Roof Rats in Palms and Citrus: Signs on an Apache Junction Lot.

Palms hold a skirt of dead fronds in some yards, which can shelter animals. Palm seeds and citrus fruit are food. A fruit tree that drops unpicked fruit gives an easy meal, and a tree that touches the house gives an easy path.

None of that means every palm or tree brings rats. It means these are the features a technician checks first, and they are worth a look on your own lot.

• Droppings under trees, along fence lines or on the top of a block wall.
• Fruit with clean gnaw marks, or hollowed out and left on the ground.
• Greasy rub marks along a fence rail, pipe or the edge of a roof.
• Scratching or thumping overhead around dusk or after dark.
• Gnawed irrigation tubing or lighting wires.

Rats are cautious, so you may not see one. What you see are signs. Two or three of them in the same area suggests activity.

The goal is to remove food and shelter and break the climbing route. You do not have to do everything at once, and some of it takes a professional.

• Pick up fallen fruit and seeds regularly.
• Trim branches and fronds so they do not touch the roof or wall.
• Keep pet food and birdseed in sealed containers or indoors.
• Move stacked material away from walls.
• Check that trash and compost have tight lids.

Our backyard and outdoor rodent control page explains how the outdoor walk-through is done.

Rats chew, so closing a gap needs metal, hardware cloth and sealant. The common openings are at the roof edge, vents, and where pipes pass through. If a rat is already inside, the plan includes removal first, so no animal is shut in.

See rat control for the full approach.

Some properties near Apache Junction border open desert. If yours does, say so when you call, because animals can arrive across the lot line. The Lost Dutchman State Park and Silly Mountain Park areas are named stretches of open desert near the city. Whether your lot is affected is for the inspection to say.

Do not sweep or vacuum them. Air out the area, wear gloves, wet the droppings with disinfectant and wipe them up. The CDC checklist on this page lays out the steps.

If you feel unwell after exposure, mention it to your doctor. We are not medical professionals and cannot judge health risks.

Rats breed fast and settle in quickly. A problem caught in the first week is simpler than one that has been building a nest. If two or more signs appear, call and describe them.