This has been the worst winter in years! We've trapped 5 rats in our kitchen in the past few weeks (humanely). After the first two we boxed up all available food items so there was nothing for them to eat. Guess what they did? They came into my bedroom!! At 3 am!!!
I live in a thick jungle, in an old cottage. I can see the holes they made under the house to get in. I've no doubt they'll make new ones if I block these off.
They've ruined my stove, I'm sick of cleaning up after them and they keep me up all night.
Is anyone else having this issue? What do you do?
I don't use poison. And I have a pet Bunny so I can't use those sonic thingies. Any suggestions?
I live in a thick jungle, in an old cottage. I can see the holes they made under the house to get in. I've no doubt they'll make new ones if I block these off.
They've ruined my stove, I'm sick of cleaning up after them and they keep me up all night.
Is anyone else having this issue? What do you do?
I don't use poison. And I have a pet Bunny so I can't use those sonic thingies. Any suggestions?
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 26, 2008 - 5:09 PMCats? hahahahaha Only one of my cats has caught any of the humongous wood rats I used to have in my shed (but didn't know I had until things got really serious over one winter when I never opened it up for months) - he's never caught anything else in his life, so I suspect he simply found a couple of dead ones and dragged them in. I thought they were dead cats from a distance, they were as big as he is.
If you put that stuff that I believe they call wire cloth (but it's not cloth, just small-sized square-holed heavy-gauge wire mesh) over the holes on the outside and then cover the holes on the inside too they won't chew thru those - but apparently the way they first start is by coming in thru an already-existing hole or a door standing open for a long time or an open, unflapped cat door. They only chew holes really to get out, or so I'm told by the rat guy, because their original source of entry has been closed off. As happened in my shed, where I let the hard-to-close doors stand a few inches open all summer. The thing is, they poop all over everything and that poop is dangerous to clean up once it dries. You should always wear at least safety glasses, rubber gloves, and a face mask when cleaning it up. Don't want it in your eyes, nose, lungs or mouth. Mine have not come back and it's been since last March, almost a full year, but I've been very vigilant about keeping the shed closed up tight. No new holes. Didn't use any poison, just cleaned the place out, took almost everything to the dump, used the wire cloth and boards to seal off holes, and kept the doors closed.
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 12, 2008 - 8:20 PMDon't know where you live Beka, but most counties have a vector control district or department who can come out, survey the situation and advise you. Rats will live in your home, and travel to and from the outside at dusk and dawn. You can hear them moving in the walls at these times.
Mostly likely, especially if you live in an urban area, you have roof rats. If you poison, you will have rats dieing in your walls and roof. You say you live in a jungle. Knock that jungle down. Heavy vegetation, especially things like ivy and berries, gives rats both cover from predators and a food source. Rats can live off of the snails found in Ivy. Remove any piles of wood or debris. wood piles should be only one wood length thick. Don't pile wood against your house. Strip trees of any ripe fruit before the rats can use it for food. Rats love oranges. Do not leave any pet food or water standing outside, especially in the evening. When you have cleaned your yard of any sources of food, water and cover, then cover any accesses to the structure of your home with wire mesh. Check all your grates and any holes where your house and roof come together. Trim back any trees whose branches touch your roof. Then you can poison. Outside use a bait station that lets rats in, but keeps your pets out. Inside use traps with peanut butter. Nail them down on the cross beams in the attic area of your house, otherwise the rats will drag them off and die in the walls. When the rats can no longer get outside because you've blocked the exits, they will be forced to eat the peanut butter in the traps. Place traps sideways along cross beams of the ceiling so the rats will set them off if they cross them. When the time comes that you stop catching them in your roof and house will be the day they are all gone.
If you just kill rats without removing the reasons they are there - food, water, cover - new rats will move right in. The fact that you are catching them in your house is a real bad sign of a major infestation. You'll have lot of work to do. Don't feel bad about killing them. They are major vectors for spreading disease and are a health hazard. When you are rid of therm, remember that there are more living in the neighborhood. You must continue to keep your yard neat. Having cats or dogs in yard will discourage them from coming back into the yard. Good luck. -
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Re: RATS!!
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 6:01 PMThanks all. My Dizzy cat died in December... hmm that's probably why the rats are so bad this year. I guess I never appreciated how hard he was working for us! My landlady won't let us have anymore pets.
Curmudgeon lots of good info thanks! It's true, we have a huge, overgrown patch of haliconia growing right up against one side of the house. the mango tree touches the roof too (no mangos on it right now). We live in a rural-ish area on Maui, keeping the jungle back is a full time job! Looks like we have MORE work to do! (spent last weekend moving all of the kitchen appliances and scrubbing)
Snap traps don't work at all! They can always get the bait out without getting caught! We use the wire mesh cages that snap shut behind them, leaving them pretty much in one, live peice.
