Rats are among the most common pests out there. Almost everywhere in the world has rats. Some rats are domesticated and kept as pets. Others are a dangerous nuisance. Despite how common they are, quite a few misconceptions are floating around about rats. Those misconceptions can get in the way of effective pest control, so it’s essential to understand the truth of the matter.

All Rats Love Cheese

So many cartoons with rats portray them as being utterly obsessed with cheese. While certain types of rats are more than happy to eat cheese if it’s available, others won’t bother with it if other options are easy to access. For most rats, cheese is less of a special treat that they are unerringly pulled toward. It’s just another food they can eat. That means relying on cheese as bait for your traps may not be as effective as you hoped.

Rats Are Only Found in Run-Down Areas

Rats are stereotypically found in alleyways and other unkept areas. While they may frequent such places due to it being relatively easy to find food, they are more than happy to invade high-income, pristine homes. Rats don’t care about your zip code or your income. They just want food, water, and shelter. That’s easy enough for your average rat to find in even the nicest neighborhoods.

Cats Are Effective Rat Prevention

Cats are predators by nature, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your cat is going to hunt rats or keep them away from your home. Not all cats are great hunters. In fact, domestic cats are less likely to hunt rats successfully. You take care of many of their needs for them. In comparison, they’re downright lazy. To add to the problem, rats may be attracted by cat food, making a cat’s presence counterproductive if the point was for the cat to serve as rat prevention.

If you want your pest control efforts to be effective at managing rat presence around your home, you need to have an accurate understanding of how they operate. Don’t ever approach a rat–they still carry diseases and can be downright vicious, especially if they’re trapped. Remember, if you see one rat, there are probably others. Give Proterra Pest Control a call to safely get the problem under control.

Proterra Pest Control can help you protect your home from a lot more than just rats. Click here to see our pest library to get an idea of what kinds of pests we help you keep out of your home.