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

Ti Rider

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I hope this helps a few out there.
 
Number 4 should in bold, the whole paragraph.
 
A hungry cat in the attic works wonders.
 
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.
 
This thread, while still very useful, was a lot cooler when I thought it was about attack rats.
 
4, 5, 6 are golden rules. Big extra large glue traps are my choice. Once caught 6 mice on 1.
 
The stupid things ate half the wires in my wave-runner. What a mess.
 
The stupid things ate half the wires in my wave-runner. What a mess.

Fire and guns should be your last resort.

Once had a big beach mouse get in the joist section between floors of a beach house I was doing and got trapped in the floor. The damn thing ate through the PEX plumbing lines and destroyed thousands of dollars worth of drywall, insulation and plumbing.

Kill them all.

Oh, and btw, most homeowner's and builder's risk policies excluded damage from "pestilence" which, of course, include rats.

Kill them.
 
Keep a ferret around, we had attic mice issues, got a ferret (no we didn't put it in the attic) and the problem was solved. We bought it as a pet for the kids, but apparently the ferret's odor stresses the rodents out and the leave. We didn't have anymore issues until the ferret died
 
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 kill them out there, so they won't stink in your house. Then, put there skeletal remains on display, the way some native tribes used to to warn other rats from entering your territory.
fify
 
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.

Did you get the huge swarms of flies in your house? I had a dead squirrel once and then the flies came.....hundreds and hundreds of them. It was the Amityville movie in real life.
 
Place traps along walls. Rodent crawl along walls.

Look under cabinets to see if there are any holes and seal them.
Put poison under the house if its raised.
 

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