Albino Rat Caught on a Snap Trap

09.15.2004 - Wow, an albino rat!  This was my first and likely only albino rat of my career.  I've caught over 1000 rats in my time so far, both with lethal and live traps, and I've never seen an albino rat before.  Sure, white rats aren't terribly rare, especially the white Norway Rats that people keep as pets, but this rat was a true naturally-occurring albino rat.

Albinism is a hereditary condition, caused by a lack of melanin pigments.  It's usually passed on from recessive genes from both parents.  Albino genes are often weeded out amongst wild animals, particularly if the animals rely on camouflage, because then they are easier to spot by predators, and thus eaten early.

There's not much else to say about this catch, I just wanted to document a rare and exciting event in the otherwise boring life of a rat control expert.

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How to prevent an albino rat, or any rat, in your house - You can prevent a rat in your house by taking hold of the reins of responsible homeownership. Owning a home is about more than just decorating the inside. A home needs to be cared for on the outside as well. Weather and time will create openings and gaps in the exterior of the building. It only takes one weak spot for a rat to sneak inside. Home repair is the best method of prevention when it comes to all pest animals. If they cannot get inside, animals cannot become nuisances.

Other than openings, there is no rhyme or reason to what houses are targeted by rats. You may be unfortunately to live next to a landfill. If that's the case, you need to be proactive about keeping rats out. As long as your home is secure, you have little to fear, though the lawn and other parts of the property can be adjusted to help keep your home from being attacked. Rats like fruit trees and vegetable gardens. They also like compost and unprotected garbage. Make sure things like these are secured or not available. It may take some time and money, but you can have the flowers and trees you want without providing food for the rats.

Have you got an albino rat on your snap trap? Well, it might seem scary or rather a rare occurrence. Now what do you do? Even though it might seem uncommon to catch an albino rat on your rat trap, this type of rat may not be rare. So, take it easy. Albinism is a kind of hereditary condition characterized by the lack of melanin pigment in the body of a mammal. This condition is always recessive in mammals. As such, it's passed from one generation to another.

Among wild animals, albino rats always get weeded out pretty fast since they're easy to spot by their predators at a distance. And that's why it might take you sometime before finding one on your trap. While white rats are considered naturally-occurring albino rats, their damage is nothing less than that caused by other common types of rats. Therefore, the processes of making your home free from albino rats are the same.

Since weather and time may create openings on the exterior of your house, getting to live with the unwanted neighbors may not be uncommon as long as you haven't taken any preventive measure. And if you happen to live next to a landfill, your house may be a paradise for the little critters. Dealing with a rat problem in your home is nothing more than making your house exterior rodent-proof, eliminating the attractants, and making your compound less favorable for the rats. Let's delve deep into some of the effective ways of dealing with rat problems at home.

Ways of Keeping Rats Away from Your House

When it comes to keeping your house rat-proof, finding some of the potential entry points to your house and sealing them off is vital. Therefore, ensure you fill any crack that you find on your foundation. Also, ensure your windows are well-caulked and make the spaces under your door a no-go-zone for rats by installing metal weather stripping under your doors. Besides that, fill-up all the spaces that you find around pipes. Moreover, cover fan intakes, dryer vents, roof vents, and outlets using a fine-mesh metal screen.

When done with sealing off your house exterior to keep rats away, eliminating primary rat attractants is yet another significant step towards living a rat -free life. Therefore, ensure all dry food in your kitchen is kept securely in a metal or glass container. Since rats and mice love easily accessible food, dry pet food and crumbs all make for rat heaven in your house. Fruits and other sweet food should also be kept securely as these opportunistic feeders will always feed on any type of solid food.

Rats also like compost, unprotected garbage, as well as vegetable gardens where they can get a wide range of food. If you want to keep these messy little critters out of your house, keeping your compound clean, eliminating the potential attractants, sealing off cracks and entry point on your house exterior, and keeping your lawn clean works best!