Lessons I've learned in my epic battle with attic rats (1 Viewer)

[dajmno]

Yeah, but who is going to retrieve the glue trap with a rat stuck to it for me?

 

[JimEverett]

Attic rats are the black rats - right.

back in college i lived in a place that had the norwegian rats - the brown rats. they crawled up through the toilet. pretty gross.
the black rats don't really scare me because they are rarely aggressive. the brown rats are a different story. i hate those things.

 

[Ti Rider]

Unfortunately I must have missed some of the baits (or they were hauled off) before I knew better. Now we have whole new pungent smell in the den. I've unsuccessfully looked for it in the attic. Now besides the smell, we're getting flies. Great. The only advice I can give on this is plastic cups of pure ammonia (an old, old school trick) and another cup of coffee grounds in the rooms with the worse smell help a little. I hate rats....

 

[boutte]

1.) Never ignore rats signs in out buildings. I have a storage shed that I don't spend much time in. The previous owners stored pecans in the shed so it's always had a rodent problem. A few years ago I cleaned it thoroughly and baited it but the rats came back. Eventually the rats will spread into your house. Get them before they get in.

2.) Find and seal up their points of entry and exit. It can be anything from what looks exactly like the comic "mouse hole" in wood trim to a small hole (quarter size or so) in the eves and overhangs (rats are climbers so don't ignore anything high or low). Hardware cloth is an excellent covering and will prevent rats, squirrels, racoons, etc. from chewing through.
I don't know what hardwear cloth is but I recommend wire mesh. I've seen rats chew through cinderblock walls.
3.) Live traps don't work. Sure they sound great but all they do is provide a nice, well stocked feeding station for your disease ridden, home destroying foes.

4.) Do not use bait in your attic......the bait people will tell you "Oh no problem using it your attic, the rats consume the bait then are immediately driven outside to find a water source". Sure. The problem is not all them will make it out and the consequences are the smell of decaying flesh in your attic or walls. This was a hard lesson to learn.
The whole thing about making them thirsty is a myth. What they'll do is when they get sick they hold up in their nest where they die.And the nest is probably in your attic. Not only that but there's plenty of water in your attic around the water heater and AC unit
5.) Glue traps, big glue traps from Ace Hardware (extra sticky) baited with a small piece of cooked bacon work. Some people claim these traps are cruel and inhumane. More cruel and inhumane than poisons that liquify their organs? More cruel and inhumane than snap traps that don't instantly kill the rodent but almost always pin it down like a glue trap? Glue traps are a quick,efficient, convenient, and sanitary way to eliminate a rodent problem.
I've found lots of glue traps with hair on them from rats that have escaped. Use the snap traps. Glue boards are great for mice though.
6.) If you do go the snap trap route, leave them unsprung and baited for a few days to allow the rodent time to get used to feeding from them. Wear gloves when baiting them as well to keep the "human smell" to a minimum. When you see the trap's bait gone, rebait, and set the spring.
Good advice about the gloves but I wouldn't worry too much about pre-baiting. The best bait is peanut butter. Rats, especially roof rats (the kind you're most likely to run into in your attic) prefer fruit and nuts over meats.
7.) Place traps in areas where they can be easily checked. You don't want to have to crawl through yards of insulation to check traps. Depending on the size of your opponents you also might need to staple the traps down. Larger vermin can drag traps for quite a ways. Once set check them every few days. Don't check them too often or the rodents won't come near them.
You really don't have to pit the traps where the rats are. They'll come to the bait.
I hope this helps a few out there.

A hungry cat in the attic works wonders.

Most cats won't mess with a full grown rat.

I've used humane traps sold at Walmart. It's easy and won't hurt the animals. Just take them out in a field or woods far from anyone and release.

Just kill the filthy things. Rats carry up to 72 diseases that can be transferred to humans and they BILLIONs a year in fire damage from chewing through electrical wires.

Yeah, but who is going to retrieve the glue trap with a rat stuck to it for me?

Throw a piece of newspaper over it. the paper will stick to the glue and you can just pick it up by a corner of the paper.

Attic rats are the black rats - right.

back in college i lived in a place that had the norwegian rats - the brown rats. they crawled up through the toilet. pretty gross.
the black rats don't really scare me because they are rarely aggressive. the brown rats are a different story. i hate those things.

You can't really go by the color. If it's in the attic it's probably a roof rat. Norway rats prefer to live in boroughs but will sometimes be found in attics. Look around the base of your home for holes going under the slab.

If you have trees around your house keep them trimmed well away from the structure. Unfortunately they can easily follow wires into the house.

 

[FLEA]

Caught a mouse just the other day on a sticky tray. Vile Vermin.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

An entire family of pythons or boa constrictors will do the trick. Then after the rats are gone, get an entire family of mongooses to deal with the snakes. Or is it mongeese?