Rat Control on Long Island

Cornell’s IPM program describes the Norway rat as a heavy rodent up to 11 inches long before the tail, with two-toned brown to gray fur, small ears and eyes, and a blunt nose. It prefers to dig burrows in soil, and it needs to drink standing water every day, from puddles or condensation on pipes. Cornell also notes roof rats are generally not found in New York, so the rat on Long Island is the Norway rat.

What rat control costs

Quest Pest Control’s Long Island price list puts mice and rats under one rodent line, so those figures are on our mouse control page. The one company we found that prices rats on their own is Advanced Pest Management, and its numbers are written for New York City:

Advanced says rats cost more than mice. Because Norway rats burrow in soil, expect part of the job to happen in the yard, and ask whether sealing is priced separately.

Reading the signs outside

Cornell’s guide lists what to look for:

• Droppings. 3/4 to 1 inch long, black, with blunt or pointed ends.
• Tracks. A rat’s footprint looks like a small foot, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long. Adults sometimes leave a wavy tail drag between the prints.
• Gnawing. Each pair of rat tooth marks is 3.5 to 4 millimeters wide, about twice a mouse’s.
• Burrows. Holes dug into soil, where Norway rats prefer to nest.

Cornell says a burrow is a signal on two fronts: openings into the building need sealing, and outdoor food has to be cut off.

Cutting off food and water

The exterminator can trap and bait, but rats stay where they eat. Cornell lists discarded food, garbage and even pet waste as what keeps rats around. Putting that into practice:

• keep garbage in cans with lids that close
• pick up pet food and pet waste in the yard
• drain standing water, since Norway rats need to drink every day

Bait stations and traps around a house

A&C, the East Meadow company, describes bait stations secured to the ground outdoors and traps indoors. The EPA says poison bait should only go in tamper-resistant stations, placed where children, pets and wildlife cannot reach, and used according to the label.

What to ask a rat control company

• Where are the rats getting in, and will you seal it? Is that in the price?
• Will you set stations outside, inside, or both, and how often will you check them?
• Who removes dead rats? The New York City health department’s hiring guide wants carcass pickup spelled out in writing.
• When do you stop, and how will we know it is over?
• Can I have your NYSDEC registration number? Rodent work falls under 7a, Structural and Rodent Control, in NYSPAD.