{"id":15573,"date":"2019-11-07T13:48:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T12:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/?p=15573"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:42:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T13:42:27","slug":"avoid-rats-in-home-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Avoid Rats In Your Home This Winter?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the days get chilly and the temperature drops, we all prefer to stay indoors with a warm and comfortable atmosphere around us. Rats are no different in behaviour when it comes to survival. As the winter approaches rats constantly search for shelter and food reserves to survive the harsh temperatures. Here&#8217;s how to prevent rats from entering your home in the winter.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do Rats Enter Your Home?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rats do not hibernate during the winter hence they need to ensure their survival by finding adequate shelter and nutrition to keep them going. They enter your house in search of these things, that is why their sightings increase exponentially during the winter season. They will gather food and start stocking it so it can last through the winter.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Common places where they are found are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Basements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attic<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Closets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cabinets<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Empty wardrobe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drawer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design.jpg\" alt=\"Rat in the garden\" class=\"wp-image-15593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rat in the garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Signs of An Rat Infestation&nbsp;<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing you need to do is keep an eye on the various signs that are present in your home in case of a rat infestation.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/rats\/signs-of-rats\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the most common signs:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rat Droppings<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scratching Noises<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Footprints<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rub Marks<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Burrows<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you identify any of the following signs then you must get professional pest control help immediately as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/rodent-borne-diseases\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rats are dangerous<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and can transfer a number of diseases to humans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>How To Prevent An Infestation?<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is important for you to take precautions so that you do not create an inviting atmosphere for these creatures. Follow these recommended precautionary measures to minimise the chances of an infestation.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep your house tidy. Do not provide them with the opportunity to infest.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not provide convenient places for them to hide. Seal all potential entry points.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do not keep food lying around. Store it in proper containers.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use proper methods to discard food sources as they prefer rubbish.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep your doors and windows closed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"350\" class=\"size-full wp-image-15594 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design-1.jpg\" alt=\"Dead Rat\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design-1.jpg 750w, https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Untitled-design-1-300x140.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Take Action<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even after following all the prevention protocols thoroughly, there is still a possibility that they may find a way into your home and infest it. In such cases, DIY methods are not recommended. It is important to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/rats\/how-to-get-rid-of-rats\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">call experts to care about the situation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>If you feel that you have a possible rat infestation this winter. <\/b><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/contact-us\/\">Contact Us<\/a> for expert advice on rat treatment.<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn more about rats.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/rats\/species\/#black-rat\">Rat species in Ireland<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/rats\/rise-of-the-rats\/\">Rise of rats<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/rats\/how-to-get-rid-of-rats\/\">Get rid of rats quickly<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the days get chilly and the temperature drops, we all prefer to stay indoors with a warm and comfortable atmosphere around us. Rats are no different in behaviour when it comes to survival. As the winter approaches rats constantly search for shelter and food reserves to survive the harsh temperatures. Here&#8217;s how to prevent [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[2407],"tags":[106,1507,1453,509],"class_list":["post-15573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rodents","tag-black-rats","tag-brown-rat","tag-how-to-get-rid-of-rats","tag-rats"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Winter Rat Infestation Prevention | Pest Control Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everything you need to know about rats for winter. Identify and get rid of rats from your home this winter with Rentokil&#039;s recommended steps.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Winter Rat Infestation Prevention | Pest Control Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everything you need to know about rats for winter. Identify and get rid of rats from your home this winter with Rentokil&#039;s recommended steps.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"deBugged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-11-07T12:48:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T13:42:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/rat-1939080_1920.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/\",\"name\":\"Winter Rat Infestation Prevention | Pest Control Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-rats-in-home-winter\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/rat-1939080_1920.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-11-07T12:48:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T13:42:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7db989bebd3291c60b3cb37cdedb87e3\"},\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about rats for winter. 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