Dorm rooms are classically unkempt environments, but it is very important to enforce some basic rules. Commercial pest control in Niagara is worth your time if your residents are simply unable to maintain a hygienic environment. It may be worthwhile to create norms for your residence hall that include keeping food sealed, sealing holes or tears in screens, reducing clutter, taking out trash regularly and insisting on no standing water or moisture.
1. Keep Food Sealed
Rats are most attracted to your dorm room if there is an easy source of food for them to access. Open cereal boxes, unsealed bags of chips, candy pouches and half-eaten takeout containers are all extremely attractive to rats. The more powerful the smell, the more they want to come to eat. Simply keeping lids closed, boxes sealed, and putting snacks in airtight containers can do a world of good to keep rats away.
2. Checking Screens for Holes or Tears
Window screens should be maintained regularly and replaced or repaired if they have holes or tears. Set up a regular schedule of facility inspections to make sure everything is intact. Residents do not always realize that causing small damage to property can have big consequences. Dorm rooms only have one or two openings for a rat to get inside, and the window is a prime target. If the screens are secure, rats will look elsewhere, because it is not as easy for them to get inside.
3. Keep Clutter to a Minimum
Rats can easily hide overnight in a pile of dirty laundry or disorganized papers. The corners of the room are often ignored, and garbage or undesired belongings may end up creating a perfect habitat for a rat family. No one wants to live with a rat in their bedroom, but it takes proactive measures to keep a living space rodent-free. Rat removal services can help identify problem spots and places where rats are likely hiding.
4. Take Out Trash
Rats love garbage! The more pungent the aroma, the less they are able to resist it. If your residents do not take out their garbage regularly, consider charging them extra and hiring a cleaning service. Simple fines for health code violations may also encourage residents to keep garbage from overflowing and create an attractive environment for rats. Some residential halls have “three strikes” rules in which the privilege of staying on campus may be revoked if the room is consistently left in a hazardous condition.
5. No Standing Water or Moisture
Scavengers like rats have to find sources of sustenance everywhere they go. Open drink containers and sugary beverages will attract them to your room. Also, leaky pipes, showers, toilets and tub faucets that drip will be an enticing source of hydration for them. Fix any leaks right away so that water does not accumulate. Dirty dishes left in the sink are also sometimes a source of standing water that should be dealt with. Open fish tanks and aquariums should be fitted with a secure lid.
Rely on Truly Nolen for Quality Commercial Pest Control in Niagara
Despite your best efforts to maintain a clean and orderly environment, you may still end up with a rat infestation. Truly Nolen can help by assessing the ways that rats are entering, removing the reasons they are staying and setting traps discreetly so that the problem is neutralized. Rats are very suspicious of anything new that comes into their environment, so setting a trap yourself may not be effective. You may also injure yourself. Make an appointment with Truly Nolen. Describe the extent of your problem and we will come up with a customized solution to get rid of rats for good.