Rat Extermination

03.27.2005 - Many of my customer seek out rat extermination.  I think it's very important that people understand that there are many different methods of rat control, and that extermination can be done correctly, or very poorly.  Most companies that are classified as exterminators deal with insects, and they exclusively use poison.  These companies deal with rats in the same way, with poison.  The use of poison is a terrible approach to rat control.  It's by far most inhumane, least effective, and most likely to cause negative externalities of any approach.  First, as to it's inhumane nature - it's better to never kill any animals, rats included.  But if you must kill them, the use of snap traps is the best - it kills them instantly, snapping their neck.  Poison causes a slow and agonizing death.  Next, poison is just not effective.  It does not kill all the rats that eat it, some will never eat it, and new rats will always just come and replace the dead ones.  Finally, the negative consequence of poison is that the rats die in an unknown area, likely in your attic or walls, and they rot and cause a huge odor problem.  Plus, many other animals unknowingly eat rat poison, and they become very sick.  It's important to treat animals ethically. I know the above photo may not look pleasant, but it's part of a proper approach to rat control.  To cause the least suffering to rats, and to solve the problem permanently, it's important to seal up the entire house, so that no more rats can get in.  Then set traps on the pathways that rats use, and you'll catch the few that are sealed inside, and then the problem is solved forever.  In the above case, rats were running up and down pipes leading from the garage to the attic.  They were going to the garage to search for food.  I set traps right on the pipes, bolted to the walls, and the rats hit the traps as they travelled along the pipes.  I caught the rats in this house, and solved the problem for good.  That's how to exterminate rats.