Southampton Rat Catchers (SO14): Though it's not all that common nowadays, spotting a rat in your garden or even inside your home in Southampton isn't a good thing to go through. Just one sighting of a rat might not be that much of an issue, nevertheless, if you observe rats more frequently or notice more than one rat you could potentially be heading for trouble since they breed so quickly.
There are actually two kinds of rat that you may run into in Southampton, black rats and common (brown) rats. Its pretty improbable that you will ever come across a black rat, and if you have spotted a rat recently it's likely to have been one of the more common brown rats (Rattus Norvegicus). Black rats (also known as ship rats) were once common and were to blame for the spread of the Great Plague, they're pretty rare now, but when they are seen they've got an acute sense of hearing, are amazing climbers, and the females can give birth to between 20 and 100 offspring every twelve months.
The brown rat is bigger than the black rat (Rattus Rattus) and can weigh nearly 500g, with a length of around 9 inches. To wear down their continuously growing incisor teetn, common brown rats have to keep gnawing at things, which is why they cause so much damage. They especially like to gnaw on timber.
An infestation of rats can cause all kinds of problems for home owners and businesses in and around Southampton, they will gnaw their way through pipes, woodwork, insulation and wires, leave behind droppings, transmit disease, and build nests. Property holders must always report incidences of rats to their local authority. Or even click HERE to report pest problems and rat sightings on the .gov dedicated webpage.
You won't always need to see rats to know of that they are there, because there are various telltale signs that could alert you to their presence. Its possible you might hear noises coming from a loft, floor or wall, you may spot rat holes chewed into floorboards or skirtings, you may uncover a rat's nest hidden away somewhere or you may start seeing droppings on the floor or in cupboards.
To tackle this situation there are specific approaches that you could consider. You could put traps or poison down yourself, you can find a pest removal specialist or you can get hold of the local Southampton environmental health. In the past, rat catchers used to be exactly that, but at present they're typically referred to as pest control experts and won't solely be happy to help you manage rat problems but also moles, wasps, ants, mice, cockroaches and much more. (Tags: Pest Control Southampton, Ratcatchers Southampton )
Rat catching and pest control can be carried out in Southampton and also in nearby places like: Freemantle, Ocean Village, Hightown, Millbrook, Nursling, Midanbury, Bitterne Park, Rownhams, Shirley, Chartwell Green, Eling, Butlocks Heath, West End, Sholing, Chapel, Bitterne Village, North Stoneham, Swaythling, Weston, Hillyfields, and in these postcodes SO14 0EY, SO14 0NT, SO14 0EP, SO14 0LZ, SO14 0JT, SO14 0AA, SO14 0NW, SO14 0QN, SO14 0JX, and SO14 0QE. Locally based Southampton pest controllers will likely have the telephone dialling code 02380 and the postcode SO14.
Rat Bites
While, in the British Isles, rat bites are not all that common, they do occur every once in a while, and the effects can be serious in some circumstances. When cornered or scared, rats can attack and bite humans, so if you come across one in a confined environment, it is wise to leave the creature a clear exit route so that it can escape.
Some incidences of rat bites happen when rats are kept as pets (really?), and shoving your hand inside a rat's cage could be chancing it. Even though they aren't always dangerous, rat bites can become infected or be fatal if they turn into "rat bite fever", consequently they must be avoided if possible. "Rat bite fever" (RBF), if it is left untreated, can cause death, and has has a 10% mortality rate.
Signs of Rat Bite Fever (RBF) - The signs and symptoms of "rat bite fever" (streptobacillary RBF) include:
- Redness or Swelling
- Headache
- Rashes
- Muscle Pain
- Vomiting
- Joint Pain
- Fever
You should promptly wash the affected area with warm water, if you get bitten by a rat, and put on an antibiotic cream to the bite area, and cover it with a clean, sterile gauze or bandage. You should book an appointment to see your doctor, or go to the closest A&E, even if you think it isn't that severe. If you haven't received a tetanus shot in the last five years or so, you should also get one of these.
Rat Traps Southampton
Whether you are intending to handle the rat infestation by yourself or if you are calling in professionals, one of the ways to achieve this is with rat traps. These days there are various different types of rat traps on the market, supplying you with a selection of capture options. Should you be averse to the harming of animals, maybe the capture style trap will be the appropriate solution. Rat traps can be found in all styles and sizes and include the likes of: enclosed poison traps, electronic rat traps, cage traps and spring loaded bait traps.
