and your home is sealed tight, I’ll schedule one last follow-up a month later. I’ll check for any new signs of activity or fresh droppings. If everything is clean, your rat problem is officially a thing of the past.

If the rats have developed bait aversion, Ill have to use traditional snap traps. Everything about my process—the inspection, the cleanup, and the exclusion—stays the same. The only thing that changes is the tool.

Rats are colorblind and have poor vision, but their sense of smell is incredible. Because they are nervous about new things, I never set the traps on day one. I place them in the areas with the most activity—like the corners where they slow down at the end of a baseboard—but I dont activate them. They have to get used to them first.

Rats are like people; some have a sweet tooth and some want something savory. I give them a variety to see what they’re in the mood for:

• Hazelnut Spread with Cinnamon: I sprinkle cinnamon on top and then blow on it to circulate that aroma through the crawl space or basement.

• Spray Cheese: A high-protein favorite.

• Heated Meat Sticks: I take a lighter to small pieces of meat to get that smoked smell moving through the air.

I leave these traps unset for a few days. When I come back, I check to see which bait they chose. Once I know the favorite, I clean the traps and get ready for the real work.

One of the biggest frustrations homeowners have is finding a trap licked clean. Rats are delicate; they can lick peanut butter off a trigger without ever setting it off. To avoid this, I attach a small piece of foam to the bait hook and then cover it in the bait. If the rat wants the hazelnut or spray cheese, they can't just lick it off. They have to tug on that foam to get the food. This forces the trap to do its magic.

Because I’m using these traps, Ill have to be at your house much more often. I have to check the traps regularly to remove the rats that get caught and to make sure the bait is fresh.