How to Get Rid of Rats: A Complete Guide

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Discovering a rat infestation in your home can be incredibly stressful. Beyond the unsettling sound of scratching in the walls, rats pose a serious threat to both your property and your health. They can chew through electrical wires, contaminate food, and transmit dangerous diseases. Fortunately, with a strategic and persistent approach, you can get rid of rats and take back your home.

Compared to insects, these rats are much more dangerous: they not only strike with their extraordinary gluttony and omnivorousness, but also carry serious infectious diseases. Therefore, having noticed the first signs of rats activity in the room, you need to urgently go on the warpath and be aware of dangers of having rats in your home. That’s why you need to keep rats out of your house and get rid of rats in house fast.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through a proven, step-by-step framework for permanent rodent control, from identifying the signs of an infestation to sealing your home for good.

First, Confirm the Invasion: 7 Undeniable Signs of Rats in Your Home

Before you can plan your attack, you need to confirm you’re dealing with rats and learn their habits. Look for these undeniable signs:

• Rats are Active at Night: so, if you’re hearing those little pitter-patters (a sound like that of quick light steps or taps) sound do rats make in walls at night in your attic / room, it’s shirttail sign that you have a rat problem or a rodent problem of some kind. so, are you hearing sounds at night in your attic?
  • Strange Noises: Listen for scratching, squeaking, or scurrying sounds from within walls, ceilings, or under floors, especially at night.
• Droppings: If you’re seeing rat droppings, that’s an obvious sign that you have some type of rodent problem in your house. you should then need to know how to stop rats from coming in your house?
  • Rat droppings are a primary indicator. Roof rat droppings are about 1/2-inch long and spindle-shaped, while Norway rat droppings are larger (3/4-inch) and capsule-shaped.
• Rats are climbers: It could be inside or outside the home but you want to look for waxy, ugly, disgusting black trails that are going up the wall. It’s usually in a corner either inside or outside the house. This is another way that you can discover whether you have a rat problem or not.
  • Gnaw Marks: Rats must constantly chew to wear down their incisors. Look for fresh gnaw marks on wood, plastic, or even soft metals around the house.
  • Rub Marks: Rats often travel the same paths, leaving dark, greasy smudges from their fur along walls and baseboards.
  • Tracks: Sprinkle a fine layer of flour or talcum powder along suspected runways and check for tracks the next day.
• Nests: Rats build nests from shredded materials like paper, fabric, and insulation in dark, secluded areas like attics, wall voids, or behind appliances.
• Foul Odor: A large infestation can produce a persistent, musky ammonia-like smell from urine and droppings.

So you want to listen to the sounds in the attic. You wanna smell urine in the attic, and you want to look for signs of climbing up the walls. Did it confirm your suspicions? if so, you need to take care of this right away and think about best ways to get rid of rats in your home fast.

What to do if you hear rats in the walls?

You’ve got rats. You’re probably wondering should I take care of this myself or should I hire best exterminators to get rid of rats?. You could try either or people that try to do this on their own end up having more difficulties, and it takes them longer to get rid of the problem, then if they just picked up the phone and call the pest control professional to take care of it.

But if you do still want to try to tackle this on your own I want to caution you to some things, the longer you wait to take care of the situation, or the longer it takes you, the more damage is done. Because rats don’t stop chewing. They don’t stop urinating, and they don’t stop leaving their droppings.

Know Your Enemy: Norway Rat vs. Roof Rat (And Why It Matters)

Before you can effectively combat a rat infestation, you need to know what you’re up against. The two most common species to invade homes are the Norway rat and the roof rat, and they have distinct behaviors that will dictate your strategy. Identifying the correct species is the first step toward successful removal, as it tells you where to look for nests and where to place your traps.

• Norway rats are robust, heavy-bodied rodents that are primarily burrowers. You’ll typically find their nests in the lower levels of a building, such as in basements, crawl spaces, or in earthen burrows around your home’s foundation.
• In contrast, the roof rat is a more slender, agile creature and an expert climber. As their name suggests, they prefer to live in elevated areas, making nests in attics, wall voids, false ceilings, and even dense trees or vines on your property. Placing traps in the basement for a roof rat infestation will yield poor results, and vice versa. Use the table below to identify your uninvited guest.

