Toronto, Ontario – 2024
This article will analyze and recount a case of a severe exterior rat infestation of a property in Toronto, Ontario. The infestation had not yet entered the home but the rats had taken up the deck as a home. This resulted in a large amount of activity on the property and the presence of feces and burrowing throughout the yard. The technicians, before the work is done, must first inspect and confer with the customer or customers on the issue and then must inspect for the source of the activity which was found under the rear deck. The activity was extensive and due to the danger of access points that may not be easily found the deck need to be sealed off to prevent rats from accessing the house in the future.
Toronto, Ontario: The Upper Beaches
The Beaches of East York in Toronto, Ontario is among the oldest neighbourhoods in the city. It was one of the first places to get built up mainly for its magnificent view of Lake Ontario. To this day it is a great place to take a dip and also for getting a bite to eat. Rife with classy bistros and little shops its the perfect place for a short vacation on a dime.
Exterior Inspection
When the technician arrived on site they performed an exterior inspection of the property and found activity under the porch as well as two possibly entry ways including a wall vent and a utility line. These areas are potential entry ways for rodents, the wall vent is also a potential entry way for wildlife like birds and other small animals. Sealing these areas off will protect your home from animals and rodents getting into the house. The technical also found a large amount of rodent activity under the deck. The deck was boarded off but the rodents has burrowed under it and where using it as a home. Rodents often do this to get away from cold weather like wind and rain so they can burrow and sleep in a warmer environment as they are not native to this country and are still not used to the cold weather of Canada.
Initial Measures
The first step was to set up the exterior treatment to reduce the population of rats on the property. While rats are a serious issue in North America and elsewhere in the world there are effective ways of dealing with them in the sort and long term. Stopping them from entering your home is a long term solution to keeping rats at bay and ongoing treatments of the property will reduce rat activity in the short term. They will always be present so continued treatments over the long term is always recommended. The technician set up two large weighted tamperproof bait stations on the exterior of the property in areas of high activity. The bait stations contain a potent and commercial grade poisoned bait called rodenticide. This bait is consumed by the rats repeatedly and causes them to feel sick. They generally return to their borrows where they fall asleep and do not wake up. It is a humane treatment and highly effective.
Proposed exclusion
The technician sealed off a number of areas including a wall vent which can allow rats and other rodents, and even small wildlife like squirrels and birds to enter the home or nest in the opening. These vents are sealed off with black rubber coated galvanized steel cages that are bolted to the wall. They are long lasting protection against any attempts by rodents and wild animals to get into your home. A utility line was also sealed off. These are often put in after the home was built, especially in older homes that did not have proper plumbing or electrical and had to be updated later. A utility line is generally for electrical cables and often isn’t done properly by the initial builders leave gaps that rodents can access. Mice, for instance, can fit through and opening as small as a quarter. These entry ways must be sealed off to assure animals like rodents and wildlife cannot enter your home. The deck was also sealed off through a process called trenching. This involves the digging of a one foot by six inches trench around the full accessible perimeter of the deck. Galvanized steel mesh is then attached to the side of the deck and buried down into the ground one foot down and six inches out, away from the deck. This prevents both wild animals and rodents from burrowing under the deck and using it as a home.
Conclusion
The technician excluded the wall vent and accessible utility line as well as the deck. The work was completed and with no more accessible areas to get into the house the rats were stranded on the exterior with nothing to eat but poisoned bait. The rat population dwindled and the customer were pleased with the results.
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Case Study: Rat infestation and Deck Exclusions in Toronto Neighborhood
