Pack rats are a common Phoenix pest and one of the most troublesome ones that your home could be infested with. Unlike most pests, pack rats are active throughout the year. They’re also hard to keep out of your home, hard to remove and a nuisance while they’re there.
However, understanding what a pack rat is can help you keep them out of your home.
What Are Pack Rats?
Pack rats, also known as wood rats, are medium-sized rodents commonly found in North America, particularly in desert or grassland regions. With a body usually around 7 inches long and a tail slightly shorter than its body, pack rats can vary in color from gray to brown to a reddish copper color. They also have large ears, big eyes and bushy tails, making them easy to distinguish from many other rodents.
Pack rats are omnivores that have a varied diet which includes plants, seeds, fruits, nuts and virtually any of your food that they can access. They’ll also eat any food out of your trash if they can. As excellent climbers who have a knack for finding food, it can be difficult to keep food out of their reach.
Pack rats are nocturnal, meaning they’re much more active at night. Their strong homing instincts help them to find their way back to their nests, even if they’ve been relocated.
The Problems With Pack Rat Infestations
Pack rats cause several problems in your home. They chew through wires, which can ruin your electronics and perhaps create a fire hazard. They also gnaw on wooden structures, which can compromise the integrity of your home.
Pack rats spread diseases and other pests throughout your home, such as fleas and mites. They also contaminate food storage and preparation areas, often making your food unsafe to eat without you realizing it. What’s more, they’ll leave more noticeable signs of their presence by leaving droppings and urine. Pack rats will do all of these things as they steal food, rummage through trash and occasionally steal small, shiny objects for their nests.
Finally, pack rats aren’t usually aggressive toward humans, although they may bite if they feel cornered or threatened.
Signs of a Pack Rat Infestation in Your Home
Pack rats will usually leave several signs of their presence. By keeping them in mind and connecting the dots, you can often detect their presence quickly. Common signs of a pack rat infestation include:
- Signs of nesting: Nests, also known as middens, are built using leaves, twigs and other items they’ve scavenged. They’re often found in warm, protected areas like attics, garages and woodpiles. They can grow to be several feet in height and diameter and can survive for thousands of years.
- Chewed wires: Wires that have been gnawed on or chewed all the way through could indicate the presence of pack rats.
- Gnawed wood: Look for wood that has been gnawed on or has clear tooth marks on it.
- Damaged packaging: Pack rats will often scratch or gnaw on food packaging or containers. Depending on how it’s stored, the rats may or may not reach the food.
- Sounds at night: As nocturnal animals, you’ll often hear nighttime noises, such as scratching or scurrying sounds in the walls, crawlspaces or attic.
- Moving objects: Small objects may go missing or be moved from where you left them.
- Feces or smell: Look out for droppings or urine around the house, most likely near food storage areas.
How to Keep Pack Rats Out of Your Home
The best way to deal with pack rats is to prevent them from entering your home in the first place. Start by identifying any cracks or holes in your home that could allow rats to gain access to your home. Any opening larger than a quarter of an inch should be covered with wire mesh or steel wool and then sealed with caulk or foam. You should also ensure the door from the garage to the house is tightly sealed and use weather stripping on the bottom of the doors.
Next, limit their ability to build a nest just outside your home. Clear any debris piles from around your home to prevent pack rats from nesting there. Store piles of firewood far from your home so rats won’t have a nearby base to nest in as they attempt to scavenge in your home. You can keep enough firewood to last a few days near your home, ideally in sealed storage.
Secure food in airtight containers, as this can prevent rats from finding it and keep them out if they should find it. Store your trash in sealed bags, and ideally, remove them from your property as soon as possible.
How to Remove Pack Rats From Your Home
The only way to remove pack rats from your home is by trapping them. The problem is that if you fail to trap and remove all the rats in your home, you’ll likely have another large-scale infestation in a few months’ time. This is because pack rats breed rapidly. They reach sexual maturity in around two months, and the females can have several litters of 2-5 rats each year. Pack rats have a natural suspicion of new objects, and so will usually avoid traps unless they’re sufficiently baited.
Simply removing the rats isn’t enough, as the smell of a midden in your home will attract other pack rats. Removing middens can be difficult, though, thanks to the size they can reach and the materials they might be made from. Some middens are even constructed using cactus, making removal hazardous.
They’re often home to other pests, such as mites and fleas, and are a common habitat of the conenese bug, commonly known in Arizona as the kissing bug. These bugs will bite humans, causing large, itchy swellings and reddened skin patches. In most cases, it’s safer to use a professional pest control company to remove any pack rats from your home.
Once the nest is removed, it’s vital that you thoroughly clean and sanitize the area, as well as any other areas where the rats may have left their mark.
Comprehensive Pack Rat Control Services
From identifying a pack rat and recognizing when there’s one in your home, to taking the proper precautions to keep them out, understanding pack rats can go a long way to keeping them out of your home. But even with all the right knowledge, managing a pack rat infestation can feel like a never-ending battle.
At Phoenix Pest Control, we have over five decades of experience removing rat infestations from homes in Arizona. From inspecting your home and sealing any entry points, to removing rats and their middens and then cleaning up any affected areas, our comprehensive rat control services will free your home from their contamination.
To find out more about about how we can protect your home against pack rats, contact us today.
