Rats

metoyouxxx

hi i'm living in a local authority house and over the past year and a half we have had trouble with rats in our attick. the local authority sent someone who just wants to put poison up there which didnt help the problem so now because we told them we dont want any poison up there the council said they wont help us anymore!!!!!. last night then we heard scratching under the floorboards and around the skirting board, any advice on what should we do, the children are getting very upset every night due to the terrible noises and we even had to sleep in the sitting room last night because of the noise...:(:mad:

kylith

You can get sonic vermin repellers from any good hardware shop; you just plug them in and they emit a high-pitched sound that they rats don't like. I got one after I had a mouse problem some years ago and it seemed to do the trick.

Be aware that the noise will also affect any pet rodents you might have; guinea pigs and the like.

metoyouxxx

kylith wrote: »

You can get sonic vermin repellers from any good hardware shop; you just plug them in and they emit a high-pitched sound that they rats don't like. I got one after I had a mouse problem some years ago and it seemed to do the trick.

Be aware that the noise will also affect any pet rodents you might have; guinea pigs and the like.

we got two in the attick and they are still coming in !!!???

December

The range on the ones you have might not be big enough - so getting a couple downstairs might work.

Although there are new types on the market that uses digital technology, which seems to use your electrical wires as a way to get around the whole house and emit the sound. We have one and seems to do the trick. (although be warned there seems to be some investigations going on out in the world on how theyre not effective ). I've provided some links below so you can judge for yourself .

Iirc got mine from Atlantic stores - Pest shield (jml website), Pest shield video

stvincent

why do you not want to use poison?

convert

kylith wrote: »

You can get sonic vermin repellers from any good hardware shop; you just plug them in and they emit a high-pitched sound that they rats don't like. I got one after I had a mouse problem some years ago and it seemed to do the trick.

Be aware that the noise will also affect any pet rodents you might have; guinea pigs and the like.

I've used these for mice in the past and have found that they don't work at all. The mice still came in and ran around my room, right beside the bloody sonic 'repeller'.

Is there any reason you don't want to go down the poison route - it really does work. However, you need to be careful that whoever puts down the poison doesn't use the general one. They need to use a special indoor one. Otherwise there will be a rotten stench around the house for a few weeks (if the dead rats aren't removed).

Having rats in the house is awful. And hearing them running around the house is enough to send shivers up my spine.

metoyouxxx

stvincent wrote: »

why do you not want to use poison?

don't want to use it because the last time they put it down a rat died in the sitting room wall cavity and there was a stink in the house for a couple of weeks later.

thecornflake

could you get a loan of a cat off somebody for a few days/week ?

My gf did that before and she said it worked with mice.

tricky D

metoyouxxx wrote: »

don't want to use it because the last time they put it down a rat died in the sitting room wall cavity and there was a stink in the house for a couple of weeks later.

That's one good reason and the smell can last longer than a few weeks. Another is that the poison makes them dehydrated and they can end up dead in the water tank which is a very Bad Thing.

OP you could use the traditional trap. If you do, remember that they're smart animals. Put the trap out unbaited and not sprung for a few days so they get used to it. Place against a wall at right angles, bait side by the wall. After a few days bait and set it (cheese, chocolate, peanut butter, ham, bacon etc...) and check every day or two. Use disposable latex gloves and plastic bag to remove.

Once they're gone, check the attic for ripped roof felt and other holes and repair them.

angel01

Its absolutely awful. in a place i was in before, there was an issue with rats, it really sent the shivers down me. hearing them *shudders*

I would go with poison myself, set some rat traps and see what happens.

JJ

I had a rat problem in the previous place I lived in. We tried poison but found it didn't work. It/they just came back for more. We were just feeding them.

A friend of mine gave me a solution that did work. You take a piece of bread and soak it in some thick liquid bleach. I did so and left it out for the rat and they never came back again.

Before I got the advice from a friend, I asked around on Yahoo questions about the poison to use on rats and I had a few animal lovers telling me, "Shame on you!" for thinking about doing such a thing and that I should trap the rats and release them out in the wild. First of all, I'm not spending money on a trap. Also, the backyard area where the rats were getting in was enclosed (except for a small hole where the rats were getting in) and if I did trap them, I'd have to bring a disease ridden rat through the apartment and out the door. I was not prepared to do that with my young daughter living there.

eth0_

JJ wrote: »

A friend of mine gave me a solution that did work. You take a piece of bread and soak it in some thick liquid bleach. I did so and left it out for the rat and they never came back again.

Sorry but how exactly is that any different to using traditional rat poison? The rats are still going to consume it (and I seriously a doubt an intelligent animal like a rat would eat BLEACH!), die and its body will rot in the attic and wall cavities causing a revolting stench!

OP I used the plug-in repellers before when I had a mouse/mice in my flat and found it did work. Be sure to get the electro-magnetic ones that use the pipework in your walls to amplify the noise.

Finally - we'd all like to use a human trap but it's rare that a mouse or rat will be stupid enough to be caught by one, and even if you do catch them you have to release them literally miles away or they'll find their way back to your property!

JJ

eth0_ wrote: »

Sorry but how exactly is that any different to using traditional rat poison? The rats are still going to consume it (and I seriously a doubt an intelligent animal like a rat would eat BLEACH!)

Well, the rat poison I bought down the shop didn't work but the bread soaked with bleach did. And our rat intruder did eat the bread soaked bleach and never returned.