Rats Move In Very Quickly

Homes left vacant for extended periods of time are prime breeding ground for animals, especially rats. Whether it’s a foreclosed, inherited, or vacation home, if steps aren’t taken to seal the entire structure off from animals prior to vacating the home, the owner is asking for an infestation of rats or another animals upon returning.

Today was the perfect example. A couple from northern Georgia inherited a home from a recently deceased relative. They removed most everything inside and simply locked up and left it until the following year. They also had the water and power shut off, a big mistake.

I was let in by a neighbor and immediately was overwhelmed with the stench of feces, urine, and a dead animal. The carpet was covered in rat feces and chewed throughout the house. Drywall had been chewed through and a dead rat was found in the toilet. With the water being off the rats were free to run through the plumbing from the sewer and come up through toilets and sinks.

The outside of the home also showed evidence of the rats traveling between the inside and outside where vents and other entry points were not covered or covered poorly with thin mesh that was simply chewed through.

 

A Good Rat Ousting Is In Order

An extensive cleaning will need to be done on the inside, an exclusion done on the outside, the water turned back on, and a plumber will need to be out to see if the integrity of the plumbing has been compromised.