i started adc in lewiston idaho recently and there are 2 critters I haven't had experience in, pack rats and bats can someone offer advise on the methods of taking care of these? Thank you

Is this just for knowledge or are you dealing with these together on a job?

Do a search on this forum and you'll find plenty of stuff on all things bats.

The search is a good place to start as was posted. Lots to read there, with bats you are looking at exclusion where you exclude the colony from the cabinet home you are dealing with and seal it, this sounds far simpler than it is.

We don't deal much with wood rats (pack rats) but those I have involved trapping and some preventative measures to enhance keeping them out.

That is a very very very simplified answer, again do some looking using the search tool. Put you time at no older than 3 years and no newer than 2 days, you'll get a lot, however remember anything you read on a forum is only what folks are saying, some is spot on fact other will be opinion or conjecture. Ultimately gaining the skills you need to work with these two species is like anything experience, knowledge and other factors including your skills. Working with bats for example knowing what will and what won't keep a structure sealed is half the battle on top of understanding evicting them properly.

People are willing to share but usually specifics are helpful.

Best,

Justin

Right now I am just preparing for these critters as I do expect calls for them

I have alot of experience catching pack rats. I have to catch them to keep most of them out of my cat sets. Rat snap traps and small cage traps will catch most of them over time. They can be averse to some things over time as you will find out as you get more acquainted with them.

Justin, I could probably get some kind of answer looking it up on the Internet but your answers are always more fun and I can put

a face to them. Anyway, it's about rats. My very first ADC job ( I didn't realize it back then ) was catching Norway rats that had

invaded the neighbor's corn crib. 25 cents apiece! I made a small fortune! The next rat I bumped into was our native Wisconsin rat

that we called the "water rat" and we would occasionally catch them in traps set for muskrats. I am guessing that what we were

catching was actually the native wood rat, correct? Here is my question: Are there any more wild rats, east of the Mississippi,

besides these two? ( And don't ask me why, but my two oldest grandsons had rats as pets and not wanting to let down my grandkids, I

had these white rats crawling all over me and I can tell you honestly, nothing can clean your ears out as well as a good rat!) I am

not making this up.

I have had a few roof rat job's Paul. About as common as flying squirrels here though.

Allegany Wood Rats in far western Md. Not around me. They are endangered due to raccoon roundworms.
Rice rats here are common near the water however they seldom do any damage except to DP baits.

Morgan Bennett.

We have roof rats in Virginia- I've picked up a dead one. I read in Pest Management Professional- They are also in Indiana.

We have several species of new world rats and mice but by and large other than the eastern wood rat (pack/trade/wood rats are just subspecies of the same species) the whitefooted/deer mice and occasionally the hispid cotton rat I never see them.

In my experience wood rats are solitary by nature and rarely are an issue in occupied structures. More often I find them in seasonally occupied structures like hunting/fishing camps, campers, or outbuildings. These are usually associated with lightly forested or old field type habitats. Wood rats in my area feed heavily on acorns, mostly water and willow oaks.
As for trapping I find them to be push overs compared to roof or norway rats. Usually their natural curiosity is enough to get them in the trap but fruit based baits seem to work best. That said though they seem to have a much better sense about them when pinched so avoid glue boards or other methods that can result in catch and release.

Are these fruit-based baits homemade?

Sometimes but mostly commercial. Jameson's Peaches and Cream and On Target Very Berry are my preferences.

Pack rats invade mobile homes,BBQ's and pool pumps,,,ect. here,,,, Clean outs suck because of the cactus they build out of