Dirty Harry Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 I need a bit of advice form a pest control professional. I live on a farm where we have rats kicking about most of the time. We have barns with tons of grain stored in them so rats will always be attracted to the area. We do bait to try and keep on top of them. I have a problem with them in my house at the moment. They are in the stone walls and are getting into the space between the bedroom ceiling and the floor above. They are also in the chimney. The stack has 3 chimneys in it and only 1 is used. The fireplace is blocked up in my bedroom and I can hear then running around and squeaking behind it. We have had a builder round to repoint some areas, fill cracks and rat proof some of it but they must be getting in somewhere I can't find. Other parts of the house are brick and timber and we have some wooden floors onto earth so I know it's impossible to keep them out completely. We have been using tomcat poison blocks in bait boxes and loose neosorexia gold on the farm. My questions are what is the best way to get them out of the walls and ceiling without smashing them down and is there a better poison to be using. Thanks Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisheruk Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Is there food for them in the house? I find that they do not normally come into the house unless they have found a source of food. They are probably coming in through the drainage connections. There are nearly always voids around the drain pipes as they enter the building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 I hope you get some sensible professional advice with this one. I'm not a pest controller but I would like to offer my sympthy because I know what its like. Its a hideous problem which drives you mad especially when they stop you sleeping at night with the racket they make. I bait outside continuously which keeps thing under control and I managed to find where they were getting in . I use Nerosorexa Gold and its excellent but I think they get wise to it because they reject it after a while. I've now got some stuff called Jaguar for use in the house which is highly toxic and for indoor use only. It claims to kill on first visit. I hope you get some sensible help and get it under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 burn the house down theres food on the farm, the house is warm shelter, reduce numbers around the farm first with plenty of bait checked regularly and don't allow it to run out, secure the house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 oh aye, if they go off the bait mix some choco drinking powder with it, they'll keep taking it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aga man Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 i would have thought it best to determine where they are getting in and cure that first. i personally would prefer to trap them near the house with fenn traps. poisoned rats could die in wall cavaties etc and start to stink as the de-compose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) i dunno, but it sounds like they are there in big numbers, if you block them in they will either chew a way out / eat the house structure and wiring or die and decompose anyway, reducing numbers on the farm might relieve the numbers at the house a little first, agree with traps, as many as poss, plus 45 gallon drums with viscreen taped into position for a lid and a slit 8 or 9 inches long cut through, dangle some cat food on a string above the slit, then bridge to a popular run, works a treat and catches all night long (or until the drum fills) Edited September 29, 2012 by Paul223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billywoodsman Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Plenty of bait boxes filled with roban wheat poison placed against walls and fence lines as they are using your house for warmth and cover but will have to venture out for food ,check every couple of days and wear gloves as they pick up scent from your hands and will stay away,also a light dusting of aniseed powder over the poison will work a treat,they cant resist it. If no bait is being taken from a box move it to another likely rat run. Good luck and hope you are rat free soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 The rats, and mice, that get into my house have no food source there. I'm not loosing any stores, they seem to be there for the shelter. I usually find the bodies outside. I've found where they get in now so I've solved it till the next time. Having a thatched roof doesn't make things any easier. I've found them to be most active and noisy close to where they are getting in and that's the place to look for a point of entry. If you have vermin in the house with a food source you have no choice but to lay bait in the building. Paul, what do you do with a drum full of live rats? Or shouldn't we ask? Do you have an isolated empty building and some very happy terriers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 a strong lid with an inch sized hole and a couple concrete blocks, don't think i need to say anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocksaplenty Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 We always get the odd one or two in the loft space at this time of the year, especially after a bit of rain. The only two solutions that seems to work are rat bait and ear plugs... Ear plugs so that i can't hear my missus complaining about them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 (edited) I've had experience of this,and ideally,as Aga man says,you need to kill them outside the house;the smell of decomposing rats inside the house will linger for a long time.As the weather is now growing colder,now would be the best time to bait Fenn traps for them at any access points you find(and you'll have to do a thorough search for them)and we find peanut butter works a treat. If there's such a big supply of food elsewhere on the farm it's going to take some time to take effect.Ideally ALL other sources of food need to be eradicated before they'll start using other sources of food,which is why you need to catch them as they leave the house.It will work,but it's going to take a while and a lot of time,as you'll need to check,empty and re-bait traps regularly. You can place a shallow tray with a thin layer of childs plasticine in the bottom to leave outside any suspected points of entry/exit,this will not only let you know where they're moving from,but also will let you know when they've stopped,and then you can seal the hole. Edited September 29, 2012 by Scully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