Mole Problems
While not such a commonplace problem nowadays moles are also often handled by rat catchers. Moles cause problems in another way to to rats and aren't hated quite so much. Lawns and gardens are the biggest things at risk when you have a mole problem. Beautifully mowed lawns laden with ugly heaps of recently dug soil are sure signs of activity by moles. Moles are often captured in traps and re-released someplace else, if you prefer the most humane solution. (Tags: Mole Trapping Southampton, Mole Catchers Southampton)
Checking for Rats
When you've got suspicions you may have rats in your business or home, there are several ways in which you are able to find out. You could be on the lookout for holes or burrows adjacent to solid surfaces, keep your eyes open for faeces (droppings), they're dark brown and look similar to large grains of rice, watch for rub marks on walls and skirting boards where greasy fur has left marks, hunt for signs of footprints or tail trails on loose soil or in dusty areas, pay attention to gnawing in wires, wood and cables, especially in lofts, listen for constant scratching noises coming from walls and roofs, particularly during the night.
What Attracts Mice and Rats?
With their twitchy whiskers, furry bodies and pointy faces, some folk might find rats and mice to be rather cute, however they're certainly not the type of animals that you want in your house or garden in Southampton, and can be more dangerous than you might think. By chewing through insulation materials, electrical cables, wood and plastic, rats and mice can cause accidents and in particular electrical fires. Between them mice and rats can spread more than thirty kinds of diseases including things like toxoplasmosis, salmonella, tularemia, listeria, bubonic plague, rat bite fever, Weil's disease, trichinosis and typhus. So, the principal things that attract rats and mice into your home or garden are:
- RUBBISH/TRASH - Accumulations of trash and garden rubbish heaped up on your property (particularly in the garden) will obviously attract rodents.
- WATER - Constantly active rats and mice need to drink, therefore sources of water such as leaky pipes, pet water bowls, dripping sprinkler systems and birdbaths are a big enticement for these unwanted pests.
- CLUTTER - General clutter and jumble in an outbuilding, cellar or loft will be especially attractive to rats and mice, especially if there's a food source close by.
- FOOD - Food that is left lying around or discarded is perhaps the main attraction for rats and mice.
- HOLES AND ENTRY POINTS - Rats and mice can crawl through the smallest of cracks and holes, so keep an eye out for gaps around air vents, doors, crawl spaces and plumbing.
- PET WASTE/COMPOST - Remarkably compost heaps and even pet waste can be attractive to rats and mice - there are likely to be plenty of tasty morsels hidden in there!
Kinds of Rat
There are only 2 species of rat which you could encounter in Southampton or any place else in the UK for that matter. They're the Brown Rat and the Black Rat.
The Brown Rat
The brown rat (Norwegian Rat (Rattus Norvegicus), sewer rat, street rat or common rat) is the most commonly seen rat in the United Kingdom and across Continental Europe (also North America). The colour of this rodent varies between grey and brown, it usually grows to approximately 4 to 9 inches (with a similar length tail) with a weight range of between 140 and 500 grammes. Now thought to have originally come from Central Asia, this rat was at one time assumed to have arrived from Norway (hence its name). Brown rats are omniverous (eat any foodstuffs) although their favourite foods are grains and cereals, they've got excellent hearing but bad eyesight, the females attain sexual maturity in just 5 weeks and can have five litters per annum (with as many as 14 in each litter), they dig extensively and climb brilliantly.
The Black Rat (Rattus Rattus)
The black rat, roof rat or ship rat (Rattus Rattus) is also not a native of Great Britain, originally coming from Southeast Asia (most likely India). Almost certainly traveling in spice shipments at the time of the Roman Empire, the black rat subsequently spread through Continental Europe. Fairly uncommon nowadays in Britain, this rat was for the most part driven out by the more dominant brown rat. Weighing just 75 to 230 grams, the black rat grows to lengths of approximately five to seven inches. Black rats are notorious for spreading a number of diseases, especially toxoplasmosis, salmonella, tularemia, listeria, bubonic plague, rat bite fever, Weil's disease, trichinosis and typhus.
Reporting Rat Sightings
This is more detail on a topic that we highlighted further up the page. Should you spot rats in a neighbours garden, in a public place or in your own garden it is smart to report it to the Environmental Health. Some councils will sort out issues with rats cost-free, however if you've got other infestations such as cockroaches, wasps and bed bugs they will normally charge. Also, it is actually possible to report rat sightings on the .gov webpage which you can find HERE. You can obviously schedule your own rat catcher to come over and tackle the issue by clicking HERE.
