If you have rats in your North Carolina home then my deepest condolences to you. These are absolutely horrific creatures that can do damage to you, your family and your pets in a variety of ways. Not only do they tear up your home, ripping holes in your wales, shredding your insulation, and destroying your treasures while leaving a wide array of waste in their wake, they are also the carriers of many diseases. Rats are just a lot of trouble that no one needs, especially in your home.

What can make a problem into an epic saga is the fact that rats don’t create a singular problem. Where there is one there are often many. Rats like to live as community animals in Winston Salem so they will bring a whole lot of their friends with them, or they will create a community in your Winston Salem home that is hard to get rid of once it has been established. This leaves you with one option – getting them out of your Winston Salem home as quickly as possible.



Many want to get rid of these vermin as quickly as possible, but they also see that the rat is cute in its own way. They don’t want to kill them, especially if they know that they have babies, so they hope that an alternative can be found. That alternative is to trap them and take them somewhere else that is far enough away that they cannot hurt your home anymore.

This is a very kind and humane option and is actually quite easy to do. It can quite easy to catch rats and then release them somewhere else in North Carolina if you know what you are doing. If this is your plan but you don’t know quite what to do, here are some tips for you.

A live trap allows you to set up a cage looking trap that uses a bait to lure the rats in. When they enter the cage the door closes in on them and they are locked into the cage until a time that you are ready to move them. Live traps can actually keep catching rats as long as the bait exists. How they work is that as the rat enters the cage to get the bait a panel drops and the rat is pulled into the cage. A door that only opens one way opens into the cage squiring the rat into it, then closes quickly so none can get out.

This is a highly effective tool that can hold up to 10 rats comfortably and easily. When you notice that you have rats you simply take the cage and go someplace you want to release them in North Carolina. The bottom pulls out so that you can just pull it off and let them go without coming in physical contact with them. Despite the fact that you will not actually be touching them, make sure you are wearing sturdy workman’s gloves while handling the cage. Also if you take the cage in your car to dispose of them then make sure you have something under the cage so their waste will not get into your car. You do not want their urine or feces in your vehicle.

The most effective baits that you can use are things that will last some time, like peanut butter or cheese whiz. There are also many forms of commercial bait that can be used. Some cheap ones that are effective include cereal and rice.

You want to place the trap in an area that you know the rats are known to frequent. The shed, barn or garage is a great place if they are making trips into there. These are usually good as well because they afford you the space needed to set the trap.

For those who don’t feel as magnanimous about letting the rats live, there are also a few traps that will help you catch and kill these creatures all in one. The traditional mouse trap is the most common. Of course you will have to choose a larger sized trap because the mouse size will not have enough force to kill a rat. You simply set this trap up in any location, add some bait and let it do the trick. This is fairly popular choice because it can be placed anywhere.

There is also the poison box. If you are familiar with the old roach motels then this should be easy to comprehend. The poison box lures the rat into a box like structure that contains a tasty morsel for them to eat. The tasty morsel is poisoned, but they do not know that. They nibble on some and before they know it they find themselves in a permanent state of sleep. After the box has killed off 10 or 12 rats you simply throw it away and put out a new one.

To learn more about our services, visit the Winston Salem wildlife removal home page.