What kind of damage do rats cause in an attic?

Rats are destructive little creatures that can wreak havoc within your own home. The risk of the damage is real, including fire hazards and the risk of disease. You should always take care of an infestation before it grows to something that you will not be able to control. If there is one rat in the house, you should know that more will be coming. Rats do communicate and if you have entry points into your home, you may be facing a full blown infestation before you know it.

One of the types of damage that you will notice is that rats love to chew and they can chew on anything that can be chewed, literally! They will find your electrical wires and they will gnaw on them. This is a real fire hazard waiting to happen, especially if they continue doing it. You may be faced with a power outage without really knowing what caused it. It is therefore very important that you remove rats as soon as you notice them and seal off all the entry points into your home as best as you can. They also mate and give rise to young ones pretty quickly, and that is why you may find yourself faced with so many rats at the same time.

Rats also cause lots of damage to insulation. When they want to nest, they will look for comfortable materials and one of these is insulation. They will definitely tear apart the insulation, and when you have remove them, you may have to redo the whole insulation altogether.

The worst damage that rats can cause is through their waste. Urine and feces pose a really big problem where rats are concerned. Since they will be in their numbers, the rats will definitely leave loads of poop and pee all over the area that they infest. The urine will stink up the insulation and it will also attract even more rats and predators because of the scent.

If the infested area has got PVC plumbing, the rats chew that too, and this can lead to serious water leaks within your home. They sometimes attack the wood rafters too, and this is a serious thing for homeowners. Since the teeth of rats keep on growing, they need to keep this in check. They will even destroy your own personal goods. They chew on whatever they can get their paws on, and this may lead to lots of lost money on your part. Rats can gain entrance into your garage and into your car and this is never good. They can also get into your garden if you have one and the destruction is real.

Go back to the How to Get Rid of Rats page or email us if you have any other questions about What kind of damage do rats cause in an attic?