Oh, rats
November 9, 2021 6:50 AM Subscribe
While house-hunting, I am looking at a place with a small, enclosed back patio that abuts commercial buildings. I am scared of what this could mean in terms of rats. What have your experiences with similar spaces been like?
I'm currently house-hunting in Washington, DC, and specifically looking at a row house that has a very small, enclosed, paved back patio area. I am super excited about that - I've never had my own outdoor space in a city and I think it would be really lovely. However, I'm concerned about whether vermin, especially rats, might make that space unusable.
The patio area abuts the side of a commercial building, which is currently vacant but is a good size (previously retail, but it appears to be the kind of space that could fit a small restaurant or other food-related business). There are a couple other restaurants nearby on the block, as well. The patio is also one house-width away from a nearby alley, though it's a pretty wide alley that seems pretty clean. I noticed that the current residents have gravel spread around the perimeter of the patio, which definitely concerns me.
I'm accustomed to city living, and therefore rats, especially since my dog loves to inform me about all the hidden rats I wouldn't otherwise notice. I don't expect there to be zero rats anywhere. However, if I have outdoor space, I would also like for humans & dogs to be able to use that space without fear (and without horrifying guests, or causing major damage to my things, or getting in the house, etc).
I am perfectly comfortable paying professionals for whatever mitigation measures may be effective. We wouldn't be storing trash or food or water out there at all, although I would like to have a good number of outdoor plants...
I'm curious to hear - what are your experiences with similar space(s)? Is my worry level proportionate to the risks? How well do mitigation measures work? What should I be looking at or thinking about at this stage? If we end up moving forward with an inspection, is there anything specific I should ask the inspector about?
I'm currently house-hunting in Washington, DC, and specifically looking at a row house that has a very small, enclosed, paved back patio area. I am super excited about that - I've never had my own outdoor space in a city and I think it would be really lovely. However, I'm concerned about whether vermin, especially rats, might make that space unusable.
The patio area abuts the side of a commercial building, which is currently vacant but is a good size (previously retail, but it appears to be the kind of space that could fit a small restaurant or other food-related business). There are a couple other restaurants nearby on the block, as well. The patio is also one house-width away from a nearby alley, though it's a pretty wide alley that seems pretty clean. I noticed that the current residents have gravel spread around the perimeter of the patio, which definitely concerns me.
I'm accustomed to city living, and therefore rats, especially since my dog loves to inform me about all the hidden rats I wouldn't otherwise notice. I don't expect there to be zero rats anywhere. However, if I have outdoor space, I would also like for humans & dogs to be able to use that space without fear (and without horrifying guests, or causing major damage to my things, or getting in the house, etc).
I am perfectly comfortable paying professionals for whatever mitigation measures may be effective. We wouldn't be storing trash or food or water out there at all, although I would like to have a good number of outdoor plants...
I'm curious to hear - what are your experiences with similar space(s)? Is my worry level proportionate to the risks? How well do mitigation measures work? What should I be looking at or thinking about at this stage? If we end up moving forward with an inspection, is there anything specific I should ask the inspector about?
However, I'm concerned about whether vermin, especially rats, might make that space unusable.
In my experience with pests, it's the other way around. If this question was written by a rat, I'd advise them to look elsewhere, but since you are the human you have the power to make it unfriendly place for rats. They don't want to hang out where we hang out. They might come by at night if we're not there, but not while we are around, and if there's nothing fun to do then they are likely to hang out somewhere else.
So, don't make a rat-it-tat--as you said, no trash or food, but also no wonderful hiding spaces, or places with easy access for burrows. Large potted plants might be a problem, since they like digging, but a good application of hardware cloth should help. Don't leave a pile of wood or crates or boxes in the corner for a cozy hideout. Etc. They also don't like lights, so if you're really paranoid you could put in a motion activated light, but that might annoy the neighbors.
My office has a perpetual problem with indoor mice, and my coworkers often find mice droppings inside their desk drawers. I don't - because I don't keep candy in my desk. Same idea.
posted by epanalepsis at 8:28 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
In my experience with pests, it's the other way around. If this question was written by a rat, I'd advise them to look elsewhere, but since you are the human you have the power to make it unfriendly place for rats. They don't want to hang out where we hang out. They might come by at night if we're not there, but not while we are around, and if there's nothing fun to do then they are likely to hang out somewhere else.