Rats are Smarter Than You Think

Rodents or Rats are shockingly brilliant and they’re likewise committed Mothers, who will put everything on the line to ensure the safety of their children.

How do we know that rats mothers are intelligent?

Let discus it below,

• They’re very cautious: they’re cautious in the sense that if they see something that, it’s not something they recognized before, they’ve seen before. For example,
  • Rats will stay clear of unfamiliar objects.
  • Leave Traps out before setting so they get used to them.
• Rats can learn and adapt about 10 times quicker than us as humans. If a rat observes another rat getting snapped in the trap, the rat that’s observing it, is going to avoid that area completely.
• Rats Smells Safety: they can smell human smell and they want to smell a rat smell not a human smell. Therefore
  • They Avoid items / objects that smell like human. This is why, use traps that have’t already used in a previous situation, because then they have that smell and it makes it more familiar to them.
  • They follow scents left by other rats to let them know area is safe. It gives them a safety feeling even more, so they follow the urine trail of the alpha rat, because they feel even more protected and more safe.

The Health Risks: Why a Rat Infestation is More Than Just a Nuisance

While the thought of rats scurrying through your walls is unsettling, the physical damage they cause is often secondary to the serious health risks they pose to you and your family. Rats are vectors for a number of dangerous diseases, which can be transmitted to humans directly through contact with feces, urine, or saliva, or indirectly through fleas, ticks, or mites that have fed on an infected rodent.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), rodents can directly or indirectly transmit dozens of diseases worldwide. Some of the most significant health threats associated with rats in residential settings include:

• Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: A severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease transmitted by inhaling dust contaminated with the urine and droppings of infected rodents.
• Leptospirosis: A bacterial disease spread through contact with water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals. It can cause a wide range of symptoms, from mild flu-like illness to severe kidney or liver failure.
• Salmonellosis: If rats contaminate food or food preparation surfaces, they can spread Salmonella bacteria, leading to severe gastrointestinal illness.
• Rat-Bite Fever: A potentially fatal infectious disease caused by bacteria transmitted through the bite or scratch of an infected rodent, or by consuming contaminated food or water.
• Tularemia: A rare infectious disease that can attack the skin, eyes, lymph nodes, and lungs. It can be transmitted by the bite of an infected tick that has fed on a rat, or by handling an infected animal.

Given these serious risks, treating a rat infestation with urgency is not just about protecting your property, it’s about safeguarding the health of your household.

Read our article in detail on Rodents Infestation and Health Risks!

The 3-Step Framework for Permanent Rat Control

The most effective and lasting approach to rodent control is not a single product, but an integrated strategy known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This framework focuses on eliminating the conditions that allow rats to thrive. It consists of three essential steps performed in order: Sanitation, Exclusion, and Population Control. Skipping a step will only lead to temporary results and recurring infestations.

Step 1: Sanitation – Remove Their Food and Water Supply

The first and most fundamental step in any successful rat control plan is to cut off their life support system: food and water. Rats are drawn to properties that offer easy meals. By making your home an unattractive place to forage, you force them to move elsewhere. This involves a diligent approach to cleanliness both inside and outside your home.

Inside, ensure all food is stored in airtight, rodent-proof containers, preferably made of metal or heavy-duty plastic. Promptly wash dishes after use, clean up spills and crumbs immediately, and frequently clean your garbage containers with soap and hot water. Secure indoor trash in cans with tight-fitting lids.

Outside, the same principles apply. All garbage cans must have secure, tight-fitting lids to prevent access. If you have fruit trees or a garden, pick produce as it ripens and clean up any fallen fruit from the ground promptly.

Manage pet food carefully; feed pets during the day and do not leave leftover food out overnight. Store bulk pet food and birdseed in sealed, chew-proof containers. Finally, eliminate water sources by repairing any leaking pipes or faucets and covering pools or whirlpools when not in use.

