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Colour of rat droppings

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  • 15-04-2018 4:13am
    #1
    Neil3030
    Registered Users Posts: 17,015 ✭✭✭✭


    I saw a rat in my kitchen at the very end of January. It ran from under my fridge to under my oven. Exterminator came and found a hole behind the oven, leading to a crawl space. He packed the hole with steel wool and cement. As a precaution I left some rat traps around the apartment, including behind the fridge and behind the oven.

    I have not seen nor heard anything rodent related since, however while vacuuming the kitchen this evening I saw a large (twice the size of a grain of rice) dark pellet along the skirting board beside the fridge where I saw the rat back in January. I pulled the fridge out to reveal three or four more pellets. In at the very back wall. No droppings anywhere else in the apartment.

    Since I never caught anything in the traps, my hunch (hope) is that these were from the rat I saw in January, but my understanding is that rat droppings only remain dark for a couple of days, then turn grey and dusty. These droppings are dark, almost coffee bean in colour. Is it possible that they could stay dark for this long?


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    #2
    Tiercel Dave
    Registered Users Posts: 797 ✭✭✭Tiercel Dave


    How dry were they, rat droppings are very moist when first 'deposited'.....


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    #3
    Neil3030
    Registered Users Posts: 17,015 ✭✭✭✭Neil3030


    Tiercel Dave wrote: »
    How dry were they, rat droppings are very moist when first 'deposited'.....

    I'd say they were fairly dry. I didn't touch them but i threw a bleach solution on before wiping them up, and there was no smearing or diluting.


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    #4
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 76,470 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    They could have very well been "leftovers" from its last visit.


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    #5
    Del.Monte
    Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    Rule.1. is to meticulously clear away any droppings after a rodent incursion then you can be sure whether or not there are fresh ones. Would you not have seen these droppings when you were putting traps down? Droppings can stay dark brown for ages but you probably would have seen a rat again if there was one in the apartment and if you haven't then you're probably clear.

    ****



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    #6
    Ultimate Seduction
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,464 ✭✭✭Ultimate Seduction


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Rule.1. is to meticulously clear away any droppings after a rodent incursion then you can be sure whether or not there are fresh ones. Would you not have seen these droppings when you were putting traps down? Droppings can stay dark brown for ages but you probably would have seen a rat again if there was one in the apartment and if you haven't then you're probably clear.

    If not seen him, you would have definitely heard it. There very loud when moving around at night


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    #7
    fryup
    Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    hi folks,

    saw these black droppings on the insulation in my attic..mice or rat ?

    droppings1.jpg


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    #8
    harr
    Registered Users Posts: 4,478 ✭✭✭harr


    fryup wrote: »
    hi folks,

    saw these black droppings on the insulation in my attic..mice or rat ?

    droppings.jpg
    Found some droppings that size in my attic a few weeks and I taught for sure I had a rat I set a few traps ( rat traps and mouse traps) I caught 4 mice in a week and no sign of any rats and I have set poison trap and that hasn’t been touched. But going by the droppings I found I was sure we had a rat.


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    #9
    ciarang85
    Registered Users Posts: 256 ✭✭ciarang85


    Hard to tell from that photo,

    They do look quiet small, Mouse droppings look like grains of rice,

    I have seen some rat droppings recently and they were much bigger and thicker that rice


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    #10
    McMurphy
    Registered Users Posts: 13,365 ✭✭✭✭McMurphy


    harr wrote: »
    Found some droppings that size in my attic a few weeks and I taught for sure I had a rat I set a few traps ( rat traps and mouse traps) I caught 4 mice in a week and no sign of any rats and I have set poison trap and that hasn’t been touched. But going by the droppings I found I was sure we had a rat.

    Don't they say you rarely find mice and rats in the same place?


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    #11
    magicbastarder
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Arts Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 48,503 CMod ✭✭✭✭magicbastarder


    they do say it, but apparently that doesn't make it true.


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    #12
    fryup
    Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    Johnny Dogs wrote: »
    Don't they say you rarely find mice and rats in the same place?

    i thought it was the other way around...where's there's mice there's rats ..no?


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    #13
    ldy4mxonucwsq6
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,537 ✭✭✭ldy4mxonucwsq6


    fryup wrote: »
    hi folks,

    saw these black droppings on the insulation in my attic..mice or rat ?

    droppings1.jpg

    Looks like mice to me.


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    #14
    Scotty #
    Registered Users Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭Scotty #


    Neil3030 wrote: »
    I'd say they were fairly dry. I didn't touch them but i threw a bleach solution on before wiping them up, and there was no smearing or diluting.
    This might be a long shot but... I came across what I first thought was a load of rat droppings in work lately. On further, and very close inspection, they turned out to be dead Woodlouse. Dead Woodlouse kind of go a bit mouldy after a while and from a short distance can look very like rat droppings.


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    #15
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Any chance there were bats around, if the droppings are dry?


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    #16
    fryup
    Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    hadn't had bats in the attic in years....anyway they'd hardly roost this time of year?


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    #17
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    fryup wrote: »
    hadn't had bats in the attic in years....anyway they'd hardly roost this time of year?

    Not roosting at at this time but droppings will be there. I see them on my annual visit to the attic for the Christmas decorations.


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