Help! RATS!!

[RWise]

First, those electronic repellents do not work more then a few hours! They are certainly a waist of time and money, do some research before you purchase these!
The rats will die where they stand when poisoned, they do not go outside to die. I use onebite II rat bars and they are very effective. But they can kill other animals that eat the dead rats.
You may be able to shoot them with 22 rat shoot, a BB would be hard to hit and kill them.
I find simply things like leaving a light on (in the basement/wherever) helps. they dont like light. Also get rid of food sources. I want to try a strobe light, but cant find one.
If they are taking your peanut butter, then mix in baking soda, but that will also smell up the place for a while,,,, the soda causes gas and they cannot pass it, so the 'splode,,,,
Rat terriers, and some training to hunt and kill rats (does not take a lot this is natural to them) goes a long way. IMHO most cats are lazy (not all cats)
Good luck!

 

[Birdinhand]

I would highly not recommend using a gun, if you get a powerful enough one to kill a rat, the bullets will ricochet and potentially come back at you... not fun at close range even if you are a good shot. go around the perimeter in your basement and seal up any ways in/out that are over a 1/2", then remove anything they can eat. order 4-8 Jaws brand traps: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015LAM29...a179-29f808afb8e0&ie=UTF8&qid=1518781776&sr=1. they are easy to set and work well. use them liberally and relentlessly. look for stretches where the rats run in the open between hiding places, usually along walls, where they are less careful and place the traps facing the wall so they trip the trigger as they scurry. I love rats, have some as pets, they are truly amazing critters but the home is no place for wild rats, they can start electrical fires as well as a myriad of other issues. eliminate the population in the home before it expands, avoid poison.

 

[Howard E]

Tulips:

It appears you have been given an abundance of advice, much of it conflicting.

But if you have the means, do try the traps suggested. Some of us are curious if they will work on your jumbo rat.....and if rat traps alone will solve your problem.

And if are able to catch live rats by any means in a garbage can, do also keep them alive long enough to feed them the PB laced with baking soda and lets see if they die.

In this, you are now the lab rat?

 

[Howard E]

Tulips:

Occurs to me I never got around to answering several of your questions:

First, here is where you can buy the "dunk the rat" trap....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Walk-The-P...562944?hash=item1ed57a0680:g:PjUAAOSwGPxaLeh9

This is the link to the video that explains it's use........except I would not put a bait on the end of this trap. I'd find a way to dangle it out and above the end......juussst out of reach. So maybe you don't have to cut that hole in the side of the can?

As for the baking soda / vinegar thing to snuff rats, mixing the two generates CO2, which is then used to put rats to sleep.....permanently. Process explained here.......numerous other options for the generator container. Simpler ways of doing it.

http://www.ratfanclub.org/euth.html

Lastly, the Internet is full of references to using baking soda to kill rats and mice. Theory is that since they can vomit or belch, the soda turns to CO2 gas, which causes them to blow up? (or otherwise perish).

This video explains the concept of the how to part.........

Urban myth or does it work? I can't say, but if it does work, then it would seem the entire rodent poison industry is based on a lie. The ARMY surely would have known to use it and it would be the ONLY approved use in food handling areas worldwide. Nobody would ever use anything else if it is safe and effective. That they don't makes the effective part suspect to me. But, again, if anyone is able to trap a bunch of live rats, you are in a perfect position to test it to find out.

 

[Howard E]

In the end, as for what works and what doesn't, I think most generally come to the same conclusion as this guy did......

(hint.....it was the green things that worked)

 

[Mizz Tulips]

Troops:
All is not Quiet on the Western Front. First, sorry to be so delayed in answering helpful messages. My work load mega-increased (tutoring kids from Taiwan and India, whose parents find "down time" during winter break unacceptable, got me to work extra hours). No shooting hoops or BBs for these kids!
So back to the Tales of Fat Boy Ratty. Like the rats in one of the videos, this dude knows to avoid wooden traps, plastic Jaws traps, Tomcat traps, and knows how to disarm the Victor's metal bars. I am still plagued by 2 (or one hallucinating and fighting his shadow) Rats, minimum ....hopefully the same sex. Judging by the online descriptions of quite noticable male private body parts, I think I snap-trapped 5 females! To catch the jumping hyperactive fat boy, I even tried a stockpile of feed-store seeds, chick feed, peanuts, and doggie biscuits. NO trap action anymore!!! He, or they, aren't falling for it. I built the bucket with a can spinning on a stiff wire and will tie on bait, with 6" water below so he can't jump out, for set up tomorrow...but if I get him, where the heck do I dump him? I know I need a garbage can, but spent this month's disposable income on the dozen big black useless Tomcat traps. At least there now is less chirping or fighting. But if surprise babies appear, I'm sunk. Problem is, I think this fat boy is big enough to sit on the edge of the bucket and stretch out to munch on the bait on the spinning can, no hands! Grrrrr. Next payday, 3/5, I'll get the Dunk the Rat plank-walk, and garbage can, to attack properly on a grand scale. Just can't do poison. Too many cats around. Wish me luck that I really did only have a limited invasion from the temporarily open basement, and it's not that that they've just learned to be more quiet when I'm home. Did a couple of you reading this just roll your eyes?

