Rats in the Kitchen: How to Identify & Eliminate Them

Did you spot a little tail scurrying across your kitchen? Don’t panic!

While discovering rats in the kitchen can feel incredibly stressful, this guide will help you learn how to get rid of rats once and for all.

Why Rats Are Attracted to Kitchens

Kitchen rats can be a common pest in kitchens, especially if your kitchen is attached to a garage or has easy access points from outside. Rats are survivors, and they're always searching for the same three essentials: food, water, and shelter.

Rats will eat almost anything, including grains, cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, and even pet food. A kitchen rat doesn't need much either. Just a few crumbs or an unsealed bag of rice can feed them for days. 

They also need to drink regularly to survive. Leaky pipes under the sink, dripping faucets, pet water bowls, and condensation from appliances provide the hydration rats need.

Rats are nocturnal and typically come out at night to search for food and water. In the meantime, they need dark, quiet spaces to hide. The area behind your stove, the space under your refrigerator, inside wall voids near plumbing, and cluttered pantries all make perfect nesting spots.

Signs of Rats in the Kitchen

Catching the problem early makes elimination much easier. Here are the key signs of rats in your kitchen to watch for.

• Droppings: Rat droppings look like dark brown or black pellets, roughly the size of a raisin with pointed ends. You'll typically find them along walls, in cabinets, inside drawers, under the sink, and behind appliances.
• Gnaw marks: Look for bite marks on cereal boxes, plastic containers, and the corners of wooden structures. You might also notice gnawed holes in walls or baseboards where rats have created entry points.
• Scratching sounds: Listen for scratching, scurrying, or squeaking sounds coming from walls, ceilings, or behind appliances, typically at night when rats are the most active.
• Grease marks: Rats have oily fur that leaves dark smudges on surfaces they repeatedly brush against. These marks often appear along their established pathways.
• Nests: Typically made from shredded paper, fabric, insulation, or other soft materials, nests are often found inside rarely used cabinets, behind appliances, and in storage areas.
• Strange odors: Rat urine emits a musky, ammonia-like odor that intensifies as the population grows.

How to Get Rid of Rats in the Kitchen: A Step-by-Step Guide

When you discover rats in your kitchen, don't panic. While rats are unpleasant and carry health risks, remember that this is a solvable problem.

Next, confirm that you’re dealing with rats and not mice. Rats and their droppings are much larger, with adult bodies measuring seven to 10 inches long, plus their tail.

Then, follow these steps to learn how to get rid of the rats in your kitchen. 

1. Set Traps: Choose the right rat traps and place them strategically, perpendicular to walls where you've noticed rat activity. Use small amounts of bait, such as peanut butter, chocolate, or dried fruit.
2. Eliminate Food Sources: Store all food in sealed, rat-proof containers made of glass, metal, or heavy-duty plastic. Clean up spills immediately, don’t leave food out overnight, and empty garbage daily in a can with a tight-fitting lid.
3. Remove Water Sources: Fix leaky pipes and faucets, and ensure pet water bowls are not left out overnight.
4. Look for Entry Points: Walk around your kitchen and look for holes, gaps, or cracks where rats might be getting in. Check around pipes, behind appliances, near doors and windows, and along baseboards.
5. Seal Entry Points: Use steel wool, wire mesh, or metal sheeting to block areas around pipes and utility lines, sealing cracks or holes where rats could enter.
6. Clear Nesting Materials: Reduce clutter, cardboard boxes, and paper products to make your kitchen less inviting to rats.
7. Dispose of Trapped Rats Properly: Check traps daily. Wear gloves, place the rat in a sealed bag, and dispose of it in an outdoor trash can.
8. Deep Clean Your Kitchen: Sweep up crumbs, wipe down surfaces, and clean up spills.

Preventing Rats from Returning

To keep rats from coming back, maintain a consistent cleaning routine and secure all food and water sources:

1. Clean Regularly: Wipe down counters and sweep floors daily. Never leave dirty dishes out overnight.
2. Store Food Properly: Keep all food, including dry goods and pet food, in sealed, rat-proof containers.
3. Seal New Entry Points: Continue to inspect for cracks or holes and seal them with materials rats can’t chew through, like steel wool or metal sheeting. Install door sweeps and weatherstripping to close gaps.
4. Manage Outdoor Clutter: Keep garbage cans sealed and away from your home, trim vegetation around the exterior, and remove debris piles where rats might nest.
5. Ongoing Monitoring: Even after eliminating the infestation, continue to monitor the situation. Keep a few traps set periodically to ensure rats don’t return.

How Catchmaster Helps Control Kitchen Rats

Dealing with rats in your kitchen is easier when you have reliable, effective products on your side. Catchmaster® offers professional-grade, non-toxic rat traps explicitly designed to help you get rid of rats in the kitchen.

Ready to take back your kitchen? Catchmaster can help. Explore the rat-stopping power™ of our traps today!