Rats are common in residential areas as they prefer living in spots that provide them with plenty of food, water, and shelter. They build their nest under the structures and foundations of the buildings, thus destroying the concrete structure base. You must know how to get rid of rats under the concrete slab.
To eliminate rats, you should keep your property clean and trim bushes and shrubs, and seal holes and openings in your house. Most important, remove food sources like garbage cans.
What Is the Best Way To Get Rid Of Rats?
These annoying rats are clever and skilled diggers. When building a nest inside the concrete slabs, they will make tunnels and routes to access food and water.
Rats living underground will dig tunnels inside the structure of the building. Due to this activity, concrete slabs in the foundation can lose their stability and break if there is no solid support.
To prevent rats from destroying concrete slabs. Given below are a few effective methods to eliminate rats burrowing underground.
1- Keep Your Property And Surrounding Area Clean
Rats will leave their mark and footprints on various surfaces such as wood, metal, and plastic. The tracks are more clearly visible on the bottom of the walls near the burrow.
One can effortlessly identify the tracks of rats in dirty and muddy areas. To keep the rats out of your property, you must clean it regularly. It will disturb the communication of the rats.
Rats transmit critical information to their family through their dropping and urine. When you see any rat scats on the walls or floor, clean them.
Also, get rid of rats’ track marks as they leave signs for other rats to follow them.
2- Declutter Unnecessary Items
Getting rid of unnecessary items from your house will reduce the chance of rat invasion. Rats hide in small dark corners. Decluttering the home will take away the shelter and hiding spots of the rats.
Rats use unused newspapers, magazines, books, plastic bottles, containers, mattresses, fabric pieces, old carpets, and curtains to make a comfortable nest.
Therefore, if you have things lying around that are no longer in use, throw them away.
3- Eliminate Their Shelter Options From Your Garden.
Many homeowners deal with the rat invasion in their gardens or yards as there is plenty of shelter and food. Rats can burrow under bushes, weeds, piles of grass, and shrubs.
Dense vegetation makes perfect hiding spots for them to nest.
It is essential to get rid of bushes and overgrown vegetation from your garden to get rid of rats burrowing underground. Trim houseplants regularly: so it does not grow dense.
Additionally, ensure that no vegetation grows too close to the walls as it makes hiding spaces for rats to burrow in the concrete slabs
4- Remove Food And Water Sources.
It is essential to remove food sources from your house to get rid of rats. Rats will invade any place they find food, especially garbage cans.
Rats eat anything they find, like vegetables, fruits, leftovers, pet waste, and pet food. The bins on your property provide them with plenty of food to nest nearby.
Therefore, you need to stop their food source by properly sealing garbage bags. Use metal dustbins which will be difficult for rats to open.
Ensure that you clean your garbage cans regularly by throwing away all the house waste.
Remember, rats need continuous food and water source to survive. Once the food sources are not available, they move from the area.
5- Seal Holes And Cracks In Your House
To prevent rats from burrowing underground, seal any holes or cracks in floors and walls.
Driveways and yards are the common places for rats to nest. Therefore, pay more attention to the open areas.
When you locate any nest on your property, throw cement or mud on it to seal and close it.
According to the research of the University of California, you can also use a half-inch metal hardware cloth to prevent rats from burrowing under concrete.
When you securely close the holes, the rats inside will die from suffocation and starvation.
Rats Digging Under Concrete
The materials on which rats can chew are plastic, metal, wood, and concrete. Concrete is sturdy material used for making the foundation of structures and buildings.
With time concrete will damage either due to incorrect installation, water drainage issues, or digging animals like rats, rodents, mice, and voles.
The rats are keen diggers. They burrow in dark spaces underground near the food sources. The digging habit of rats causes multiple problems with the concrete underground.
If the digging issue caused by rats is not resolved in time, it can lead to severe structure breakdown.
- Failing Concrete
Rats chew on almost everything due to their constantly growing teeth. Concrete failure happens due to soil erosion and water leakage.
Rats burrowing underground can cause soil erosion as they chew on the structure to make pathways for their nest. Starving rats burrowing underground can chew on the damaged concrete on bad days.
- Weakens Building Foundation
When the rats chew on the structure underground, it will weaken the building’s foundation.
The rats digging on the concrete slabs will cause multiple cracks and holes underground. The damaged foundation causes safety issues as the concrete slabs no longer have structural stability.
It will take a few days for a rat family to chew on the concrete slabs resulting in a damaged building foundation.
Can Rats Chew Through Concrete?
Rats can chew through almost anything wood, plastic, soft metal, aluminum, concrete, breaks, and lead. Rats like to nest inside dark spaces. The walls and the underground area are ideal for rats to nest inside.
To burrow underground, rats will slip inside through cracks and then chew through the concrete to build a nest.
It is estimated that the rats can burrow almost three feet inside the structures.
The rats chewing through the concrete will cause the slabs to lose their stability resulting in holes and cracks in the building.
Do Rats Burrow Under Concrete?
Rats can burrow under bricks, wood, rocks, concrete, and soil. They prefer burrowing near food sources. Therefore, the houses and the dumpster create ideal places for them to build a nest.
The damaged floors and walls make it easier for rats to chew through them. The rats burrowing under the concrete are also responsible for weakening the foundation of the buildings.
What Does A Rat Hole Look Like In The Ground?
Rats dropping can help you in figuring out the burrow. The dirty animal discharges feces everywhere it goes. The scat is cylindrical and about two inches long.
The main entrance of the burrow is in the dark corner on the lower part of the wall. The entrance hole is four inches in diameter, and the nest can be up to three feet long.
How Do You Fill A Rat Burrow?
If you locate any rat burrow on your property, fill it immediately without any delay.
To fill the rat hole, first ensure that no rats are living inside because when you fill the holes with the rats inside, they will chew on the concrete structure.
The rats are nocturnal animals; they sleep during the day and come out at night. Therefore, the perfect time to fill the holes is the early morning hours.
To fill the burrow, put some stones or pieces of bricks inside it and then pour cement over it. In the garden, fill the hole by filling the soil and sealing it with a metal cloth.
What Can I Put In A Rat Hole To Kill Them?
There are multiple natural repellents that you can use to scare away the rats. These repellents are poisonous to rats.
You can use chili pepper spray to scare away the rats. Mix three tablespoons of chili pepper with one cup of water and spray on the rat holes. You can also sprinkle some chili paper directly on the rat nest.
Eucalyptus, oregano, garlic, onion, and tomatoes are natural rat repellents; you can grow these plants around your house to prevent rat infestation.
Mothballs are artificial poisons used for killing rats. However, if you have children or pets, avoid using them.
Can Rats Get Under Slabs?
Rats can get under anything to make a nest, food search, to hide from predators.
Rats burrow in the dark corners away from humans, including underground areas in the foundation of the building. When digging inside the building structures, they will get under the slabs.
The rats digging in the concrete slabs can create a void in the foundation leading to cracks and damage.
Conclusion
Rats can get under any small and dark spaces to build their nest. The areas near the abundant food supply are ideal for rats to live in them.
The rat infestation is dangerous because they carry diseases and can get inside the concrete slabs. The concrete slabs underground are used for making a stable foundation.
When burrowing rats chew through them, it causes the foundation to lose its stability. Therefore, you need to stop the rats from getting under the slabs by keeping the area clean, filling the nest, and using rat repellent.
The above article must have answered all your questions; for more questions, comment below.
References
- Controlling Rats and Mice In Swine Facilities- Pork gateway
- Burrows and Feeding of the Norway Rat