Step 2: Exclusion – How to Seal Your House From Rodents for Good

Trapping rats is pointless if new ones can get in. Your most critical long-term defense is exclusion: sealing every possible entry point into your home. A young rat can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter (about 1/2 inch).

Conduct a thorough inspection of your home’s exterior and interior, paying close attention to gaps around pipes (water, gas, electrical), foundation cracks, roof vents, and gaps under doors.

• Seal small holes with steel wool or copper mesh, as rats cannot chew through it.
• For larger gaps, use hardware cloth (1/4-inch wire mesh) secured with cement or caulk. Ensure weather stripping on doors and windows is intact.

Step 3: Population Control – Choosing the Right Method

Trapping: Your Most Effective DIY Option

For an active infestation inside your home, trapping is the most effective and recommended method for population control. Unlike poisons, traps allow you to confirm the kill and remove the carcass, preventing the foul odor of a decomposing rodent hidden within a wall or ceiling void. Success with trapping, however, depends on choosing the right trap and using it strategically.

Your bait choice is important;

• for Norway rats, try protein-based baits like peanut butter or bacon, while roof rats may prefer fruit or nuts. But placement is even more critical. Rats are cautious and tend to travel along walls and established runways. Place traps perpendicular to walls where you’ve seen signs of activity, such as droppings or rub marks, with the trigger side facing the wall.
• For particularly wary rats, you can pre-bait the traps for a few days without setting them, allowing the rats to get comfortable taking the food before you set the trigger. To make an informed choice, consider the different types of traps available.

Keep cat at home – best way to catch a rat outside

Inhabitants of villages from time immemorial keep cats on the farm so that they help fight rats. The tailed striped are rarely allowed into the living room – they mainly lead a yard lifestyle, catching pests in the local area.

But if this fall nimble voles / rats have made their way into your home, invite the cat to winter in a warm, cozy room, because this is the easiest and safest way to keep rats out of your house / room.

Just do not feed the fluffy assistant “from the belly”, otherwise his hunting instinct will completely disappear. And if your household does not yet have such a comrade in arms, it’s time to show mercy and warm up a homeless handsome man.

Serpentine Spirit – stop rats from coming in your house

Do not be alarmed, I am not suggesting that you have a snake in your house that would catch mice or keep rats out of your house or work as exterminators to get rid of rats. But you can visit a terrarium, zoo, or pet store and ask the workers to put dry snake feces into the jar.

Such a product, spread near the mouse passages, will instantly force the rodents to leave the occupied territory, being an best rat removal technique. The method to keep rats out of your house, to put it mildly, is unusual, but very effective!

Aromatherapy To Keep Rats Out of Your House

If the presence of snake feces in your own home does not make you optimistic, play on the keen sense of smell of mice in a different way / best rat removal.

• Buy peppermint, lemon balm, or citrus essential oils from your pharmacy.
  • Soak cotton balls in oil and spread out where mice appear most often and from where, in your opinion, they make their way into the room (vents, cracks in baseboards, front door, etc.).
  • Refresh your fragrances periodically, as the essential oils evaporate over time and stop scaring away rodents.
• The same effect can be achieved by expanding in bowls, open boxes, or simply on the floor of the dry grass of mint, peppermint and lemon balm- these plants often grow in gardeners’ plots. Don’t throw away peels from oranges, tangerines, and other citrus fruits – these peels can easily replace a store-bought essential oil. The scent of wormwood and tansy will also scare off mice and can get rid of rats- these herbs can be collected in the vicinity or bought at the pharmacy.
• Rodents cannot stand the smell of birch tar, naphthalene, turpentine, kerosene and formalin. But since these “flavorings” smell rather unpleasant, they are used to fight mice in non-residential areas. Liquid foods are poured into bowls or soaked with rags. Naphthalene is used in the form of balls or the powder is mixed with sawdust in a ratio (1:1).
• Special commercial rats repellents, which are offered in the form of powder or granules, and exude an unpleasant aroma for animals, will also drive rodents out of the room or keep rats out of your house. Such products from the store usually do not affect a person’s sense of smell and do not contain toxins, therefore, they can be used both in household buildings and in living rooms.

