They are everywhere in Folsom but few people want to acknowledge it. I told my neighbor we had a rat in the attic and was told it's a squirrel because there are no rats in Natoma Station. Well, squirrels aren’t nocturnal. I left a trap out and sure enough it was a rat. Not just one, we had several.
The poisons work but sometimes those little boogers go home to die and leave you with an awful smell which lasts for a week minimum. Just knowing that a dead rat is putrefying in the attic is enough to make this the least desirable option for me.
The best course of action is to use the big wood snap traps. I like using a nice piece of Prosciutto di Parma and a small chunk of Asiago as bait. It’s their last meal so it’s nice to put out a decent spread. You know, class it up a bit.
You really need to seal up gaps in the roof and anywhere along the base of your house. I used green smoke bombs in the attic to see where there was access to the outside and sealed holes with steel wool. Kidding with the smoke bombs but it would be super cool.
I did check the roof and packed steel wool in the holes since rats have a hard time chewing through it. I also posted up a snap trap right next to where the opening was for good measure. You would be shocked at how many open entry points there are in our roofs. Rats can stuff their entire bubonic flea carrying bodies through an opening the size of a quarter. It’s like watching David Blain when they pull that stunt.
I followed the same process along the base of the house using a mirror to look under the lip of the stucco. It’s been several years without a rat. Outside the occasional spot check I haven’t done any additional work.
*PLUG ALERT*
If you aren’t ambitious or just don’t want to be bothered we do have a Folsom based company that does all of the above and no, it’s not me. Thomas Wildlife Control did basically everything I listed above to my neighbor’s house but used screens vs. steel wool after I proved there are rats in Natoma Station. In hindsight I should have done the same because I’m fat, old and don’t belong on a roof.
http://www.folsomwildlifecontrol.com/