We're On Top Of It!

That scurrying and shuffling you hear overhead is not your imagination. Roof rats are not a new problem, but they are still a dangerous one. These old world creatures have been blamed for starting various plagues and transporting many of the world’s diseases, so it is important to keep them out of your attic and away from your family.

Roof rats are not harmless to your home either. Once they have infiltrated your attic, face numerous problems. Besides their nesting habits, the rats will gnaw through anything in their path. This means your electric and gas lines are all fair game for these rodents. Also, they have been known to find their way into ventilation ducts.

Probably one of the easiest ways to deal with them is to seal off their points of entry. Attic vents located under the eaves provide one of the easiest points of entry, and they often go unprotected. Have an installer put in wire mesh to prevent easy access for the rodents. There are a variety of manufacturer that make products specifically for this purpose.

Loose shingles and small holes in your roofing can provide another way into your attic. The holes may not be easily visible to the naked eye but are easily detected by roof rats.

The Art of Trapping

Trapping roof rats is no easy feat. They are frightened by new objects in their environment, so they may not come willingly to rat traps. A long standing technique called pre-baiting seems to help this problem. This is when bait is set on unset traps to allow the rodent to become comfortable with the trap. Once they start taking the bait, then you can set the traps.

Placing traps in high traffic areas for the roof rats is key. They like to run along walls and pipes, so be sure to concentrate traps there. Glue traps to areas on narrow pipes and beams to force the rats to walk on the traps. Also, if your roof is easily accessible, set a few traps along the edges. Roof rats are known to jump from roof to roof.

Using poison is in combination with the traps is an effective method for long term rat control. Since pets and other animals are not frequently in the attic, poison can be used much more liberally. Sprinkling the pellets across the attic floor, along the walls, and tossing a hand full into the insulation are good ways of controlling the rats.

There are two common types of bait—non-anticoagulant and anti-coagulant. The anticoagulant baits are slow acting and generally require the rats to feed on it multiple times before dying. The non-anticoagulant type can kill in a single dose, but requires the rat to eat a sufficient quality in one sitting.

No matter which bait you choose, be sure that there is no possibility of children or pets coming into contact with it because it can be extremely lethal if consumed.

Cleaning up

Roof rats are extremely dangerous. Roofers come in contact with dead ones on a daily basis. Never touch one with your bare hands. Use disposable gloves when handling the carcass. Tie the rat up in a plastic bag and dispose of it in the trashcan.

Efforts should be taken to clean up the deceased rats as soon as possible. Large amounts of decaying rats can cause odor problems for a home. Check traps frequently and look for any rats that may have died as a result of poison.

This a simple request asking everyone to get educated, involved and motivated for our upcoming mid-term elections on the 2nd of November.  In every corner of our city, county, state, and country there are important and key political races that will effect our lives for the next two to six years.  We all need to make an effort to know the issues and candidates affecting your voting precinct.  Then go vote and take someone with you.

Majestic Roofing Oklahoma is a small business whose goal is to make a decent living for me and my employees.  We are concerned with the unknowns we face next year.  So called rumors of how our business will be touched by legislation makes it impossible to plan for our budgeting issues next year.  It’s as though we do not have any business people in our political arena.  Oops, maybe that’s the problem.

We recently received a letter from the State of Oklahoma informing us that beginning on January 1, 2011 roofing companies will be required to procure (for $300) a license to roof within our state.  I like the idea.  But the new license only requires you to provide proof of general liability insurance ($500,000 minimum)(we carry $2,000,000) and worker compensation insurance.  No permit will be required to roof your home.  I’ll wager that little if any oversight will be offered as to who is following the rules.  Only a small fine will be levied if you break the rules.  There is no waiting period for new roofers chasing storms from all parts of the country.  Typical government involvement.  But, they do get $300 from us.  Don’t you feel safer that you will not get ambushed by an unscrupulous roofer ever again?

In past blogs we asked for some oversight within our state or county or city.  We talked with reps from several state agencies and got booted around from place to place.  Then out of the blue we find that the governor sighed legislation on June 10th of this year making it a law that roofers must be licensed.  Wow.  Good job.  Bad bill for residents of the state, however.  No teeth.  Only revenue enhancement for some state agency.  Guess it’s a start though.  Please, GO VOTE for real change.

Stan Templeton, Founder

Majestic Roofing Oklahoma is very proud to announce our partnership with the Oklahoma City Thunder for 2010 and 2011.  When discussing quality the OKC Thunder have few rivals.  From the front office personnel to the players, everything about the Thunder is positive and classy.  Majestic Roofing Oklahoma, along with all the residents of Oklahoma, take pride in “our team”.  Check out the Thunder website at www.nba.com/thunder.

We have once again refreshed the look and usefulness of our website.  Mark and Kay Harsha of Harsha Productions has done a masterful job of giving us exactly what we envisioned.  Many items have been added making it easier for our customers to interact with us 24 hours a day.  As a Certified Contractor with GAF, several tools are available to the homeowner that make access to information very simple.  And yet, there are several features still to come.

Contacting us has never been easier.  You may phone, email and text anytime of day.  We still have a great web presence with NewsOK, The Thunder, and on KSBI High School football telecasts shown on Thursday and Friday nights.

In an effort to better serve our customers across central Oklahoma, Majestic Roofing Oklahoma has opened a new office and warehouse at 1549 SE 25th.  It is centrally located in the City and allows our crews to dispatch quickly to any part of OKC.  In conjunction to the new facility, we are extremely proud to announce the hiring of our new Office Manager, Piper Cleveland. Continue reading →

The hail storm that struck the Oklahoma City area on May 10th has, if by magic, produced a large number of out of state roofers to prey on our citizens. The word prey is a nice way of saying dupe and target unsuspecting victims. Please know that we have several great roofing companies from here in Oklahoma City to meet your roofing needs. Continue reading →

Majestic Roofing Oklahoma is proud to announce we are sponsoring the recentlyreleased Newsok, iPhone Weather Watch application.  This is a free app all Oklahoma iPhone users should download to stay in touch with the latest weather conditions in Oklahoma.  Your personal safety, and that of your family, will be improved by using this app to monitor Oklahoma’s severe weather – winter, spring, summer or fall. Continue reading →