Rats in the attic space??
 

Title is attic space!

Pest control company offers "rodent" inspection of attic spaces.
I had not heard about this until yesterday.
Is there a problem that anybody has heard about?

Not rats.
 

Have not heard of anything bugs in attics. I have seen squirrels on roof tops, but not rats.
If you think you may have a problem it checked. But, if you hear footsteps over head, it could be birds or squirrels on the roof and not a problem.

Good luck.

If there’s a dead rat in your attic you won’t hear footsteps but the stench is unbelievable

Just had an inspection by Massey.
No evidence of any activity in our attic areas.
The tech said they have had increased complaints in recent weeks.

I have had them up north. Called roof rats, citrus rats or palm rats. They have smaller heads than a common Norway rat and are prolific climbers.

They feed on citrus or bird feed. The more complex your roof line is the more likely they are to get in.

We had rats in the attic, as well as mice and raccoons. We think the raccoon forced her way in through the vents at the top (ripping out the wire grille) and the rest of the menagerie followed.

Massey trapped the mice and rats but we had to get the big boys in for the raccoon.

If you have rats you will hear them, they make a very distinctive scratching noise. They use the down spouts to get onto the roof and find their way in. Massey will leave traps around the foundation and down spouts. What goes up has to come down.

We blocked our downspouts with chicken-wire and next time I emptied them of leaves there was also a decomposed rat in there - I guess he couldn't turn round and go back up.

Ace hardware has preformed screens for insertion into your gutters. They were recommended by our Deans rep.

I put screens on my gutters. Later I was walking outside and heard a noise, a little bird was caught in the downspout and would hate died if I hadn’t noticed. Apparently this is not uncommon. I took the screens out. No vermin in the attic.

IMO gutters has nothing to do with it. The rats and or squirrels has to get through opening in the attic, gutters don’t lead into attic. Mostly likely they chewed hole somewhere? I’d they go down the water heater vent the end up in the garage. Id they go down the dryer vent the end up in the dryer hose which inside garage. Ifyou have attic fans IMO that could be the source of entry if they are not sealing properly? But, there has to be hole big enough foe them to get in.

Are saying there holes in the complex roof line or just more places for them to chew hole? No roof should have hole big enough for rat or squirrel to get in, they chew there way in and that should be obvious IMO.

It happens, an inlaw went through it in Sanford. The rats had full access to their house for over month while they were away, did a lot of damage to the house and furniture.

Bejessus couldn’t see hole big enough for raccoon?

Rats in the attic
 

I was told that where there are palm trees, there are rats. So they are very real down here.

Several of my neighbors recently had issues with rats in attics & walls.

Keep in mind that the rat only needs a hole the size of a 25 cent coin.

Caught a mouse in mine a couple of years ago

We have two "mushroom" vents right on top that are about 18" across - usually secured with a metal grille but ours, being about 20 years old, seemed to present no problem to that pesky raccoon who got her claws underneath the mushroom and bent the grille up enough to slip in and out. Couldn't see it from the garden - only found out by going on the roof and feeling under the mushroom.

Rats in attic
 

A neighbor did have rats in the attic appeared they live in palm trees and somehow managed to enter the house , he bought traps large rat traps and trapped them (2)

the date palms seem to draw the rats, as do the citrus trees....that was an issue for folks when we lived in Ft Lauderdale

last fall in TV's we had a racoon in our Robellini Palm eating the berries. I'll be cutting the berry shoots off before they bud this year

Beware of Rat Traps
 

We had a rodent problem in a house we owned by St. Michaels, MD. It was a seasonal home. The rats ate through our drywall and got in. We called an exterminator as soon as we became aware of this problem. They fixed the hole and set rat traps. When we went to check on the house our Norfolk Terrier broke her front leg on a rat trap. They snap hard. Thousands of $$ later, Vetrinary surgery and months of back and forth to the animal hospital she recovered. I would never let them set traps nor would I use a rat trap again!

Roof rats are rampant in Florida if you have a bird feeder in your yard you will have rats. Look around the villages and pay attention there are rat bait traps all over the place. So yes rats are here and lots of them.

What happens is two roof angles meet each other creating a valley. If the osb was not fit tightly together relying upon the shingles to cover the gap a rat can get between the shingles and where the osb should be. Typically the gap is at the end of the valley. So no it is not obvious nor does there have to be any chewing. The shingles are quite pliable in the temps that we have here.

As far as the space necessary for a roof rat, have you seen one up close and personal? I have and more than once, they can get into a tiny spot. They are not well fed lab rats. As adults they have a 6 - 8" body.

Ooh! Right. We had bird feeders out back but took them down as they attracted rats. We had a plastic bin on the patio which we kept some yard supplies and the bird seed. Never again! There was a smell in the bin. And a rat had chewed through the plastic and got in and died there. Probably got too fat to get back out. Yuck. Threw the entire thing away. Now the birds must fend for themselves. :icon_wink:

yes there can be rats in your attic. I had them. I waited too long and they caught 11 rats.

RATS in Attic
 

neighbor had them in Duval He could hear the scratching. He had every exterminator out to get rid of them The cure was when the palm trees were removed. We had one in garage and it ate wires in the car. Luckily insurance took care of that cost. We never left the garage door open after that episode.

I've seen palm rats around here (on the ground). I've been here over 12 years and hadn't heard of anyone with rats in the attic. The pest control places will sell anything and everything.