Winter Pests - How to Rid Your Florida Home of Rats

Winter is the time of year when a whole new crop of pests can move into your home. From rodents that search for a warm place to hibernate, to moths and insects that can quickly reproduce in the dark, warm, moist places in your home. Perhaps the most feared of all pests is the rodent family, specifically, rats, searching for shelter, food and water. With these guys, there really is no gap too small to stop these pests from infiltrating into your home or business.

Many people find it a bit unnerving to share their house with something so big, and with such large teeth, that they don't exactly consider a pet. Not to mention they can harbor many diseases that humans can contract through direct bites or from the ticks, fleas and mites rats carry. Florida has its share of these rodents with Norway rats, roof rats and house mice being the most prevalent. While the roof rat can grow up to 9", tail included, the Norway rat can grow up to twice that size! Due to the fact that their teeth are continuously growing, rats will gnaw on various surfaces to wear them down, and can cause a great amount of damage to your home. Rats can also be very hard to control. While these rodents often live less than a year, they breed in large quantities. When the temperatures begin to drop and rat's food sources begin to dwindle, homes, work places and other buildings make the perfect Winter getaway for these animals. Rats have amazingly flexible bodies as well, and can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter.

Fortunately, there are professionals who are trained in exterminating, controlling and preventing further infestation of this pest. West Palm Beach pest control services begin to prepare themselves every year during the fall to make themselves readily available to exterminate homes and business throughout Palm Beach county and neighboring Florida cities before the problem begins. If it's too late and rats have already become a a big problem, these experts are skilled at handling that too. Exterminating rodents during the winter months is key to making sure you and your family stay protected from harmful pests and the diseases they carry.

The first step to controlling rats is performing a rodent exclusion in which all access points are blocked, in or out, giving experts the ability to exterminate the source before they run away. To many Florida pest control services, it is important to exterminate these rodents in the most humane way possible, which is why they use 'snap' traps, coming every few days to check on the progress and recheck at the year mark, once they have ensured all of them are gone.