Errr.. I've never heard of vector control! I just googled and there is an office in my town. Do I just call them and ask for help? Maybe it'd be better to ask my landlady to do it?
I'm just not sure about poison. We have a bunny that has full run of the house (landlady doesn't know about him), I wouldn't want him to get into it. I don't mean to be ignorant but are ALL rats disease spreading? I can understand that inner-city sewer rats would be but these rats live mostly off of the abundant Avacado, Orange, Mountain Apple and Mango trees in the jungle. Where would they get the diseases?
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Re: RATS!!
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 6:12 PMLandlady?
I'd think it'd be her responsibility to come up with a solution, but maybe things are different out on the Islands...
The rodents in the forested hills around here carry the bubonic plague. Disease can flourish in the wilderness too.
As for drivig them away, the only thing I can think of is tinfoil- rats hate chewing through it. If you can get under the house and line all the ways in with tinfoil, it MIGHT help... but rats are really intelligent and tenacious animals. If you could manage to sneak in a kitty again, I'd say that's your best shot...
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Re: RATS!!
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 8:34 PMMosquitoes and fleas can transmit disease between humans and rats. Ever hear of the black plague that almost wiped out Europe - Rats! The fact that they are actually in your house is a very bad sign. Rats avoid humans as a rule. Your population may be so big that the older rats are pushing the younger rats out into the house. Poison is for the outside of the house. Vector control may provide you with a outside bait station, which will be a locked metal box with a passage big enough for a rat to get in, but nothing larger. Inside use traps. Rats love peanut butter and it will stick to the trap. Put the traps in attic area as I described earlier, tacked down sideways on the cross beam. I doubt your rabbit will get into the attic. Keep your rabbit caged at night or when your not home so that no food or water is available to the rats. If the house is sealed, and the rats can't get outside to food, they will keep going to the traps till you catch them all.
If you catch live rats and release them outside, they just head back to the house - yours or someone else's. If you catch them live, you'll still have to kill them. Don't handle them. When they are dead, put you hand in a plastic bag, pick up the rat in your hand and turn the bag inside out over the rat, seal the bag and through it in the garbage.
One of my student jobs in college was working for Vector Control. They deal with all disease carrying vectors. They may only be able to tell you what I've already told you, or they maybe able to provide and/or install some of the equipment. They are government agency. What ever advice or help they give you should cost you nothing. -
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Re: RATS!!
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 8:37 PMWhile they are in your house, they are also chewing on the wood and wiring to keep their teeth short. Once they ate all the wiring out of one man's Mercedes while he was on vacation. -
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Re: RATS!!
Thu, February 14, 2008 - 9:02 PM>>Once they ate all the wiring out of one man's Mercedes while he was on vacation<<
WOW!
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 13, 2008 - 10:28 PMGet a Rat Terrier. check out www.nrta.com -
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 19, 2008 - 4:00 PMSooo... My landlady saw all of the yardwork we were doing this past weekend and came over to see what was going on. I told her (again) about the rats and she asked why my cat wasn't doing anything about it (mind you, SHE found my kitty after he had been hit by a car and came to tell me). I reminder her that I no longer had a cat and that she told me I couldn't get another and she changed her mind on the spot.
I get a new kitty! Yay. Guess it's cheaper than an exterminator! -
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 19, 2008 - 6:33 PMYep, cat == not having to pay to fix code violations
In fact, the cat is working for not only you but for the landlady and you end up paying the room and board for kitty. Landlady ends up not paying for any of it. -
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 19, 2008 - 10:36 PMgo to the spca and one that looks like a mouser.
not all cats will catch rats. -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 3:54 PMYeah, we spend over two hours at the pound last weekend! The one we chose spent most of the wime chasing flies around. I know flies are a little different from rats but at least she was hunting! It was a hot afternoon and all of the other cats were sunbathing or sleeping in the shade.
The won't realease her to us until shes fixed, we pick her up on Friday. Yay!
I'm hoping that just having a cat in the house will deter the rats. Since we chopped down the haliconia we've heard less of them and no more in my room (thank God!). The landlady is going to put some kind of spray foam stuff in the holes the rats made under the kitchen sink, and poison under the house (it's on stilts). -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 4:02 PMHummm.. Watch out for the cat eating poisoned rats..
