Living in large apartment communities in the South Eastern United States means that rubbish can build up very easily in stairwells and outside apartment doors especially during summer months. These not only pose as trip hazards but also are breeding grounds for vermin such as rats and rodents. I originally come from London, England where there is a common saying that wherever you are in London you are never more than 20 feet away from a rat ไล่หนู!
That is quite a shocking statement but I would bet the same applies to downtown metro Atlanta communities as well. This is now where I currently live, having moved across the pond several years ago to experience life in the new world. If I ever thought that insects and rodents were big back home, nothing could have prepared me for the bugs and rodents that I saw in my first year just outside of Atlanta!
There are several things you can do as a caring member of your community complex to ensure that rats are kept at bay, and most of the valuable advice is based on prevention. Firstly get educated. Read up on what attracts rodents into your apartments. Most of the advice is good common sense like ensuring that you don’t leave rubbish out in stairwells. You could contact your apartment manager to get clearly labeled posters which let the community know when trash will be collected so they don’t build up.
Make sure maintenance staff are aware of any cracks in your property walls and especially look for gaps in brickwork in kitchens as the smell of food will attract vermin and rats into your home. Leaving food out on counters at night can also attract rats and mice. We live in the age of pizza delivery and fast food to our homes and these cardboard containers are a most common sight of rubbish on our streets.
In days of old, households would have employed a cat to keep rats at bay but now days most cats like mine are indoor cats and would probably either run a mile or even if they caught a rat, wouldn’t know what to do with it. Actually, pets can be be in more danger by coming into contact with rats due to the disease and bugs that rats carry such as fleas and bacteria.
Being prepared to implement preventative Rat control measures means taking action before the infestation begins, so this summer get clued up and keep your communities vermin free.