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Springtime Brings a Roof Rat’s Buffet

March 7th, 2016

rodents nest in your phoenix home. contact budget brothers termite and pest to eliminate rats

Phoenicians love their fruit trees like lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits, and so do the rodents that call Phoenix home. The rodent buffet isn’t limited to fruit but it’s likely what attracts them to your yard.

Don’t let these pests call your home their favorite restaurant! Call Budget Brothers Termite and Pest Elimination at the first sign of roof rats!

Roof rats are quite athletic spending most of their lives traveling, leaping, and living more than four feet off the ground. While they do spend time on rooftops, as their name suggests, they also love bushes, trees, and attics using power lines or brick and concrete walls to make their way through your neighborhood.

If they happen to be dining in your compost, beware that these unwanted visitors can jump two to four feet high. Look out for them in the cooler months but don’t think they’ve vacated just because the temperature heated up.

This year is an El Nino year so the rain is perfect for growing vegetation like citrus and nuts. That means it’s also perfect for roof rats who love meals filled with oranges, limes, tangelos, grapefruits, figs, peaches, almonds, pecans, and pomegranates.

If you’re a pet lover or a gardener, beware of additional rodent buffet favorites:

  • Bird seed in feeders and in bags stored outside
  • Dog and cat food stored outside
  • Stored grains
  • Insects and lizards
  • Tree bark
  • Soap (ew!)
  • Paper
  • Beeswax and candle wax

So really, a rodent buffet includes just about anything!

Signs of Roof Rats

Because they eat just about anything, they’d love to get into your home or dig through your garden or yard to see what you have for them to feast on. Here are signs of roof rats include:

  • Citrus trees with fruit left on them. The best prevention is to get rid of the fruit in your yard as soon as it’s ripe.
  • Broken screens and seals to windows and vents especially near the roofline. Regularly inspect your home to be sure rodents and other pests don’t have easy entry. And if you see signs of roof rats, call us!
  • Tampering of food storage containers. Small holes are great entry points so make sure dry goods and compost is in a sealed container. If possible, bring the food or bird seed indoors at least for the cooler months when roof rats are more likely to be scavenging.
  • Chewed through wood, plastic, aluminum, plaster, stucco, sheet rock and soft metals to gain access to the home or garage. Regularly inspect the outside and inside of your home for signs of this type of destruction.
  • Noises in the attic and walls. (Gross!)
  • Pets acting strangely. They often hear pests before you do.

Don’t worry if you notice these signs of roof rats. You don’t need to move.

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