Delicacy With A Surprise

Some comrades have come up with a more sophisticated way of fighting mice, it is not suitable for sensitive natures and people who are sensitive to all living things.

• You will need a mixture of wheat flour and alabaster (stucco), which is prepared in a 1: 1 ratio.
• The treat should be placed on the floor and a bowl of water should be placed next to it.
• After such a “treat” (mice do not feel the presence of alabaster in the flour), the rodents will experience severe indigestion, since the mixture will begin to solidify like cement.

The agonizing death of rodents is also promised by a mixture of quicklime and sugar. A delicacy with a wine cork is no less effective. It needs to be finely crushed, mixed with bread crusts and seasoned with unrefined sunflower oil. Once in the animal’s stomach, the plug will swell and then clog its intestines.

Ash To Keep Rats Out of Your House

A free and effective rodent control tool is wood ash that will keep rats out of your house, which you can more than stock up on after pruning your garden in the fall. Cover the floor with ash (it must be dry) of the subfloor of the house or cellar, using at least 1 bucket for every 10 m².

Since animals often lick their paws, alkaline ash will quickly enter their stomach and cause severe irritation. After such torment, the mice will prefer to find a more comfortable wintering place for themselves.

For a person, ash is not dangerous, you can only get dirty about it. Therefore, when backfilling, do not forget to leave clean passages for yourself. And have patience: mice, soiled in ash, will first carry it throughout the house, but after a short time they will leave the room.

Also Read: Rodent Proof Construction and Exclusion Methods

Ultrasonic Scarers – who can get rid of rats

If you do not have the time and desire to engage in such creativity, you can do it easier – buy an ultrasonic rat Repeller. Such a life hack does not work on a person, but it annoys mice and makes them get away from unpleasant radiation helping in keep rats out of your house and to stop rats from coming in your house.

Remember that the ultrasonic pulses emitted by the repeller do not penetrate walls. Therefore, for each room in the house, you will need to purchase a separate device, having previously familiarized yourself with the range of its operation (each device covers a certain area).

Poison – what kills rats fast – best rat removal method

You can kill rats fast with the help of poisons that manufacturers today introduce into a wide variety of products: grains, granules, wax and dough briquettes, powder, gel, etc. Put poisoned bait in disposable plates and place them indoors at a distance of 3- 5 m apart in places where mice appear most often. Make sure that children and pets cannot reach these areas.

After a couple of days, add the preparation to the plates if its amount has decreased. If after a week the poison remains intact, move the bait to another place. Continue updating portions until all rodents have been destroyed.

A Word of Caution on Poisons (Rodenticides)

While commercially available rat poisons (rodenticides) are effective at killing rats, they should be considered an absolute last resort and are best handled by professionals. These products pose a significant risk to children, pets, and non-target wildlife.

A pet that consumes a poisoned rat can suffer from secondary poisoning, which is often fatal. Furthermore, a poisoned rat will often die in an inaccessible location like a wall void, leading to a powerful and long-lasting odor of decay that can last for weeks.

For these reasons, trapping and exclusion are far safer and more manageable solutions for homeowners.

After the Battle: How to Safely Clean Up Rat Droppings and Nests

Once you have eliminated the rats, the final and most critical step is to safely clean and disinfect the areas they inhabited. Do not, under any circumstances, sweep or vacuum rat droppings or nesting materials. This can aerosolize viruses, like Hantavirus, and create a significant inhalation risk. Follow this six-step safety protocol recommended by public health agencies:

1. Ventilate the Area: Before you begin, open doors and windows to air out the space for at least 30 minutes.
2. Wear Protective Gear: Equip yourself with non-absorbent gloves (rubber or latex), a HEPA-filter respirator or a quality N95-rated mask, and safety goggles to protect yourself from contact with contaminants.
3. Soak Contaminated Materials: Use a commercial disinfectant or a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 parts water) to thoroughly spray and soak all visible droppings, urine stains, and nesting materials. Let the disinfectant sit for at least five minutes.
4. Wipe and Dispose: Use paper towels to wipe up the soaked materials. Place the paper towels and waste directly into a heavy-duty plastic garbage bag. Seal the bag tightly.
5. Disinfect the Entire Area: Once all visible waste is removed, mop the floors and wipe down any surfaces that may have been contaminated with the disinfectant solution.
6. Clean Up: Remove and dispose of your gloves. Double-bag all waste, including the used gloves and paper towels, seal the outer bag, and dispose of it in a secure outdoor trash receptacle. Thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water, and wash any clothing that may have been exposed in hot water.

