Posted on 08/16/2017 6:24:37 AM PDT by logi_cal869
Neither a joke nor metaphor, I have a rat problem and seek learned wisdom from others who've combatted these cunning creatures.
I have a lone rat (I believe) lurking somewhere in my house. Without regard to the accuracy of that statement or my seeming inability to find its lair, this smart SOB freed itself from a sticky trap and has been Ninja ever since, sometimes not taking my popcorn bait for days (there are NO other food sources other than our occasional lapse in leaving the dog's food out).
Spring traps don't work; it's too smart. Or, to be more accurate, they don't work with the bait I've been using. I prefer not to use poison, as my neighbor has incurred significant expense in tearing into walls to remove decomposing flesh.
I'm hopeful for meritorious advice, as all of my requests to borrow/rent a farm cat have fallen on deaf ears...
Consider sealing up all openings into your house.
I had a rat get into my house last year during the drought.
He got in through a basement vent that wedged open.
I sealed it up with a soffit vent.
It took two days before he took the bait (cheese) in the old fashioned rat trap. There was blood everywhere.
I swear, its tail was ten feet long.
They can also get in through plumbing openings.
Hire a CAT!
You need to acquire a good sized rat snake.
There is NO other solution better than that.
I don’t care how clever the rat is, the snake will find it.
For *years* we had a rat plague because locals killed every snake they saw and I went every route imaginable to get rid of them, to little avail.
They ran through the walls with impunity and disregarded all my “brilliant” efforts to kill them.
Then a nice guy dropped off a rat snake he’d caught and surpringly soon, no more rats.
It slithered into the walls as well and the rats were no match.
The spring that he gave it to me, it was just a small snake and I scoffed at the idea of it eating my Ratzillas.
This spring, it had quadrupled in size, having feasted on my plague.
Nature always trumps any of our pitiful efforts.
Yep.
All the other suggestions will fail with any but the dumbest rats.
God knew what He was doing.
rat trap. bigger the better.
poison is no good because it will go die in a wall and stink
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rodent+traps
Tree rats, the huge ones, broke into our attic and were having a great time up there. Took our pest guy 3 months of poison boxes all over our property to get rid of them. He blocked the holes they had made to get in and is still putting bait in the boxes to make sure there are no more. They are a huge pain to get rid of. I’m with you. Whatever works.
Kingsnakes, esp. L. G. Holbrooki subspecies are murderous little bastards that will keep killing chipmunks, rats, mice, moles, voles, and snakes ESPECIALLY poisonous snakes) until it finds itself in the open and a hawk or eagle gets it.
Ol' Reliable.
Speckled king snake (Lampropetus g. Holbrooki)
OR
...if you don't have a snake problem like we do in AR (copperheads and cottonmouths)...get a
P. Obseleta obseleta (black rat snake). The problem with them, though is that if you have bats, eastern bluebirds, purple martins, swifts, or swallows, or chickens/ducks they have a propensity to raid those nests for chicks and eggs.
A cat.
ALWAYS use disposable gloves and care when handling your bait traps, etc.
You do not want to transfer human scent to the trap or bait.
The rat escaped a close call. He could now be avoiding everything associated with the first trap, including the human scent
“Rat terrier or Jack Russell.”
I vote for the Jack Russell. BUT, go to a horse farm to buy your pup. In other words, get one from working stock.
“Peanut butter has failed.”
Try some soft dog or cat food.
I cut down some trees and made a woodpile somewhat near the house.
Big mistake...this is where they started-tree rats, as you stated. They made their way into the garage, then chewed through the sheetrock like it was nothing, and got into the interior walls.,p> Then up to the attic, down into the basement.
I used traps, poison, shot them...it took a while.
I once had a serious mouse problem. Poison and rat traps worked, but I had to put them out and set them every day, and it was a nuisance. When I finally got the infestation under control and stopped finding dead or injured mice in the traps, my wife and I witnessed a very large snake (in this case a non-venomous one) leaving a crack in the wall of our house.
There are sound-repellers--i.e. instruments that make loud noises out of the range of human hearing but enough to be obnoxious to rats and mice--and it's my understanding that they work well for a while but that the rodents become accustomed to them, and after a while the don't work.
yes PB works!!!
She is indeed beautiful and probably very sweet!
Very loving and sweet but SO alert! Nothing gets past that girl.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.