Trapping - Heathrow rapping is an underrated method of  Lake Mary controlling rodents. One reason Florida bat control is often overlooked is that snap traps have been around for a long time and are cheap. Traps can be used to eliminate rats where poison baits would be dangerous, to avoid dead rat odors, and to eliminate bait-shy rats.

It is important to place traps where the rats are. Rats and mice are used to human odors so there is no need to use gloves when handling traps. Since mice travel only 10-30 feet but rats travel 100-150 feet from harborages, more traps are needed to trap mice than rats in a house.

Rat proofing - Rodent proofing is changing the structure of buildings in order to prevent entry of rats and mice. In considering rodent Heathrow proofing, you must know that

• Rats can squeeze through cracks ½ inch wide; mice, ¼ inch wide. Any place a pencil can be poked, a mouse can go.
• Rats can climb the inside of vertical pipes 1½ - 4 inches in diameter.
• Rats can climb the outside of vertical pipes up to 3 inches in diameter and any size if within 3 inches of a wall.
• Rats can jump vertically 36 inches, horizontally 48 inches, and reach horizontally or vertically 15 inches.
• Rats can jump 8 feet from a critter pest control tree to a house if the branch is 15 feet above the roof.

Rats and mice also have different Lake Mary behavior around new objects. Rats are cautious, and it may be a week before they approach a trap. Mice are curious and will normally approach traps the first night. If you don't catch a mouse in the first few nights, the trap is in the wrong location. To help rats overcome trap shyness, place traps unset, in place, for several days. This allows rats to overcome shyness and results in better catches.

Baited traps rely on the rat's being attracted for feeding. The bait must compete with other available foods, so no one bait is ever the best bait for all locations. Squirrels living on Lake Mary garbage or spoiled food prefer something fresh. The following are some baits that have proven to be squirrels.