Was in my rec room yesterday PM two rooms over from the kitchen and heard a grinding/scratching sound. Go into kitchen and open cabinet below sink and see a big rat tail slinking into a hole that was chewed next to the drain pipe! This thing chews while I'm standing a few feet away. Pretty bold! I went outside and under my porch and replaced some wood where he might have entered and well as filled in a few holes in the dirt. My house is a 120 yr old farmhouse where I'm sure many generations of rats have lived. The last one I had, I poisoned but then my cat got it and died so not going that route this time. ou: Put my mouse-sized Havaheart trap under the sink last nite and it was closed this AM but it's too small to catch this thing! I'm thinking large glue trap is the way to go??? Or shotgun???:blast:
We had a giant pack-rat at our other house.It lived on the shelf in our coat closet in the bathroomou: Crossman 760 with 8 pumps took him down @ 3 feet! Smelled like chicken in our burn barell:laugh:
I have heard of, but never tried, this solution. Pack the hole the rat created with course steel wool. He will try to reopen the hole by chewing the steel wool which will cut his gums to the point he bleeds to death. I don't know if this really works, but it is worth a try. Completely natural solution to an age old problem.
I've got some Brillo pads I can stck in there but I think I'll try the glue trap so I can see that I got him. But...he'll probably chew his legs off.....
Just got done fighting with Rats. Seems to happen every 5-6 years. Heres what I've learned. They have very poor vision so they crawl along walls and use them as trails. They ALWAYS have at least 2 points of entry. If you cover up 1 hole they will make another. I usually use poison because they are not in my house but in my detached garage. This last time they were eating the poison like it was candy. It took appx. 3-4 weeks for me to see the results. I put the poison down the holes and check it daily. After a while you will see that the poison is not being taken. Its then that you can cover the holes up. In addition to the tin foil and steel wool you can put broken glass in the hole then cover it up. Like I said I seem to have a influx every 5-6 years then none. This last time was the longest fight with them. In the house I think you should use glue traps. Good luck.
Heat up some bacon and set it next to the hole.Tie it to a trap with some string.Had one elude me for 2 weeks.Got it in less that ten minutes this way.It works.Everyone(thing) knows pork fat rules!
You may want to consider getting a rat trap(like the old conventional victor mouse traps but much larger) rather than the sticky traps. On multiple occasions I have seen mice only get their front or back half stuck in the glue trap and drag it to a secluded area, I can only imagine where a rat could take it.o No: I used a rat trap as described to catch a pocket gopher in the basement/utility area of an apartment building once, I put a little peanut butter on it for bait and the next day I had a dead gopher. Also, I would not give up the fight after catching one rat, it seems that they always travel in packs kinda like Corvette owners. :grin:
I have found that (we get a mouse when wheather changes) snap traps with peanut butter.. work best. Because we have a pet I never use poison. Glue traps work, but I have found they can get out of them if not stuck down really good. Lots of luck....
It seems I battle rats (BBCs) at the track as well as at home. I'm curious to see if the big glue trap will work. Might have to resort to a flip trap but either way it needs to be somewhere where the cat won't get to it...... My cat takes care of the mice for me but acts like it doesn't hear the rat.o No: :laugh: Might be possum? They don't really want to come indoors, right?
Perhaps a small Rat Terrier trained to do it's namesake job? I know one of my beagles is an excellent squirel killer. She's gotten three, all while attached to her leash as well. Actully, the reminds me on another possible non-poison idea. After I brought my dogs home, anything my dog marked instantly became off limits to most of the woodland critters. Then after I moved out, they returned. I'm not suggesting having a dog or cat water inside your house (lord knows when they're little they do it anyways), but perhaps they make a non-scented (to us) version? Do you still have cats indoors? My parents have two cats, one is worthless, the other keeps the house pretty well free of field mice during the year. I've also heard of the bacon trick working very well indeed. Doesn't dry out as much at peanut butter. A trick i've learned is microwave the bacon for a little bit, then using a needle and thread sew the bacon to the rat/mouse trap. It makes it a lot harder for them to get away with out triggering the trap.
I worked for a large seafood company and we would get rats from time to time. This always worked. Get a 5 gallon bucket, fill it half way with water. Get a small stick or piece of wood that is long enough to be just above the water line in the bucket. Smear the tip of it with peanut butter and wait. You will have a wet rat swimming in cirlces soon enough. One co-worker liked to take the bucket and put it in the -40 freezer. Ratcicles...
If you poison them they could die inside your walls and stink the place up. Big rat sized snap trap with peanut butter, works like a charm and you definatly know you got him! :TU:
I'm new to the Corvette ownership, I didn't know we were supposed travel in packs! I knew we were to act superior to everyone else... I got to find that "Owning a Corvette" book... :laugh:
