Oh, those! What sort of wild rodents plague your area? Many years and residences ago, when we lived in farm country, we encountered the occasional rat. These days, the only rodents that maddened me were the woodchucks and something possibly the gray fox, got all of them. That fox might have helped the hawks take a serious bite out of the squirrel population last season, too. No rabbits, either. Just chipmunks and they haven't done anything.
My patio has become home to some loverly rats. So far, they're ONLY out there........if they venture closer, I think I'll lie in wait, shotgun in hand. ;)