Reasons rats might stay in your yard
Having rats in your yard may have to do with the presence of livestock farms, a recycling park or waterways close by.
The city's waste policy can play a role too. If household garbage is incorrectly stored around your house in, for example, poorly securely bins, the chances of having rats around will be higher. In these cases you should contact the municipality and/or a pest control company.
It is also possible that your yard is not the target, but that of neighbors who keep chickens or birds and do not take sufficient preventive measures to scare rats away.
If the rat infestation escalates and no action is taken, you should talk to the neighbors or inform the municipality. They can conduct the conversation for you or together with you and take the necessary steps.
Are rats dangerous?
Wild rats prefer not to interact with humans, so they are not dangerous unless cornered or attacked. Never try to catch a wild rat with your bare hands to avoid bites or scratches.
The danger resides in the direct or indirect contact with them. Rats can transmit serious diseases to humans such as rabies, cholera, the plague, hepatitis or salmonella. Transmission can occur through direct contact, bites or indirectly through ingestion of contaminated food or water that has come into contact with rodents or their droppings.
In addition, the corpses of dead rats in walls, crawl spaces or in the attic may also attract other vermin, which can also have adverse consequences.
Furthermore, their gnawing can cause severe infrastructural damage, ruin crops or stocked goods, and destroy wiring in machinery, equipment or vehicles.
What to do if you see a rat in your yard. When should you call on a professional pest control service?
Don’t panic. If you have seen only one rat it could just be passing through causing no damage. Stay alert in case you spot another one again soon. Check for signs of rats presence like burrows, nests, droppings or gnawing.
If you find signs of rats call a professional pest control company right away before the numbers increase and they cause severe damage.