a rat in the house!

I experimented with an ultra-sonic rodent device in a milking parlour some years ago (several tons of cattle feed in the loft overhead). It was interesting to watch the cows' reaction when I switched it on, those waiting at the door to enter took a step back and seemed 'puzzled'. Their desire for the feed overcame their anxiety in most cases, but I switched it off during milking because it unsettled them. It was the type that sweeps the ultrasonic range and I could just hear/sense it, presumably at the lowest frequency.

There was no significant decrease in the rodent population during the few months I tried it. Poison seems the only reliable control and we use the local authority pest control service, paid for as we are a business but worth every penny. Some authorities still provide a free service for private houses so might be worth asking.

Tried the ultrasonic devices in the past-useless. Only thing that worked albeit it was outside was poison in the black boxes strategically placed on any " runs ".

Dave

I still vote cat...

Mathias Wandel has a solution to a mouse problem, could be scaled up for a larger rodent.

Had bother with mice a few years ago. The cat didn't seem interested. Humane traps caught the little b*****s, I freed them 100ft from the house but they came back, the wife was convinced they were the same ones! Tried "the Little nipper" (other brands available). The trap "fired", the bait disappeared but no mouse. Reluctantly tried poison, end of problem. I have never found a body or detected a smell.

John

I've had generations of mice living in my outside workshop for many years - despite the ultrasonic thingy in the roof that's supposed to keep them away... Every now and then I discover the latest victim of old age on the floor somewhere and he/she gets a decent burial in the back garden. I'm kind of resigned to them now - keep things covered anyway but do get bursts of white spots on things from time to time....

Also had mice in the house a few years back and couldn't figure out how they were getting in - then discovered (at ground level) where the builder had failed to fill in one of the scaffolding 'slots' at ground level - and once into the cavity they could get into the service areas... Cemented in the slot (which was very narrow < 1/2" ) and problem went away..

Neil's solution seems effective but I'm not sure Herself would like that mess on her carpet!

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 25/09/2017 18:34:19

Thank you all so much for the posts both useful and amusing........it really helped becasue we have had a knackering day fighting this problem and have at least another day tomorrow when we will have to move a bloody great victorian piano which is herselfs pride and joy, to get at a family of black rats.......they don't seem at all bothered or inclined to move!

That was caused by me treading on it in the dark with bare feet

These dogs seem pretty efficient **LINK**

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pubeQQZxExk

Mike

I found that Rolo's cut in half and skewered on the pin were very good on mouse traps, the little beggars have to give it a good pull to get it off. As for rats, find out where they are getting in and plug the holes, they can get through very small holes indeed, then poison, or a terrier. If they are under your floorboards it can get a bit risky and expensive as they eat the insulation off mains wiring

An old remedy for mice & rats is slices of lemon . Apparently they don't like the smell and will keep clear of the odour.

Keeps out mice, rats, raccoons, doves, salesmen, burglars, unpleasant inlaws, etc.

This creature is a fine investment to tend to your pest abatement needs- if having a 10 stone American Bulldog/Pitbull hybrid is your fancy.

Really calm, really sweet, really dumb. Eats a lot.

Edited By Dean da Silva on 26/09/2017 01:39:59

We found traces of rats after the old Airy houses were pulled down at the end of our street.
Poison bait killed a few but generally just moved the problem on.
Then we got Milo, the Patterdale terrier, he likes a good rat and is small enough to get under the shed
Haven't seen a single one since.

Regarding Rats and wiring, I got called out to a Farm and shown bare wires running along a beam. The rats had eaten all the insulation off the wires and were crapping red, blue, yellow and green. This was 3 phase wiring for farm machinery.

I replaced it all with armoured cabling and was quite surprised later to see that the Rats had stripped the black sheathing leaving the armoured wire bare. Surmised that they were attracted by the frequency of the mains to it.

Rat night was on a Friday and we usually culled between 50 - 75 in a session. Mostly using .22 shot shell.

The chicken farm nearby was just as bad. They even ate through the concrete bases of the machine shed.

The Piggery was also infested and the brood sows would eat any rat shot in the sty.

Clive

During WW2 on one of the Radar stations Dad was on(Barra I think), they had a rat problem, the rats came in one end of their Nissan hut, and out the other, snacking on the way. All openings were then filled with concrete, the rats soon moved that, the holes were refilled with glass mixed in the concrete, same thing happened. The cure was move the hut, and the rats didn't annoy them any more, they just kept to the path they had used for centuries.

Ian S C

Many years ago we returned home from our annual family holiday at East Runton and as usual I had to crouch down in the pantry and feed the electric meter with two bob bits to get the lights to come on. I could not help noticing that a solitary spud was in the otherwise empty plastic laundry basket on the floor underneath a wall mounted ceramic air brick. The tater had fresh gouge marks on it – just like those a rat would make. Then I noticed a rat sized hole in the air brick and another (exit?) hole in the side of the laundry basket.

I never did find that intruder. To stop it happening again I nailed a square biscuit tin lid over the air brick.

Moving on three years I learnt plumbing from a friend and installed solid fuel central heating. After months of hard labour I was ready to fire up the boiler for the first time. All went well until 30 minutes later when the fire slowly died. I have to admit that the penny did not drop for at least two days. B****y rats!!!!

Rik (Mind the gap!!)

Edited By Rik Shaw on 26/09/2017 10:14:54

Buy a shotgun mate! A good dose of buckshot solves most rat problems if you don't mind the noise and a few bits flying about . Very satisfying !

Rats took a fancy to the wiring in the machine shop in my last job and stripped the wires clean ! Result,an Almighty bang one morning and the whole place stopped . Took them weeks to replace the lot with different cable.Cables seem to attract them for some reason,although I dont have rat problems [I have two hunting dogs ] but I do have mice in my workshop and can,t get rid of them. The dogs seem to think mice are beneath them. So traps.

One of our three cats (the female) is a prolific hunter, usually get two or three small furry creatures a week, but on a good day she will bring home 3 or 4. Will quite often bring the things into the house and let them go at which point we will have two cats chasing them round the house. She also catches rabbits, brings them in through the cat flap and lets them go in the house or workshop. Other times she just eats them and leaves an ear or bit of a tail. She has even caught and eaten squirrels. Regularly also I'm afraid reduces the local bird population.

I remember an old cat of mine who used to catch rabbits climbing a 6 ft wooden fence to get on the garage roof with a fully grown rabbit in her mouth. It was an amazing site, the weight of the rabbit kept her head almost bent to her hind legs but she still made it onto the roof. Another time she manage to get one through a downstairs transom window and started to eat it in the middle of my parents bed, whilst they were asleep in the bed.

Last year we tried to take a mouse of our two year old male cat, we gave up in the end after we both had our hands lacerated by very sharp claws. He did not want to let go.

Regardless of the reduction in the local animal populace I would not be without the cats.

Colin

When I was young, our old house cat Smudge, used to catch rats, mice, snakes and rabbits, and eat them under my parents bed! This involved climbing up the old pear tree growing up the end of the house, jumping four foot to the landing window sill, then climbing in and then under the bed. Many times mum & dad would be woken by the sound of crunching bones!