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 4:54 PMRats usually nest in the attics, especially under insulation. -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 5:41 PMYeah... I'm wondering about that. We've been told that the local rats are all Roof Rats so it would seem most likely that they'd be up in the crawl space but we can see the holes they've made to come in from under the house. Also, our ceilings are thin. They're made of something called Cane-ig (probably spelled it wrong). We have some birds in the crawl space and I can hear them. I've heards rats up there in the past but not lately.
insulation? wassat? This is Maui, never heard of the stuff!
These seem to be weird roof rats. "Floor Rats".
Good point about the kitty eating poisoned rats. We'll be keeping a close eye on her until she's recovered from her surgury. After that I'll check with the landlady about the poison. -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 6:02 PMCheck with Vector Control about the poison and its risks to your cats. Most poisons are anti-coagulants (warfarin) which means the rats bleed to death internally.
Found this link which seems pretty accurate. www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$Depart...agdex816
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 6:27 PMIs there anything you can do to 'train' the new kitty to corner and capture the rats, but not necessarily eat them? I'm totally guessing at this... but maybe playing with a rat toy with her and letting her get it, and then giving her a 'reward' for stomping it down without chewing it apart?
I know, cats aren't dogs.. it was just a thought. -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 6:33 PMCats are Cats, natural born hunters, unless they are overfed and lazy. Many cats will bring the dead rat to you as a token. -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 8:41 PMI'm a little scared to check your link Curmudgeon! Is it gross?
Talked to the landlady and the vet today. The vet says that the kitty would have to catch and consume the rat within minutes of the rat consuming the poison. He says the poison dissapates in the rat quickly and won't harm the cat. His only concern is if the cat gets into the poison herself. Recommends we keep charcoal on hand.
Landlady says that they type of poison she uses causes the rats to look for water. As long as I don't have any available water source in the house or yard the rat will go to the river (about a 5 minute walk for me) and die there. She says that when she uses this poison she rarely sees the dead rats.
Kim your idea is interesting... I want to train the kitty to be nice to the bunny but mean to the rats. That's gonna be tricky enough! -
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Re: RATS!!
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 9:38 PMI'd find out the name of the poison and google it. There's a lot of fallacies about the poisons. the link is harmless. just info. -
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Re: RATS!!
Tue, February 26, 2008 - 5:15 PMoh right, the point being made about cats eating poisoned rats - this happened, and happened fast, to a new cat I had who ate poisoned rats or mice in my landlady's barn and was dead within 3 days, and not pleasantly either. It was awful. Poison OR cat, but not both at once. I'd say poison first, if you're going that way - and it does sound like you have little choice - and then after a suitable pause, cat, but since you're getting cat first . . . hmmm, don't know what to suggest. But eating even one, or even part of one, poisoned critter will do your kitty in, and the signs, depending on the poison used, may not be obvious until it's too late.
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Re: RATS!!
Fri, April 11, 2008 - 3:05 PMI just found this suggestion for a rat repellant at www.care2.com/news/member...42335/682191
It said:
A Rat Repellant
A woman in the Army stationed in Baghdad, Iraq emailed me with information about a rat repellant that really worked in her case. She wrote:
"A small company makes a totally harmless rat repellant called Fresh Cab. I wrote to them and they sent a big case to us for free. The product comes in little sachets (like potpourri) that smell like pine boughs (I think they have other scents too). You put the sachets in problems areas and - no more rats!! They WORK!! The smell actually keeps rats away. This is the ONLY non-kill/non-trap product I could find anywhere and it DOES work. We're talking about rodents out in the middle of the desert here too - our meals are DEFINITELY easier for them to get than anything else."
www.cranecreekgardens.com
I just ordered some for myself to see if there is a humane way to end our rat problem.
I will keep everyone posted.
NORA -
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Re: RATS!!
Fri, April 11, 2008 - 3:25 PMI don't have a problem doing in rats. They are a disease carrier and overpopulate human environments. Not all species need protection. They are survivors. Keeping a rat unfriendly environment is always the best way to go. I have no problems with the sachet - Just wouldn't consider it the whole solution. -
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Re: RATS!!
Sat, April 12, 2008 - 2:22 AMI used to have a problem with rats getting done in.
Not any more. The little fuckers shat on my childhood! I had to go through my stuff in the attic, and it was like... like a pound puppy killing field! I had this giant grey pound puppy named Bowser. Bowser's head got chewed open, and then they USED THE INSIDE OF HIS HEAD AS A TOILET.
And it was like, like some weird stuffed animal version of Apocalypse Now up there, except instead of the smell of napalm, it was rat poop, and I could hear Colonel Kurtz saying "a pile... of tiny little doll arms..."
THE HORROR
THE HORROR
Long story short, I donated the peanut butter that the landlord used to bait the traps. HELL YES I DID.
I do not regret it, either. >:(
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