Oh Rats!

[Seagull on the wing]

Rats in the garage....get a couple of King Cobras...that'll sort them out!

 

[soistes]

We've had rats in our loft since August - seem to be getting onto the roof somewhere in our row of terraced houses, running along the gutters and burrowing under the eaves wherever they can find a small hole - we've blocked every hole we can find but they're still getting in somewhere. Council pest control blokes have been regularly putting poisoned bait down and they've been taking it, and there's no sign of a dead rat anywhere, but they're still coming (the most recent pest controller assures me that "Brighton rats" do not have an immunity to this particular poison...). Luckily they don't seem to be doing much damage and there's no access from the loft into the rest of the house (hatch is tightly sealed).

 

[Monkey Man]

We've had rats in our loft since August - seem to be getting onto the roof somewhere in our row of terraced houses, running along the gutters and burrowing under the eaves wherever they can find a small hole - we've blocked every hole we can find but they're still getting in somewhere. Council pest control blokes have been regularly putting poisoned bait down and they've been taking it, and there's no sign of a dead rat anywhere, but they're still coming (the most recent pest controller assures me that "Brighton rats" do not have an immunity to this particular poison...). Luckily they don't seem to be doing much damage and there's no access from the loft into the rest of the house (hatch is tightly sealed).

Don't envy you. Have you got an electric socket up there? Might be worth experimenting with one of those devices that emit high-pitched sounds that rats can't stand and see if it makes a difference. I've read that some of these devices are bogus and/or no use at all but for a few quid it might be worth a go. Also spraying diluted Jeyes Fluid might be worth a try, partly to neutralise the ratty smell that will build up but also to confuse their navigation.

 

[tomfitz12]

attract them all into a hole and give them no food. eventually they will get hungry and start too eat each other, when there are only left release them. these rats now eat rats and will cure all future problems. you do however have cannibalistic rats left. it work in james bond so why not

 

[soistes]

Don't envy you. Have you got an electric socket up there? Might be worth experimenting with one of those devices that emit high-pitched sounds that rats can't stand and see if it makes a difference. I've read that some of these devices are bogus and/or no use at all but for a few quid it might be worth a go. Also spraying diluted Jeyes Fluid might be worth a try, partly to neutralise the ratty smell that will build up but also to confuse their navigation.

I did try one of those ultrasonic devices (battery-powered, a tenner on Amazon), but it's completely useless as far as I can see. The Jeyes fluid is a good idea though, so thanks for that. Having said that, there's not really much (if any) of a smell -- the only evidence of infestation is droppings, the fact that the bait keeps being taken, and some indentations in the loft insulation alongside the walls and eaves which, according to the Council bloke, mark their tracks. I've had two blokes round from the Council, and their boss, none of whom seem to be able to come up with a solution -- the first bloke that came round was, as it emerged in conversation, a Palace fan, so I confess that I was initially suspicious that he might even be encouraging the infestation, but his colleagues don't seem to be of that persuasion, and he hasn't been round again...

 

[soistes]

A visit from pest control should sort it out quickly although £150 (see post 11) seems a tad excessive but maybe that was two visits or a very, very large house.

Brighton Council charged me a £52 fee, which is a one-off charge, covering unlimited numbers of visits until they get it sorted. They've been about ten times so far, and it's still not sorted (see my other post). But if they do succeed, it seems like pretty good value, but I understand the pest control department is likely to be semi-privatised by our cost-cutting council, and if so the fees will go up to Rentokil levels, plus they are under pressure from the Green council to move towards non-lethal 'humane' methods (i.e no chemicals, poisons or killing rats) which isn't going to help.... Just hope they get my problem fixed before that happens....

 

[hart's shirt]

Mantis Shrimp or a Honeybadger.

 

[Camicus]

+1 for a terrier. My Dad has a westie and a scottie for vermin control on his farm works well

 

[Deleted User X18H]

We had mice last year. Got some poisoned pasta from Dockerills.

Never did find them . Presume they scarper to find water.

 

[Garage_Doors]

To paraphrase Jasper Carrot. "Only one way to deal with a rat, blow its bloody head off"

It was a mole

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Have the same problem at this time of year in a shed and made worse with the amount of rain. Good old spring traps(like a big mouse trap) baited with peanut butter keeps the population down but make sure the traps are secured down as the bigguns will drag it off if not killed immediately. Catches a fair few mice as well.
Vermin problem not helped by certain elderly neighbours around me putting large quantities of bread down for the birds

 

[lawros left foot]

It was a mole

Thats why I said 'to paraphrase'