How to ‘rat-proof’ your home for the winter in Oakville

With winter on the horizon, the Town of Oakville is reminding residents to ‘rat-proof’ their homes before the snow sets in.

In a post to X (formerly Twitter), municipal officials noted that rats will likely take shelter in warm and damp environments, such as the foundations of residential homes and garbage areas.

Worried about rats on your property? Here are ways to help rat-proof your home:
➡️ Use metal screening to cover holes
➡️ Repair damage to your foundation, roof, siding & windows
➡️ Use metal weather stripping under doors

Learn more from @RegionofHalton: https://t.co/fgaRRle6Eh pic.twitter.com/HsfT3BsRhH

— Town of Oakville (@townofoakville) October 17, 2024

To effectively make sure that the only people under one roof this winter are Oakville families, a publicly available list of tips has just been released, which includes tips like:

• How to identify rats.
• How to spot an infestation (droppings, track and chewed items).
• ‘Ratproofing’ (Fixing cracks, covering vents and weather-stripping doors).
• How to make an area less rat friendly (garbage cleanup, no leaking water and no clutter).
• Traps (glue, poison and snap).
• Safe cleanup (sanitary disposal of rat bodies and droppings).

For more detailed information on how to apply the above techniques to your home, visit the Town of Oakville’s official website.