 

[Mizz Tulips]

I would highly not recommend using a gun, if you get a powerful enough one to kill a rat, the bullets will ricochet and potentially come back at you... not fun at close range even if you are a good shot. go around the perimeter in your basement and seal up any ways in/out that are over a 1/2", then remove anything they can eat. order 4-8 Jaws brand traps: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015LAM29...a179-29f808afb8e0&ie=UTF8&qid=1518781776&sr=1. they are easy to set and work well. use them liberally and relentlessly. look for stretches where the rats run in the open between hiding places, usually along walls, where they are less careful and place the traps facing the wall so they trip the trigger as they scurry. I love rats, have some as pets, they are truly amazing critters but the home is no place for wild rats, they can start electrical fires as well as a myriad of other issues. eliminate the population in the home before it expands, avoid poison.

Thanks a lot for warning me about the pistol and possible ricocheting of BBs! I returned it to the store (even though I really wanted to cap that one creepy dude that dove into my toilet when he saw me. Grrrrr).

 

[Mizz Tulips]

Tulips:

Occurs to me I never got around to answering several of your questions:

First, here is where you can buy the "dunk the rat" trap....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Walk-The-P...562944?hash=item1ed57a0680:g:PjUAAOSwGPxaLeh9

This is the link to the video that explains it's use........except I would not put a bait on the end of this trap. I'd find a way to dangle it out and above the end......juussst out of reach. So maybe you don't have to cut that hole in the side of the can?

As for the baking soda / vinegar thing to snuff rats, mixing the two generates CO2, which is then used to put rats to sleep.....permanently. Process explained here.......numerous other options for the generator container. Simpler ways of doing it.

http://www.ratfanclub.org/euth.html

Lastly, the Internet is full of references to using baking soda to kill rats and mice. Theory is that since they can vomit or belch, the soda turns to CO2 gas, which causes them to blow up? (or otherwise perish).

This video explains the concept of the how to part.........

Urban myth or does it work? I can't say, but if it does work, then it would seem the entire rodent poison industry is based on a lie. The ARMY surely would have known to use it and it would be the ONLY approved use in food handling areas worldwide. Nobody would ever use anything else if it is safe and effective. That they don't makes the effective part suspect to me. But, again, if anyone is able to trap a bunch of live rats, you are in a perfect position to test it to find out.

I just can't face a bunch of live rats running around in a trash can. I would much rather find them already water-logged and ready for burial. There are so many critters around, too, that might die from eating a poisoned rat. Ohhhh my head is spinning.

 

[Steve J]

Get rid of their food. After a dairy farm closed up the road from me I had a few rats try to move in outside. I trapped a couple in leg hold traps and a few young in live traps. The older ones are too smart to get caught. I finally got rid of them by making sure there was no dog food left outside at night and taking the chickens food in as well. After a cold bad winter never saw them again.

 

[Howard E]

At this point, it seems to be you are well informed and up to speed on your options. But as for your hope that you may only have a small captive bunch left, don't count on that. A rat that dives through your toilet may be using that to come and go and if he is, others are too.

But that also begs the question......go where? Even if he is using a septic line / sewer pipe as his personal highway, where does that pipe go? Some older homes don't have a private septic treatment system (septic tank or lagoon). Some only have a hot line to some remote ditch. If so, your rat boy could be walking up that. Or perhaps going in and out of some vent pipe or clean out riser?

In addition to all else, you need to be hunting for their harborage. Where they live. Even if not in or under your house, they are somewhere near it. When the door was left open, they came from somewhere.

So while prepping for battle, do work to find and eliminate all entry points. Clean up access to any pet food, chicken feed or anything else they may be eating, and find out where they live. Do the last bit for certain.

And lastly, I would urge you to keep an open mind on the rat baits. When properly used, they pose little risk to pets, and time and time again, after all else has been tried, they have been proven to be the only thing that really works.