Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 3.55am this morning I was woke up with the sound of scratching in the roof from one or two rats. The noise was like a cat running over the plaster board in between the joices. Its not mice they are rats as I had problems in my last house. Has anyone and good tips on how to track how the bast@rds are getting in and on a method to kill the ******* without poison as they stick a house out. Shooting them is out of the question as I don't know where they are coming or going to my house yet. Please help. Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Let a ferret go up in the attic, he'll soon get the bas##rds. If that fails set some traps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 The problem is if the ferret gets it, kills it, it/they will rot in the house and they stink to high heaven when decomposing. Tips on how to find where they are coming from or do they take the same route/path to get in. If its all done underground from a sewer pipe how **** am I to stop them. Those who go rattin are bound to have some tips on how to catch them or those on farms. If anyone ever needed help on PW its me now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Jonny we had problems with them in our garden, a fella from the council came and sorted them out, he set live traps and caught them all, its all free so you should contact them. Got this of there web site. Pest Control If you have problems with pests such as rats, mice or wasps, Environmental Health Officers can offer free advice and can visit your home to: Identify the pest infesting your property and give you an indication of the extent of the problem Tell you which treatment is best suited to the pest and the area in which it has been found Advise you of cleaning practices and improvements to help avoid attracting pests to your property Give advice on employing a pest control contractor if you cannot carry out the treatment yourself. Contact Ashley Buchanan in the Environmental Health section on 028 9182 4052 for further information and advice. E: ashley.buchanan@ards-council.gov.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Cheers Dazza, I have called him but he is out on call at the mo but left a message for him to get back to me. The first thing he will say is to get rid of the grain for the fight pond which is in my garage. :*) There is no way they can get in through there though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 good luck jonny I hope you get them bas##rds sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Angus Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Jonny, Try setting a few traps about the roof space and check on them daily. That way if you do catch any they won't stink. Good hunting Ba. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 The guy is coming round today at 4.30 to inspect my property and let me know if there are any potential areas that look suspicious. I don't think he will tell me anything I don't know already but I pay my rates and the service is free. B.A. traps are going to get set everywhere inside and out. The noise those bast@rds make at night is ****** unreal. I will let ya know what he says later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Are you sure they are rats ? It sounds more like squirrels, or possibly birds to me. Assuming they are rats, contacting the Local Council is your best bet, but I suspect they will suggest setting traps. The only way to avoid decaying corpses, is for you to be able to remove the corpses.............traps do that. If they are in your roof space, they either came from your neighbour (if you are attatched), or up the drain pipes. If you go into your loft space with no lights on, you should be able to see if any light is getting in, then you can block it. If the grain is in your garage, why would the rats be in the house roof space ? Can we open the odds on them being birds, or squirrels ? :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Cranfield I will elaborate on a few points you mentioned. I have had rats in my previous home and the noise isis distinct although birds do sound similar but they are not usually active at 4.00am. My house is a split level house which means from the front it looks like a bungalow and from the back it looks like a house. The bedrooms are all downstairs so my bedroom is under my living room. The sound of rats is coming from between the bedroom and living room so the rats are not in the roof space (when I hear them) but still could have got in from there and down the cavity wall. Squirrels are not in the running as I have never seen a squirrel in my home town in my life or the surrounding countryside. (have saw a few in estates). I have already got plastic covers on the downspouts out the front of the house but none out the back as i thought the distance was too great for them to climb (30+ feet of spout to climb). Garage is attached to the house but has no side door into it. All the pipes come in from there and I will have to check to see if there is any openings where the pipes go through. I dont think there is any holes but i will check tonight. Closing off the bottom of all downspouts and checking for possible holes in air vents and setting traps outside and in will be the first port of call and I hope this sorts it but they are clever wee bast@rds as i found out while trying to trap them before, they ignored the traps completely. A good bait for traps would be a help if someone knows what they find irresistable. Finding where they get in is the main issue. Putting down poison is out of the question as im not ripping up my new solid oak floor to get one of the bast@rds out. Local council is coming round today but they will only advise what to do they don't do anything themselves anymore (they don't even bait the sewers anymore). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 jonny, I assumed you had a "normal" house, now I understand better. Rats would climb 30ft if they really wanted to, but I would guess they have found a ground level access somewhere. Along pipes between your garage and house seem likely. Its amazing what a small area they can squeeze through. I have only ever bought rat bait from a hardware shop and that was a long time ago. Its like a cake and you cut slices off and put in the trap. I have heard of people using fishy/smelly cat food and that seems to work as well. If you don't hear them in the daytime, that suggests they come and go at night. Blocking up every access opportunity in the daytime, mans that hopefully, you won't be shutting them in. Best of luck. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teal Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Live cage traps used to work well for me (they also catch squirrels) as for bait, almost anything plausible. Bacon rind / bacon is a good one though, although with the rats being near hens chicken food in the trap worked also. The traps are expensive but you'd probably only need the one. Never tried the neckbreaker traps on rats but I'd imagine they also work (you see them sold everywhere). From memory with the live catch ones it's best to put the food a bit beyond the plate which levers the trap door. Good luck mate and let us know how you get on. If possible it'd be great if you could get some pictures of your success just because i hate rats so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon master Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Hello, For baiting rat traps use chocolate, they love the stuff. just slowly twist the chunks onto the spike and hey presto a rat in the trap every day untill non are left. If you do have rats then you will soon have them cleared out with chunks of galaxy or dairy milk. Happy rat trapping. The PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jordan Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 chocolate is great bait you can use the cheap stuff instead of wasting the good :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurcherboy Posted November 2, 2004 Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Jonny, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE get the picture mate. If you were to down some more buckfast you wound not hear them! LB :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2004 Good luck mate and let us know how you get on. If possible it'd be great if you could get some pictures of your success just because i hate rats so much. oh I will trust me and they will be before and after pics as i detest the wee bast@rds. New camera arrived yesterday. Cannot and have not took the time to work out how to reduce the size of the pic to post on PW as i havn't a clue about digital cameras. Watch out when I do as you will see some amount shooting pics :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 The guy from the council came round and pointed out some potential areas where they could get into the house (sand and cement will be required). When we went into the garage I showed him the grain and he said "is that grain for a flight pond" turns out he used to be a wildfowler and has given talks to wildfowling clubs before on pest control. He also saw my dog and wants me to get him some contacts for a new pup as he has been looking for a while with no joy. Small world but at least he is on my side and not the other. Incidently the mice have been having a party in my garage with the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermin Dropper Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Hi Jonny, It sounds like you need a decent storage container for your grain mate, when you block up the holes use half sharp sand/ half building sand in your mortar mix, this gives it more strength than just building sand alone, I would also put a board over it until it has fully "gone off" to stop the little ******* digging through it. Why not get a trap anyway and set it near the entrance holes as they will probably be back looking for another way in to their new cosy night time playground. :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Mike Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 If your not sure its rats put a stick of kitkat down on the floor If its still there after a couple of days its more likely to be birds. Fm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 If your not sure its rats put a stick of kitkat down on the floor If its still there after a couple of days its more likely to be birds. Fm FM im sure its rats. they are not in the roofspace they are running around between the floorboards in the wee hours of the morning. VD, I am getting my mates to get bins to hold the grain today and have sourced a couple myself, there is about 1/2 ton of the stuff in the garage at the mo. I have a cage trap and a spring rat trap and will try some chocolate in them tonight to see what happens (outside). I will set some mousetraps to catch the ones in the garage after the grain is removed (hopefully tonight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezer Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Jonny it might be a good idea to determine what is up there. Why not get into your roofspace and sprinkle a little flour around? That way you can see what tracks are left and which way they go. Then set a multicatch live trap if it is rats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermin Dropper Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 FM im sure its rats. they are not in the roofspace they are running around between the floorboards in the wee hours of the morning. beez, L@@K ^^^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonnyni Posted November 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 Ok lads we have found the problem me thinks see the pic section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermin Dropper Posted November 3, 2004 Report Share Posted November 3, 2004 jonny, now you know where they are getting in, is there any chance of a stake out, Try bashing a tin of dog food with a hammer to split it a few times and use this as bait, that way they can't drag it away and sit with it feeding for a clear shot :thumbs: it would make some nice photos, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wabbitbosher Posted November 4, 2004 Report Share Posted November 4, 2004 just a quicky , if the long tails are getting in your loft you can normally stop the beggers by fitting a square section down pipe to your gutter they cant climb up the inside of square pipe hope this helps a bit (if somebody hasnt already said sommat) WB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.