Rats or Rodents? (Manhattan Beach, Beverly Hills, Fortuna: renter, homeowners association, condo)

[MyKindOfTown]

Fortunately the Mayor of Chicago (Richie Daley) shares my hatred of rats. By and large rats are seldom seen in Chi-town. I spend most my time now in SoFla and it's a different deal all together. Though I've only seen one live rat I do see a dead one in the street every few months and my neighbors see them frequently. I know Phoenix too has a problem with roof rats. Is L.A. pretty over run, also? I "googled" L.A. and rodents and found an article from the New York Times talking about massive infestation in Beverly Hills a few years back!

How often do you guys see rats??

[lesallimc]

Hmmm, I live a block east of Beverly Hills and have never seen any rats. I do get little spiders and such from time to time, but no mammals....

[MyKindOfTown]

Originally Posted by lesallimc

Hmmm, I live a block east of Beverly Hills and have never seen any rats. I do get little spiders and such from time to time, but no mammals....

That makes me feel better because you're in an area I'm looking at. (WeHo to Westwood)

[lesallimc]

Originally Posted by MyKindOfTown

That makes me feel better because you're in an area I'm looking at. (WeHo to Westwood)

Yep, I live just south of WeHo (actually share a zip code). I think as long as you are in a decent building, you will be fine.

[Beth56]

I think rats are just about everywhere there is vegetation. You just don't always see them. I live in Manhattan Beach and we have rats here. But we also have squirrels, opossum, raccoon, skunk, mice, lizards, bees, wasps, crows, pigeons, etc. Any one of those can become a problem. We have had a few experiences with these critters ourselves. We have learned to keep our eyes peeled for potential problems and take care of things asap.

[Delron]

The Beverly Hills rodent infestation problem is ongoing, and it goes in cycles based mainly on the rainy season and vigilance of the community/local government control programs. I know of MANY estate owners here in Beverly Hills who have had infestations and recurring problems. Just because you don't see the rats, doesn't mean they aren't there, often by the HUNDREDS. Just like with roaches, for every one you see, there are quite possibly many many more you don't, since these pests have such short gestation periods and squirt out litters left and right, increasing exponentially.

Here's the main culprit. We have a hell of a lot of vegetation and overgrowth throughout the city, particularly vegetation that produces fruit, vegetables, and edibles that can sustain these vermin. When we get heavy rains, the problem EXPLODES because the vegetation thrives, giving them food and cover. Within Beverly Hills, you get these huge, lush estates with plenty of places for them to hide and find food and water. Also, with more surface area/square footage/volume, the homes have more possibilities of tiny access points where rats, mice, and other vermin can get in. And they can CLIMB like you wouldn't believe.

Remember, these various species of rats, particularly the Norwegian rat, can live off of virtually anything - cardboard, particle board, paper, etc. They get into attics and basements, then into the walls.

No place on earth where man is doesn't have them...we've brought them everywhere.

In particular, they LOVE to hide in ivy. If you have ivy, chances are you have rats living in it. They love the cover it provides as well as love a particular food source that lives off of it many times - snails and slugs.

BTW, if you have skunks, do what you can to leave them alone and actually keep them around, because you will very rarely run into them (they're nocturnal) and they actually catch more rats and mice than even the best vermin hunting cats...they eat all sorts of small rodents.

[lesallimc]

This is giving me the willies. I guess I'm glad I live in a fourplex and can't afford an estate.

[Delron]

Originally Posted by lesallimc

This is giving me the willies. I guess I'm glad I live in a fourplex and can't afford an estate.

Well, as long as your neighbors or roommates aren't disgusting pigs leaving food and water for vermin, you should be okay.

Case in point, I have an investment condo in a very nice building in Beverly Hills, on the 3rd floor. There are some trees that weren't trimmed back far enough, and my stupid neighbor that shares a balcony with my unit left their sliding glass door open but the screen door closed.

A couple of huge rats climbed up the trees and jumped over to the balconies because they smelled some food from this neighbor. So I get a call from my renter about a big commotion in the neighboring unit and subsequently seeing a rat running on the balcony! I call the homeowners association, and long story short, the freaking rats had chewed through the neighbor's screen door and was spotted ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER EATING A PIE.

Idiot neighbor got pest removal, they caught 2 in his unit and another one on the balcony, and the trees got trimmed WAY back. These suckers can JUMP, by the way.

[lesallimc]

Originally Posted by Delron

I call the homeowners association, and long story short, the freaking rats had chewed through the neighbor's screen door and was spotted ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER EATING A PIE.

OMG!!! I just laughed out loud so hard I may get fired!! hahahahahah That's so horrible, yet funny at the same time. The visual I get is like something out of a Pixar film....

[MyKindOfTown]

Originally Posted by Delron

Well, as long as your neighbors or roommates aren't disgusting pigs leaving food and water for vermin, you should be okay.

Case in point, I have an investment condo in a very nice building in Beverly Hills, on the 3rd floor. There are some trees that weren't trimmed back far enough, and my stupid neighbor that shares a balcony with my unit left their sliding glass door open but the screen door closed.

A couple of huge rats climbed up the trees and jumped over to the balconies because they smelled some food from this neighbor. So I get a call from my renter about a big commotion in the neighboring unit and subsequently seeing a rat running on the balcony! I call the homeowners association, and long story short, the freaking rats had chewed through the neighbor's screen door and was spotted ON THE KITCHEN COUNTER EATING A PIE.

Idiot neighbor got pest removal, they caught 2 in his unit and another one on the balcony, and the trees got trimmed WAY back. These suckers can JUMP, by the way.

Hilarious!

How is this for a huge coincidence. As the OP I started this thread this morning. I said only ONCE had I seen a live rat in SoFla. (I've spent perhaps 1500 days the past 20 years here). I just saw another one!! What timing, lol!! I'm so paranoid that I pulled my dog away from a patch of grass where i thought there was a 1 in a hundred chance I'd seen something. As we walked back to the house I kept looking. Nothing. All of a sudden a grayish small rat slithered off the lawn. YUCK!!

Deltron my area in Lauderdale is very upscale too but it has all the same elements as BH. Massive vegetation, being Florida of course ample rain-without any kind of killing frost-and way too many people. Rat city. I think I'll need to live on the Wilshire Corridor.......