The CDC-Recommended 7-Step Cleanup Process

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides specific guidelines for safely cleaning up after rodents. Following these steps is the best way to protect your health.

1. Ventilate the Area: Before you start, open all doors and windows for at least 30 minutes to air out the space. Leave the area during this time.
2. Prepare Disinfectant: Use a commercial disinfectant or prepare a bleach solution by mixing 1.5 cups of household bleach in 1 gallon of water (or a 1:9 ratio of bleach to water).
3. Soak, Do Not Sweep: Spray the bleach solution or disinfectant directly onto all visible droppings, urine stains, and nesting materials until they are very wet. Let the solution soak for at least 5 minutes. This kills the pathogens before they can become airborne.
4. Wipe and Dispose: Use paper towels to wipe up the soaked waste and the disinfectant. Place the used paper towels in a plastic garbage bag.
5. Handle Dead Rodents Safely: Wearing gloves, spray the dead rodent and the trap with disinfectant. Place the rodent and/or the entire trap in a plastic bag. Seal the bag, then place it inside a second bag and seal that one as well. Dispose of it in a covered trash can according to local regulations.
6. Disinfect the Entire Area: After removing the waste, mop floors and wipe down all hard surfaces, countertops, cabinets, and drawers that may have been contaminated. Steam-clean or shampoo any affected carpets or upholstery.
7. Final Cleanup: Remove your gloves and dispose of them. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.

When to Call a Professional Rat Exterminator

While many small-scale rat problems can be handled with DIY methods, there are clear situations where calling a licensed pest management professional is the safest and most effective course of action. Rats are resilient, intelligent, and reproduce quickly, and a small problem can escalate into a major infestation in a short amount of time.

Consider seeking professional help if you encounter any of the following:

• Signs of a Large Infestation: If you are seeing rats during the daytime, hearing constant noises from multiple areas, or finding large quantities of fresh droppings daily, the population is likely too large for traps alone to control.
• Recurring Problems: If you have successfully trapped rats in the past only to have them return, a professional can help identify and seal the hard-to-find entry points you may have missed.
• You Cannot Find the Entry Points: Professionals are trained to perform a thorough inspection to locate all potential access points, from foundation cracks to roof vents, that are allowing rodents to enter.
• Safety Concerns: If you have young children or pets and are concerned about the safe placement and use of traps, a professional can implement a strategy that minimizes risk to your family.
• The Problem Feels Overwhelming: A severe infestation can be stressful and time-consuming to manage. A professional service can resolve the issue efficiently and provide peace of mind.

Final Thoughts on how to make rats leave your house

Dealing with a rat infestation requires diligence, but it is a battle you can win. By following the 3-step framework of Sanitation, Exclusion, and Trapping, you are not just applying a temporary fix—you are creating an environment where rodents can no longer thrive.

Remember to prioritize safety at every stage, especially during cleanup. By taking these comprehensive steps, you can successfully get rid of rats and ensure your home remains a safe, rodent-free space for your family.

Mice are much more afraid of us than we are of them. And they can hardly compete with us in ingenuity and ingenuity. So don’t panic if you see signs of rodents in your home. Go to the front line right away, without waiting for the pests to multiply in countless numbers. The above means will not leave the rodents a single chance to win and will quickly rid the room of uninvited guests.

I have collected in one article proven ways to combat mice or how to get rid of rats in house fast. You just have to choose the most acceptable option to get rid of rats in your home, depending on where you will deploy hostilities: in a private house where you live all year round, a summer cottage that is mothballed for the winter, a shed or a cellar.