{"id":14752,"date":"2025-01-23T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T09:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog?p=14752"},"modified":"2025-02-27T19:09:04","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T19:09:04","slug":"know-rats-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/know-rats-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you know if rats are gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a hungry or threatened rat certainly can be brazen, on the whole, these pests will do everything they can to avoid contact with humans.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are after all a predator and rats are fairly intelligent so they know to take steps to avoid us. Combined with the fact that rodents are naturally more active at night, the chances of seeing one are pretty slim. While you may breathe a sigh of relief at this news, it can make it difficult to determine if you\u2019ve successfully eliminated an infestation.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below we answer the all-important question, \u2018how do you know if rats are gone?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>There are no signs of a rat infestation&nbsp;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the signs that were once there have now gone, this is a very good indication that the infestation has been removed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Common signs of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/rodents\/rats\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rat infestation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Droppings. Brown rat droppings are dark brown and a tapered, spindle shape<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You see a nest or nesting materials which have been dropped on the floor by rats transporting it back to their base. Common nesting materials include shredded paper, fabric, cardboard or dried plant matter&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rats are dirty creatures and will therefore often leave greasy dirt stains on surfaces they\u2019ve been in contact with. You\u2019re most likely to notice them on skirting boards or at the bottom of doors they\u2019ve brushed up against<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food packaging has been chewed<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wooden furniture has been gnawed<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holes have been chewed through walls and floors<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a strange stale smell you can\u2019t explain. This is especially likely to occur in areas of the home you don\u2019t use very often<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rats are known for digging extensive burrows around properties&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can hear scratching noises coming from behind walls or underneath floorboards, especially at night&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Conduct some DIY tests<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A great way to test if rats are still making their way through your home is to spread some flour or talcum powder overnight on surfaces and floors you suspect they visit. If you do still have rats, they will leave a trail of footprints which can also help you to determine where they\u2019re hiding.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another trick is to leave a biscuit out and if it has been nibbled on or even completely eaten, rats could be your culprit (unless you have a dog of course). Because rats are stronger than mice, they\u2019re more likely to take the entire biscuit away to eat later or share with their family.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Call pest control<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a professional pest controller is the quickest and most effective way to eliminate a rat infestation. Here at Prokill, we\u2019re not satisfied until you are so our qualified technicians are always on hand should you have any questions, even after we\u2019ve provided our services.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you would like extra peace of mind that your rat infestation is completely gone, please don\u2019t hesitate to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">call us<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and your local pest controller will be more than happy to pop in and take a look for you. <\/span><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although a hungry or threatened rat certainly can be brazen, on the whole, these pests will do everything they can to avoid contact with humans.&nbsp; We are after all a predator and rats are fairly intelligent so they know to take steps to avoid us. Combined with the fact that rodents are naturally more active [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":14394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[230,231,126],"class_list":["post-14752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-rat","tag-rat-infestation","tag-rats"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How do you know if rats are gone? - Prokill UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prokill.co.uk\/blog\/know-rats-gone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How do you know if rats are gone? - Prokill UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Although a hungry or threatened rat certainly can be brazen, on the whole, these pests will do everything they can to avoid contact with humans.&nbsp; We are after all a predator and rats are fairly intelligent so they know to take steps to avoid us. 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