Rat Droppings in Insulation

It may have been a while since you have been in your attic or looked carefully at your insulation. But, if you have had a problem with rats in your house over the years, there is a good chance that they lived in your attic and used your insulation to form nests. This could be a significant problem depending on the number of rats in your attic and the extent of insulation they used, since they can cause damage with their excrement and by creating nests.

Identifying Rat Droppings and Nests

Rat droppings are normally oblong, brown pellets. They are often found closely scattered around an area with other droppings. Though the presence of urine may be hard to detect in the insulation depending on its color, if there are droppings, you can rest assured that there will be urine as well. If you can’t see it, you can almost certainly smell it.

You may also see parts of your insulation torn to shreds, clumped together, or bare patches where insulation should be. This will likely mean that rats gathered it together to use as a nest, since it is perfect nest material. It is soft and retains heat well, providing a cozy home for rats. However, this is at great cost to the homeowner.

The Damage

Certainly, the damage of rats in your attic is obvious, especially to youRat Droppings in Insulationr insulation. The droppings all over and urine soaked into the insulation is plainly disgusting and unhealthy. First, it smells awful. The strong ammonia-like scent of their urine can not only stink up your attic, but can flow into other parts of your house as well.

Depending on the extent of the rat infestation, the insulation in your attic could be completely ruined. If you just had one or two rats hiding out, then likely there will be sections of the insulation you have to remove and replace, but it won’t be so bad. You might even be able to clean up much of the mess to save the insulation. However, if you had a full-blown infestation on your hands, it may just be easier to scrap it all and completely clean your attic, and then install new insulation.

The Good News

You don’t have to worry about cleaning your attic and replacing the insulation yourself – Critter Control®is here to help! Even though you might think we just catch nuisance animals, we can do far more: repair damage caused by critters, seal up your home, and clean up any waste they left behind. So even if the rats are long gone, we can still help you deal with the aftermath. Call us today for a free inspection at 305-258-3587.