Rats!

[Naio]

I am trying to help a friend with a rat problem at his S&B, where I am visiting.

I got rid of their food supply, but the rats are still living in the crawlspace under the house. He has put poison under there, but some of the rats are too smart.

The openings where they get in and out are foundation vents with missing screens. A pet or small child could get in, and eat the poison. I want to replace the screens -- but that will trap the rats under the house. They will cause more damage trying to get out.

Any ideas on how I can get the rats out, first?

I read online that ultrasonic emitters don't work and smoke bombs can start fires. I suppose I could leave them one smaller hole, too small for anything else to get through, but that is not really a satisfactory solution.

[Grit_dog]

Naio wrote:
We tried glue traps. Snap traps are not something I want where kids and pets have access. And under the house is the same rotting rat problem.

It's a difficult situation! The rats may have babies they don't want to leave behind. I can try the one way door, but I realise they might just create another entrance.

My cat complicates things by hanging around the rat entrances.

Lol
So without reading all 4 pages, there is a cat present in the middle of a rat infestation and the problem isn't solving itself?
That cat need s to go for a swim!
Get another cat, lock it in the crawl space with food and a litter box. Problem gone.
Bigger issue is the cleanup. My house, vacant for a while before we bought it was infested and remediated twice. Second fix was on me and the damage done in just a few months from when I initially looked at the house and then bought it was substantial.
Rip out all vapor barrier, replace that and half the insulation and flex heat ducts, decon the dirt to get rid of the stink etc.
Get them gone today!

[BCSnob]

The rats we have had in our house avoided snap traps (no matter what the bait); they were too wary of anything new.

I started with repointing the stacked stoned foundation. I filled every gap between the floors and plumbing, electrical wiring, etc with steel wool. If the gap was large I covered the gap with metal flashing or wire window screen (not the newer plastic stuff). Basement windows are covered on the outside with hardware cloth (1/4"x1/4" wire mesh); if I could I had it overhanging the wooden frames out to the stone foundation so they didn't have access to wood.

We then put out second generation rat poison in the basement under a milk crate. I also dropped it down inside the walls from the attic (we could hear them in the walls). We monitor the dirt floor in the basement for excavation of holes to let us know if we have new rats. Every year we get one or two new rats in the house; I'm not sure how they are getting in.

Until you wake-up hearing rat fur rubbing in the walls behind your head board at night, hearing them chewing on the framing near your bedroom window at night, or the framing of the stairs you won't know how willing you are to use poison.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Naio - check what kind of poison bait was used! There's a new type of bait they call "Second Generation" - the good news is that it's VERY efficient - the bad news is that it takes about a week to kill a rat or mouse; and if something eats the rodent during that time period (or even if it's dead) - THAT animal can die, too.

Here are the ingredients used and whether they are first or second generation (copied from Wikipedia)

First generation: warfarin, coumatetralyl
Second generation: difenacoum, brodifacoum,(6) flocoumafen and bromadiolone



I'm really fond of domestic rats - but having studied their wild cousins, as much as I don't like to kill wild things - they are incredibly destructive. I'd want them out, ASAP, before they start chewing on wiring, for example. I'd call a professional - and keep the cats away!

If they were in a "sealed" area, mothballs will usually drive out most critters, but being in the basement/crawl space of a house, gives them access to the entire house via plumbing, HVAC and wiring runs.

[rockhillmanor]

Any ideas on how I can get the rats out, first?

Rats can't be caught in glue or those snap traps. And in my experience they can consume a lot of mouse poison and not die.

The ONLY way to get rid of them is to Get a hav-a-heart/generic brand rat trap. Tractor supply has a sale on them. You get a big trap AND the small rat trap for just the price of the small one. {make sure to always buy a 2 door one}
http://www.havahart.com/store/animal-traps/rats

Place some raw fish in it and you will have them in less than one night.

Then you can just put the trap into water and drown them. Or if you feel you can't kill them take the trap and rat for a relocation ride FAR away from your home. Keep setting the trap until you get them all.

BTW: this is also the best way to get rid of squirrels/raccons that can cause damage to your RV also.

