LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The rise in rat infestations in your yard and home is tied to the Las Vegas Valley’s growing population, according to a pest control expert, and the problem will only get worse as the temperatures continue to drop.
Dr. Death Pest Control explains why lifelong Valley residents are now seeing more rats.
“As we expand as a Valley, the rats are going to expand with us,“ said Dr. Death Pest Control owner Trevor Lavancher. ”One of the reasons why we’re seeing an explosion in the rat population in the Valley is because we ourselves are exploding as a population,” he said.
Rats may be invading your backyard because it offers food and water: sprinklers, flowers, fruit trees, and vegetable gardens all offer a feast for rodents.
FOX5 visited a neighborhood off the 215 Beltway and Windmill Lane, where several homes along a block have either spotted rats or had to call pest control. A neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera captured a rat running across their front porch.
“We got a notification there was someone at the door. So, I took a peek and there was just a rat running right up the stairs to my door,” said neighbor Letticia Garrison. “If there’s one there’s probably many more. Luckily though, I have two dogs that kind of chase them off,” she said. The rats haven’t been spotted inside, yet.
Other neighbors on the same side of the block showed FOX5 their rat traps. Pest control has visited several homes; a neighbor described the wall behind their home as the rat’s “highway” to travel through the community.
As temperatures continue to cool, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Dr. Death Pest Control gets the highest number of calls for service.
“We call this our Peak Rat season. What tends to happen is, people are preparing Thanksgiving dinner. The kitchen is getting pretty warm from the oven running all day. They open up that sliding glass door…a lot of times a rat will slip in,” Lavancher said. Cold snaps will send rats indoors to seek shelter and warmth.
Lavancher’s advice, this holiday season: keep screen doors shut, and make sure doggy doors are secure. Trim trees and vines to cut off a “ladder” for rats to come inside. Monitor the holes in your roof, which may be an easy entry point for rats to come in.
Yards with pet food and dirty barbecue grills also offer “food” for rats; removing those will deter rats from visiting.
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