So, don't make a rat-it-tat--as you said, no trash or food, but also no wonderful hiding spaces, or places with easy access for burrows. Large potted plants might be a problem, since they like digging, but a good application of hardware cloth should help. Don't leave a pile of wood or crates or boxes in the corner for a cozy hideout. Etc. They also don't like lights, so if you're really paranoid you could put in a motion activated light, but that might annoy the neighbors.
My office has a perpetual problem with indoor mice, and my coworkers often find mice droppings inside their desk drawers. I don't - because I don't keep candy in my desk. Same idea.
posted by epanalepsis at 8:28 AM on November 9, 2021 [3 favorites]
Our neighborhood has a major rat situation, and has had for many years. We've had them in our attic crawl-space and in the garage, but that was our own fault for having a hole in the garage roof that let them in. Paying a professional to do abatement would have solved that problem.
They're very unlikely to come out while you're in the yard, and they don't come out much in the daytime in general. I would avoid dense ground/wall coverings like ivy, but they leave our outdoor plants alone in general (although they will eat fruit from the fruit trees and might dig up bulbs). Your dog is also likely to bark at them if you let it out alone at night, which will scare them off but might annoy you. We keep a motion-sensor light outside and it flashes on and off sometimes when nobody's out there; I assume that's rats or opossums or raccoons wandering through.
posted by assenav at 8:33 AM on November 9, 2021
They're very unlikely to come out while you're in the yard, and they don't come out much in the daytime in general. I would avoid dense ground/wall coverings like ivy, but they leave our outdoor plants alone in general (although they will eat fruit from the fruit trees and might dig up bulbs). Your dog is also likely to bark at them if you let it out alone at night, which will scare them off but might annoy you. We keep a motion-sensor light outside and it flashes on and off sometimes when nobody's out there; I assume that's rats or opossums or raccoons wandering through.
posted by assenav at 8:33 AM on November 9, 2021
I'm not sure what aspect of this you think is going to be especially attractive to rats suddenly now when you move in? You can have a pest control company check the property for any entry/nesting points and block them, if that hasn't already been done. You can likely assume that the commercial properties nearby are using poison bait boxes and the restaurants at least are subject to health department inspections.
You may experience rat traffic passing through (and I don't know the particulars of DC wildlife but you can probably expect other nocturnal wildlife like cats, raccoons, opossums), but the best thing you can do to make it unfriendly for any of them to stay is to use the space yourself. Spend time out there, have your dog spend time out there, tend your plants and keep the area swept and monitored and clean, watch for damage around any potential entry points so you can intervene before any critters get settled in.
I live in a very ratty suburban area with lots of dense cozy landscaping and dark quiet back yards, and my rats don't seem especially deterred by lighting but they do know there are dogs, and one of my dogs is especially persistent about stomping and snorting around in the areas where they try to nest. The best advice I got from the mitigation guy I talked to is that rats are suspicious of novelty/changes, and moving stuff around on a regular basis will make a space much less attractive as a home. So do whatever you like to make your space fun and cozy for you, but make it re-arrangeable so that there's not nice dark neglected little nooks that go undisturbed for months.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
You may experience rat traffic passing through (and I don't know the particulars of DC wildlife but you can probably expect other nocturnal wildlife like cats, raccoons, opossums), but the best thing you can do to make it unfriendly for any of them to stay is to use the space yourself. Spend time out there, have your dog spend time out there, tend your plants and keep the area swept and monitored and clean, watch for damage around any potential entry points so you can intervene before any critters get settled in.
I live in a very ratty suburban area with lots of dense cozy landscaping and dark quiet back yards, and my rats don't seem especially deterred by lighting but they do know there are dogs, and one of my dogs is especially persistent about stomping and snorting around in the areas where they try to nest. The best advice I got from the mitigation guy I talked to is that rats are suspicious of novelty/changes, and moving stuff around on a regular basis will make a space much less attractive as a home. So do whatever you like to make your space fun and cozy for you, but make it re-arrangeable so that there's not nice dark neglected little nooks that go undisturbed for months.
posted by Lyn Never at 8:58 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
I live in the country and had all manner of rodents trying to get in my house in the winter time. The solution was a cat, we now have 3 cats, two of which are stone cold murderers. We have no mice, rabbits, snakes, racoons, possums, skunks and few birds within 100 yards of the house. They don't actually catch the bigger animals but they make it very unattractive for them to be around. I don't know how you select the right cat as cat #3 has no hunting instinct.
posted by jmsta at 9:08 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by jmsta at 9:08 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
« Older Trip with parents and kids to Lisbon-area over New... | Field recording album of audio animatronics from... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by goingonit at 7:14 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]