Hope the info helps.

[westend]

Naio wrote:
I like the ferret idea! Not sure the owners would take the risk, though, since poison has already been sprinkled around.

I was just thinking to myself that our problem was lack of predators (coyotes, anyone?) But did not realise ferrets hunt rats!

Correct, no one is going to risk their pet ferret when poison has been spread.

The initial problem is probably not a question of predation but an abundance of available food and shelter (nesting habitat). I have one cat that brings an animal home almost every day, sometimes two. Yesterday she brought back an adult rabbit and a grey squirrel.

[Naio]

I like the ferret idea! Not sure the owners would take the risk, though, since poison has already been sprinkled around.

I was just thinking to myself that our problem was lack of predators (coyotes, anyone?) But did not realise ferrets hunt rats!

[tenbear]

Nothing is going to work unless the area is sealed so no rats can get in, so, first, seal the area to keep the rats out. Make sure there is no food accessible to rats in the sealed area.

Once sealed, set up rat traps. I used Cheddar cheese for mice. Should work for rats too.

Dispose of the dead rats when they are caught and reset the traps.

[azrving]

We had huge rats in our factory. I brazed 3 roofing nails across the bar of the trap. 1" nail through the head is hard to shake off.

[OFDPOS]

Go around and seal up all the vents but one or two.
Sealing them up means no access cracks or holes bigger than a dime size.
New vents, steel wool.. don't just use those spray foam aerosol can stuff, they will eat right through it...

Like others have posted on the bait , BUT DON'T use Decon unless you want to go look for the smell (dead ones)
There is secondary non kill rodent bait to use so even if the cat gets ahold of the rat after its eaten the bait it won't kill the cat..

The proper bait doesn't kill like the Decon does, it does the job be dehydrating the rodent so when it does die off it usually doesn't have the smell.
Trying to say this the best PC way I can think.... lol
Like others have posted get the bait boxes, like the ones Commercial business's use. You can see them along the outside on the ground along the walls of the places (Storage Units ,Walmart etc).. Or just inside the the vent hole that you left unsealed..

Glue boards work great IF you no have no problem dealing with a live rodent stuck on one not wanting to be disposed of..
No big deal with a 1 oz mouse but upwards of a pounder rat on one still alive and that's bring a shovel or ? with you to retrieve it..
They can be cannibalism I have seen the remains on both a snap trap and glue boards where yes they eat their own .... So check on the traps/bait boxes/glueboards often..

Not sure how big the place is or where its located? But you might want to make a little drawing of the place and number/count how many of snap traps, glue boards or bait boxes you have put out !!

Some people / neighbors might not like a box, trap, GB found on their property...
Anymore in this day and time better be safe then lawsuit sorry...

Good luck with your hunting...

[DutchmenSport]

Get a bucket (a deep one), fill it with water about 1/2 full. Make sure there is an easy way to get to the top of the bucket form the ground (like a ramp). Rats will climb the ramp, fall in the bucket and can't get out, will eventually drown.

Sounds cruel, but it works. Seal up the vents.

[noteven]

.410 with #8 shot.

[coolmom42]

Shearwater wrote:
Hire a professional exterminator. Take his advice about sealing up the access points.

I agree with this.

[westend]

The basic snap traps will work. It will take a couple of weeks to get them all but will do the job. The best configuration I have found is to have two snap traps with the long base sides parallel, a few inches apart. Elevate the opposing sides so that the two traps are now in a shallow "V". When Mr Rat is able to jump back away from the closing bail on one trap, he encounters the other trap, leading to a speedy demise.

My wife and I rented a deserted farm house years ago. It was vacant except for a population of rats. The snap traps got them all. My best catch night was 19 rodents eliminated. "SNAP", there's another one gone!

[riven1950]

peanut butter mixed with oatmeal and a little vanilla makes a good bait. If I had that many rats I would worry more about the damage they could do than their smell after death. kill em, open vents and air it out. unless they are in the walls I can't see the smell being worse than the alternative. Glad it is not me. Good luck

[Shearwater]

Hire a professional exterminator. Take his advice about sealing up the access points.