{"id":3045,"date":"2026-05-25T22:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T02:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/envahisseur\/rats\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:54:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T13:54:51","slug":"rats","status":"publish","type":"envahisseur","link":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/pest\/rats\/","title":{"rendered":"Rats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The presence of rats in a residence requires rapid intervention. Although often associated with sewers or urban areas, rats can also settle in homes, garages, attics, and residential buildings throughout Gatineau, Val-des-Monts, Cantley, Chelsea, and the Outaouais region.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, rats do not only seek food. Their priority is to find a warm, dry, and secure place to establish their nest and reproduce. Once settled, they then take advantage of nearby food sources.<\/p>\n<p>Since they are primarily active at night, their presence may go unnoticed for several weeks before the first signs are observed.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">How to identify a rat?<\/h3>\n<p>Rats are much larger than mice and generally leave more visible signs of their presence.<\/p>\n<p>Key characteristics include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Body length: 18 to 25 cm;<\/li>\n<li>Long, scaly, sparsely haired tail;<\/li>\n<li>Robust, muscular body;<\/li>\n<li>Cylindrical droppings: 12 to 19 mm;<\/li>\n<li>Louder movement noises in walls or ceilings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The most frequent signs of an infestation include:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Droppings in technical or storage areas;<\/li>\n<li>Gnawing marks on various materials;<\/li>\n<li>Noises in walls, ceilings, or attics;<\/li>\n<li>Persistent odours from infested areas;<\/li>\n<li>Food stored in walls or construction voids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">Why do rats invade your home?<\/h3>\n<p>Rats are extremely adaptable and take advantage of the smallest opening to access a building.<\/p>\n<p>They can enter through:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Openings as small as 20 mm;<\/li>\n<li>Cracks in foundations;<\/li>\n<li>Openings around pipes and conduits;<\/li>\n<li>Damaged vents;<\/li>\n<li>Poorly fitting garage doors;<\/li>\n<li>Certain defective plumbing or sewer networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once inside, they generally seek out infrequently visited places such as:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Basements;<\/li>\n<li>Crawl spaces;<\/li>\n<li>Walls;<\/li>\n<li>Attics;<\/li>\n<li>Garages;<\/li>\n<li>Attached sheds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The availability of food then accelerates their establishment and reproduction.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">Are rats dangerous?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Rats represent a significant risk to public health and building integrity.<\/p>\n<p>They can:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Contaminate food and surfaces;<\/li>\n<li>Carry various bacteria, parasites, and pathogens;<\/li>\n<li>Introduce fleas, ticks, or other parasites;<\/li>\n<li>Degrade air quality in infested spaces.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Material damage can be considerable:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Deterioration of insulation;<\/li>\n<li>Gnawing of wood, plastic, and construction materials;<\/li>\n<li>Damage to electrical wires, increasing fire risk;<\/li>\n<li>Damage to plumbing pipes, including plastic and PEX tubing;<\/li>\n<li>Accumulation of food in walls or ceilings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A significant infestation can also encourage the appearance of other pests attracted by organic matter and rodent carcasses.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">Why does the problem keep coming back?<\/h3>\n<p>In many cases, rats continue to enter the building because their access point has never been identified or corrected.<\/p>\n<p>Some infestations originate directly from the outside, while others may be linked to plumbing or sewer issues.<\/p>\n<p>If the source is not precisely determined, one-off interventions are likely to produce only temporary results.<\/p>\n<p>This is why a complete assessment is essential before undertaking any treatment.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">What to do if you have rats in your home?<\/h3>\n<p>The first step is to avoid underestimating the problem. The presence of a single visible rat often indicates more activity in the building.<\/p>\n<p>Store-bought traps may sometimes capture individual animals, but these methods often remain insufficient when the source of the infestation is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Before any intervention, it is important to:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Identify areas of activity;<\/li>\n<li>Determine entry points;<\/li>\n<li>Assess whether the rats are coming from outside or through the plumbing network;<\/li>\n<li>Implement appropriate corrective measures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In some cases, a plumbing inspection or specialized checks may be necessary to confirm the source of the problem.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">Our solution<\/h3>\n<p>At <strong>Maranda Pest Control<\/strong>, our approach begins with a complete analysis of the situation to identify the true source of the infestation.<\/p>\n<p>Our intervention includes:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Interior and exterior inspection of the building;<\/li>\n<li>Identification of areas of activity;<\/li>\n<li>Search for entry points;<\/li>\n<li>Assessment of factors favouring rat presence;<\/li>\n<li>Corrective recommendations tailored to your property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Depending on the inspection results, various measures may be recommended:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin-bottom: 20px !important;\">\n<li>Installation of strategically positioned mechanical traps;<\/li>\n<li>Exclusion work to prevent building access;<\/li>\n<li>Structural corrections;<\/li>\n<li>Plumbing or sewer recommendations when necessary;<\/li>\n<li>Preventive measures to limit re-infestations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Since every situation is unique, a thorough assessment allows for the most effective long-term solution to be implemented.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"margin-top: 40px !important; font-weight: bold !important;\">Need help with a rat problem?<\/h3>\n<p>Whether you are in Gatineau, Val-des-Monts, Cantley, Chelsea, L&#8217;Ange-Gardien, or anywhere in the Outaouais region, our team has the expertise to quickly identify the source of the infestation and recommend appropriate solutions.<\/p>\n<p>Contact <strong>Maranda Pest Control<\/strong> for a professional inspection and regain control of your property before the damage worsens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2743,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_seopress_news_disabled":"","_seopress_video_disabled":"","_seopress_video":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas_manual":[],"_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable_all":"","_seopress_pro_rich_snippets_disable":[],"_seopress_pro_schemas":[],"inline_featured_image":false},"categorie":[61],"service":[47,62,63],"class_list":["post-3045","envahisseur","type-envahisseur","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-rodents","service-commercial","service-multi-unit","service-residential"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/envahisseur\/3045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/envahisseur"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/envahisseur"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/envahisseur\/3045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3046,"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/envahisseur\/3045\/revisions\/3046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"categorie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorie?post=3045"},{"taxonomy":"service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exterminationmaranda.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/service?post=3045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}