In Conclusion
Home and business owners with rat problems in Southampton are often tempted to have a crack at solving it themselves. So, if this happens to you, what ought you to do? Rat traps, rat poisons and similar products are available in hardware stores, supermarkets and shops in the Southampton area, so the things you need can easily be bought.
Nonetheless, unless you know exactly what you are doing, it is possibly much better to use an experienced rat exterminator, who will have remedied such problems hundreds of times before, and will know exactly what the preferred solution is.
Generally the amateur use of rat poisons isn't actually that successful, and could even make matters worse - do you really want to risk harming your children and pets? If you have any doubts, speak to the professionals for rat control in Southampton. (Tags: Rat Exterminators Southampton, Rat Removal Southampton, Rat Control Southampton)
Searching On the Internet
When hunting for any sort of tradesmen or services nowadays, almost all people in Southampton seem to head straight online to "Google it". On the spot and specific results are the main advantage of using Ask, Google, Yahoo or Bing, which are available for this precise purpose. One dilemma can be that the opening page results dished up the favoured search engines might not exactly be the ones you were expecting.
Typing in "rat control in Southampton", "Southampton rat catchers", "pest control Southampton" or "pest control near me" will generally be the process to follow when trying to track down pest control in Southampton. Online directories such as Yelp, Thomson Local, Yell or 3 Best Rated, or entries for the top trade portals like My Hammer, Quotatis, TrustaTrader, Rated People, Bidvine or Checkatrade will likely feature highly on the resulting page one listings, as will purely PPC advertising. Pest control specialists don't have large budgets to advance their own websites to the top of the rankings, so you are likely to discover these hidden away lower down the listings possibly on the second or third pages.
Pest Control Near Southampton
Also find: Chartwell Green rat catchers, Butlocks Heath rat catchers, Millbrook rat catchers, Eling rat catchers, Sholing rat catchers, Shirley rat catchers, Nursling rat catchers, West End rat catchers, North Stoneham rat catchers, Ocean Village rat catchers, Freemantle rat catchers, Hillyfields rat catchers, Chapel rat catchers, Hightown rat catchers, Bitterne Park rat catchers, Swaythling rat catchers, Weston rat catchers, Midanbury rat catchers, Bitterne Village rat catchers, Rownhams rat catchers and more. There are companies who do pest control in pretty much all of these locations. Ensuring efficient and effective rodent problem resolution, these seasoned professionals bring a wealth of know-how and expertise. For handling either a large infestation or a single rat, these pest control specialists have the essential equipment and skills to resolve the issue promptly. By clicking here, local homeowners can obtain pest control quotations.
Pest Control Services Southampton
Southampton rat catchers will likely help you with domestic rat control in Southampton, rat proofing, emergency 24 hour pest control, thermal imaging surveys for pest indentification, pigeon pest control, rat catching, rat removal services, pest control services, squirrel pest control, wasp pest control, mice pest control, preventive pest control in Southampton, rat infestations, residential pest control, commercial pest control in Southampton, dead bird removal in Southampton, guano removal in Southampton, the installation of moth pheromone stations, the removal of contaminated loft insulation, rodent control, wasp nest removal, domestic pest control in Southampton, mole catching, bird proofing, rat deterrents, ants pest control, rat baits, fogging & spray treatments, bird pest control, fox pest control and other pest control in Southampton. These are just an example of the tasks that are accomplished by those installing pest control. Southampton specialists will tell you about their full range of pest control services.
Southampton Rat Control Services
- Southampton Pest Inspections
- Southampton Pest Control
- Southampton Rat Deterrent
- Southampton Rat Trapping
- Southampton Mole Catchers
- Southampton Mouse Control
- Southampton Rat Extermination
- Southampton Rat Catching
- Southampton Rodent Control
- Southampton Rat Inspections
- Southampton Rat Catchers
- Southampton Rat Prevention
- Southampton Rat Removal
- Southampton Commercial Pest Control
Other Pests in Southampton: Also seek assistance with rabbits in Southampton, mice in Southampton, bees in Southampton, carpet beetles in Southampton, clothes moths in Southampton, ants in Southampton, pigeons in Southampton, fleas in Southampton, wasps in Southampton, bedbugs in Southampton, moles in Southampton, silverfish in Southampton, cockroaches in Southampton, hornets in Southampton Hampshire.
Rat Catchers Southampton
Pest Control Near Southampton
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Rat catchers in SO14 area, phone code 02380.
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