How to Get Rid of Rats in Jacksonville

To get rid of rats in a Jacksonville home, figure out whether you have roof rats or Norway rats, take away the food around the house, trap the rats inside on the runways they use, and seal every opening they could use to get back in. Most failed attempts skip that last step. Rats come back through the same gaps, and in a mild climate there are always more of them nearby.

This walk-through follows the order a good technician would use. You can do some of it yourself. Roofline sealing on a ladder is where most homeowners bring in help.

Figure out which rat you have

Jacksonville has two common rats, and they live in different parts of the house.

The roof rat is slim and quick, with a tail longer than its head and body. UF/IFAS says adults are 12 to 14 inches long including the tail and weigh 5 to 10 ounces. It nests up high: attics, soffits, hollow trees and the skirts of old palm fronds. You hear it in the ceiling at night and find chewed fruit in the yard.

The Norway rat is heavier with a shorter, thicker tail. It digs burrows along slabs, under sheds and near water, and gets in at ground level through garages, crawl spaces and gaps around pipes.

Droppings help. The University of Kentucky's pest control training material says Norway rat droppings are about 3/4 inch long and capsule-shaped with blunt ends, while roof rat droppings are about 1/2 inch long and pointed on one end. See rat droppings identification for more.

Take away the food first

Rats stay where food is easy. Around Jacksonville homes, the usual sources are:

• Fallen fruit from citrus, mango, loquat and other backyard trees
• Bird feeders, which drop seed every day
• Pet food left outside or stored in open bags in the garage
• Garbage carts with lids that don't close
• Compost piles and open bins
• Vegetable gardens and fallen nuts

UF/IFAS advises using or removing all fallen fruit and says roof rats will travel about 150 yards from their den to reach food or water. Pick up fruit daily, feed pets indoors, and move seed and pet food into metal or heavy plastic bins.

Clutter matters too. Woodpiles, stacked lumber, old furniture and dense ground cover against the house give rats shelter right next to the walls.

Trap on the runways

Inside the house, use snap traps or enclosed rat traps, not poison. Poisoned rats often die in walls and attics, and in Jacksonville heat that smell is hard to live with.

Placement decides whether traps work. The University of Kentucky guidance says to set snap traps perpendicular to the wall with the trigger end against the wall. Rats run along edges, so put traps where you see droppings, rub marks or gnawing: along attic walls and top plates, behind appliances and along the garage wall.

Roof rats are cautious around new things. Many technicians set traps unbaited and unset for a night or two, then bait and set them. Peanut butter, dried fruit and nuts work well. Check traps every day, and wear gloves when you remove a rat. CDC's cleanup guidance says to spray the rat with disinfectant, double-bag it and put it in a covered trash can.

Seal the house

This is the step that keeps the problem from coming back. Rat entry points on Jacksonville homes are usually:

• Soffit returns at the roof corners and gaps along the fascia
• Gable vents and roof vents with torn or missing screens
• Roof-to-wall gaps where a lower roof meets a second-story wall
• AC line sets, dryer vents and plumbing penetrations
• Garage door corners and worn bottom seals
• Crawl space vents and skirting on raised homes

Extension wildlife damage guidance recommends 19-gauge hardware cloth with 1/2 inch mesh to exclude rats, and sheet metal for wall and pipe barriers. Foam alone won't hold. Seal while you trap so no new rats come in. The exclusion and sealing page covers materials in more depth.

Cut the climbing routes

Roof rats reach the roof from trees, palms, fences, power lines and pool cages. Trim oak limbs and palm fronds back from the roofline, and clean old fronds out of palm skirts where rats nest. The Extension exclusion guidance also notes that rats use rain gutter downspouts to get onto roofs, and suggests screening the base with 1/2 inch hardware cloth. You can't fix power lines, but you can make the roof itself hard to enter.

Homes near the water

If your yard backs onto the St. Johns, a creek, a pond or the Intracoastal, plan for Norway rats as well as roof rats. Walk the shoreline, seawall and the base of any dock or boathouse and look for round burrow holes with fresh dirt. Check under the boat lift platform and inside storage boxes on the dock.

Keep the top of the seawall clear so new holes are easy to spot. Don't store bait, fishing gear with food on it or feed near the water. If you find active burrows, the rat burrow treatment page explains how they are handled.

When to call a technician

Call for help if you hear rats in the attic every night, find droppings in more than one area, see rats in daylight, have chewed wiring or ducts, or have trapped for two weeks without it getting better. Also call if you can't safely reach the roofline.

A technician will confirm the species, map every entry point, and give you a written plan for trapping and sealing. Ask for the price in writing and how many return visits are included. The rat control page explains what the work includes.

Common questions

Related reading

• Rat Control
• Roof rats
• Why rats come back
• Exclusion and Sealing