JackTheLad

Heres a happy topic for a Friday night thread.

Anyone got any tips for killing rats?
I've known for a few months we had rats in the garage, they'd eat through the bird seed containers, and try and eat through the dogs food container. I've seen them scuttling across the rafters in the garage occasionally as well.

First attempt: Bought those sonic things you plug into the plugs that are supposed to drive them away. 2 months later, no difference

Second attempt: Bought rat traps. Came out each morning they'd eaten the bait, but the trap hadn't sprung. Despite the fact that if I even look at the trap in the wrong way it goes off.

Third Attempt: Really didn't want to do this, as we have a dog. But anyway, put down rat poison. I've now killed the cute little mouse that lived in our hedge and used to sneak some of the birdseed that the birds dropped. At least I thing its a mouse, it may be a marsupial of some type

Feel a bit bad about that one.

So short of a baseball bat or a shotgun, and ideas?

JTL

sel

Buy some metal containers for foodstuffs .... and make sure any that goes on floor is cleaned up so it doesn't attract them

Bix

Leave some vouchers on the floor to Hungry Jacks

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A few weeks ago, some of the more observant of you may recall me shouting
"a rat has just run under the fridge". It had come down the fire in the night and the cat chased it under there.

Well we trapped it in the larder cavity and heard it running around for a few nights. Traps and cats were not working.

Just before I went to work one morning as I was walking down the corridor I saw it ducking in one of the bedrooms. My wife later trapped it in our bedroom where I last saw it hiding behind her bedside table, tail hanging out.

It then banished from view for a day or two - we couldn't work out where it had gone.

A few days later, my walkin robe begun to stink mouldy and wet and a complete inspection failed to find anything.

A week later I promised to sort out and empty it again. The difference was, this time, I picked up a pair of rugby shorts lying in the corner. Inside was a dead rat.

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sel

It was after the cheese








Sorry .... couldn't help myself

JackTheLad

Thanks, I've done that, the dog food is now in a metal bin with a lockable lid, and I don't spill stuff on the floor (well that gets the ants started you see!)

No, there is nothing 'edible' in the garage, but I do find plastic things chewed to pieces every few days, its quite annoying.

Whats even worse is I've got this wee marsupial/mouse thing in the corner of the garage, I'm not even sure if its dead. I'm just praying its gone in the morning.

I rang the pest control people, but they didn't sound that convincing. They were looking for a couple of hundred bucks to lay down poison, and then a few weeks later take it away again. I asked them if they take away any dead vermin, and they said no. Well heck! I can lay down poison

Anyway, Bix's idea of Hungry Jacks vouchers wouldn't work. Rodents aren't cannibals.

JTL

boom_meringue

we were watching the filth files a couple of nights ago (yank program showing just how minging some people can be) and they said that rats ARE cannibalistic which spreads the rat poison quicker. I've used an air rifle in the past which proved quite affective but apart from that poison is definitely the way to go

Steve

cresta57

You could try purchasing a trap that works on the trapdoor principle, rat enters via a narrow tunnel comes to the baited trapdoor and ends up trapped inside. The good thing about them is you can catch up to a dozen in one go as the others keep coming to see what all the fuss is about. Bacon is one of the better baits as you can wire some in the catch area. They're made from 10mm galv weld mesh same stuff as aviaries. We used to catch loads with them when we kept chucks.
Up to you how you dispose of the live rats we used to drown them in the garden pond still in the trap.
Don't like the idea of poison as the bastards always die in an area you can't get to and the smell is worse than a pair of badges rugger shorts

Siren & Brian

OK to kill rats and mice.

1. This is the most important bit. Get a beer can from fridge, crack it open and enjoy drinking its contents

2. make another hole in bottom of can and put a stick through the 2 holes.

3. Spread some peanut butter around the outside of the middle of can.

4. PLace both ends of stick on a bucket of water with can over the middle.


Now the buggers climb out on the stick to get to the peanut butter and when they go onto the can it spins and fall straight into the water and drown as the cant climb up the bucket with there wet feet.

Now I find that you need to make a dozen or so of these traps but rarely get past stage 1

hilary6

Do you know anyone with a cat? Our neighbours had rats and 'borrowed' a friends cat, 12 hours later 2 dead rats 1 happy cat

aussie73

l had the same problem and like you the rats were smart enough to take food out of the rat trap without setting it off. The only type of rat poison that actually worked was expensive and did'nt kill end up kiiling all of them. Dogs are too big and clumsy to catch rats, what worked for be was getting two cats, they both seemed to compete with each other how many rats they could catch, when l got up in the morning there was often a big pile of dead rats outside, after a few weeks they were all gone and a have'nt seen a rat since.

Siren & Brian

Another one is to feed the rats...... cornflour mixed with cement. They get thirsty and therefore leave your house for some water, drink and well u can imagine what happens next.

hilary6

:scared: :scared:

JackTheLad

Does it matter which brand of beer? I'll try a variety of brands to see which ones work best

Oh and Hilary6, unfortunately we have a dog (see avatar), so if we 'borrowed' a neighbours cat, we couldn't guarantee to return it in one piece!

JTL

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For all the use our cat was, we might as well have given her a P45.

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