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Hampton Roads residents report roof rat problems

Posted at 11:14 PM, Apr 04, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-05 11:45:10-04

Large rodents have made their way into attics across the Hampton Roads area. It’s a problem nobody wants to admit they have, but many people are finding these critters lurking inside of their homes.

Experts say the rats are everywhere including restaurants, hotels, motels, businesses, homes and stores.

They are called “roof rats,” and they have been reproducing at an alarming rate. Now many of them have migrated to Hampton Roads. Experts say they may be coming from the south.

“It takes two to three months for them to mature, and it takes 23 days for them to be pregnant and have a litter.  Six to nine pups, two to three months later, they`re producing again,” says Charlie Church, the president of Getem Pest Control.

He says his employees see these rats often.

“We`ve had more trouble with these roof rats in the past three to five years than any other rat we`ve ever dealt with in the past,” says Church.

NewsChannel 3 tagged along with Church at a home in Norfolk to get an idea of how bad this roof rat problem has become.

Everywhere these rats go, they leave behind a trail of urine and droppings.  If they get in your food, you can get extremely sick from food poisoning or salmonella. You must find a way to trap them, get rid of them and plug up any hole where they could enter.