showe Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Get a few cats and just leav them to find ther own food Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robp50 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 if you need any help getting rid of some of the rats let me know as one of my permissions on a cattle farm has rats we have been shooting there for the last 3 years and usually see off at least a dozen rats per visit all done with sub 12 ft/lb air rifle and night vision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 We bait on the farm all year round. There are not that many at the moment compared to pervious years its just that they are in the house that's the problem. There are no food sources in the house they are just using it for shelter. I have bait boxes and traps outside the garden but can't risk it in the garden because the dogs will have it. I caught my GWP chewing the corner off a bait box once. As much as I try and rat proof the house part is brick and timber and they can run up the timbers. There are no foundations. We seem to get dead ones under the floors or in the walls every year round Christmas time and yes they do stink for ages. They would have taken the bait outside and come in to die. Can't do cats as the dog will kill them. Any experts out there with tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pestbry Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Any Ivy growing up the house / or creeping bushes? any outside doors with gaps larger than 10cm ? also the sewrwage drainage system coming into the house, maybe its somewhere join up tp the farm building network drains ? If a brick can be removed from chimney for trap/glueboard access, or lift a flooorboard or 2. Permenant trap boxes around the house bounary walls with Fenns set on and off / checked daily while sightings or hear rat activity in the house . NV /pcp combo around the farm buildings etc, change the A. I of the baits you are using too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 I was thinking or drilling a big hole in the blocked up fireplace and pouring some loose neosorexia in. I'm a little reluctant to rip up the carpet as its fitted and glued at the edges. They did a real good job and I don't want to mess it up. The ceiling is also the only one in the house to have been replaced. It would be a shame to cut into it to put bait up there. I've got an enclosed trap that's dog safe and I've put that up tight to the newest hole so hopefully ill get something from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pestbry Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 i would be very reluctant to use poison in my house , esp on rats Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Is that because of be smell? If so we always seem to get at least 1 a year just with baiting outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remy 700 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 p.m sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pestbry Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 You really need to find out HOW they are getting into your house, any over hanging trees bushes etc ? Rats are great climbers too. Is your house detached ? or is there farm barn terraced etc? Drains sewer systems are a main entry points Yes i wouldn't want smelling decomposing rats dieing in my house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirty Harry Posted September 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 It's detached and we have 2 large ponds near the house, a grapevine running up part of it that has been there 70+ years, poultry nearby and 2 barns. One is 3m rom the house and the one with the grain is 15-20m away. We have a pigeon loft in one of the roofs. It's all listed. All the feed is stored in the grain shed to keep it all in one place. Because the stonework is held together with lime mortar it's easy for them to scratch through. I'm going to get more bait down and go from there. It's a shame we can't gas them/fumigate the house and kill them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted September 30, 2012 Report Share Posted September 30, 2012 sounds like a nightmare! is there any one particular route from the out buildings to the house that the rats use, or is the house surrounded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 the only thing with poisoning them in the house is the smell of decomposition if one dies under the floors, my mum had it a few years back and must have been 3 months it stank for. Really you need a co ordinated approach, with modern guidelines the grain store should be as well sealed as possible and have decent bait points filled all the time to stop the problem before it turns into an infestation. I'd start trapping in the loft area and have a number of boxes with traps round the house anywhere you think they are running. Then poison in bait points further out, after harvest is the real time when they move in from the fields looking for places to live over winter. Now they are in all you can do is try and keep on top of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billywoodsman Posted October 1, 2012 Report Share Posted October 1, 2012 I have had a good number of kills with The Big Cheese rat trap boxes near and in buildings were poisoning is not acceptable,as you say they stink really bad when poisoned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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