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Rat In Mi Kitchen


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Well, I was walking through the kitchen and saw an 8 inch tail sliding under my fridge. That explains the scratching noise I heard behind the counter last night, and it likely explains why my dogs were acting funny all day, too. So, what do y'all do to get rid of rats? Mousetraps are not really viable, as one of the dogs will likely try to eat the cheese and get snapped. Likewise, poison is only good if placed where the dogs can't get to it. I suppose I could use a shotgun, but I've heard that really screws up the paint.

Thoughts?

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Traps work best but you'd need to relocate the dogs outside or in another room.

I've got some cute east-end street cats that will fix your problem schnell. How many you want? Once the rat discovered you have dogs and no cats, he's invited all his rat friends by now.

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I'm a fan of d-con rat poison. Because I have 3 dogs, I've bought the blocks that I can put behind the fridge or in the cabinets. Its worked in the past fairly quickly (days) and then I can just throw away the blocks without worrying about cleaning up residual poisons. You also get to see if they eat the poison. You just have to make sure you go into the kitchen before the dogs to make sure one of your supersized rats hasn't used the block as a soccer ball. I used for mice and they nibbled on blocks but never moved them.

http://www.d-conproducts.com/

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I'm a fan of d-con rat poison. Because I have 3 dogs, I've bought the blocks that I can put behind the fridge or in the cabinets. Its worked in the past fairly quickly (days) and then I can just throw away the blocks without worrying about cleaning up residual poisons. You also get to see if they eat the poison. You just have to make sure you go into the kitchen before the dogs to make sure one of your supersized rats hasn't used the block as a soccer ball. I used for mice and they nibbled on blocks but never moved them.

http://www.d-conproducts.com/

Where do they die? Am I likely to be dealing with the dead rat smell for awhile?

Crunch, I'd do the cat thing, but my dogs torment the neighbor cats enough already. I'm not sure I could get any sleep if they were in the house.

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Well, I was walking through the kitchen and saw an 8 inch tail sliding under my fridge. That explains the scratching noise I heard behind the counter last night, and it likely explains why my dogs were acting funny all day, too. So, what do y'all do to get rid of rats? Mousetraps are not really viable, as one of the dogs will likely try to eat the cheese and get snapped. Likewise, poison is only good if placed where the dogs can't get to it. I suppose I could use a shotgun, but I've heard that really screws up the paint.

Thoughts?

I'll let you borrow my battery-powered full-auto airsoft rifle for a while if you like. It fires plastic 6mm ammunition at a high enough velocity to leave a deep welt on a human or leave a semispherical crater in sheet rock. It'd probably cause enough of a shock and deep-enough bruising to immobilize a rat. I'll lend you the bayonet, too, for when you move in for the kill.

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I suppose I could use a shotgun, but I've heard that really screws up the paint.

If you've got a pistol, go down to your favorite gun shop and pick up some snake-shot. Like a shotgun shell for your pistol, specifically designed for critter-ridding. If you can corner him with that there won't be much, if any, collateral damage.

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I had a mouse infestation several years ago...we used a dozen glue traps to catch more than a dozen mice.

As was said above, the biggest issue is not getting rid of the mice, but keeping them out. For me, first thing was to kennel one of my dogs during the day. When loose, we couldn't keep the damn dog out of the trash. And unbeknownst to us, he was stashing food in between cushions of the couch...major draw for mice. You should check to see if you've had food nibbled on, boxes chewed through, bags eaten through.

Secondly, I found (and filled) lots of holes in my house that I didn't realize existed, gaps around pipes, at the base of cabinets, gaps under baseboards (which meant clear path to the outdoors in a pier and beam house.) Used lots of cans of spray foam insulation.

But yeah, the glue traps were best for catching the mice. The spring-loaded traps didn't always work, and with poison I was afraid of where the mice would die. The glue was fool-proof...but definitely not the most humane way of disposing of animals, if you're squeamish about that sort of thing. I did have a few twinges of guilt as I threw living, squirming animals into the trash...but then I remembered it was a frickin mouse and I'd rather it be in the trash than in my kitchen.

Best of luck Red. That was not a fun time at my house. I had hallucinations of mice scurrying through the kitchen for months afterwards.

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Secondly, I found (and filled) lots of holes in my house that I didn't realize existed, gaps around pipes, at the base of cabinets, gaps under baseboards (which meant clear path to the outdoors in a pier and beam house.) Used lots of cans of spray foam insulation.

Make sure you check your siding and roof for gaps, too. We had some mice get in a couple of years ago and I couldn't see how mice could get in through the little gaps in the siding here and there, but i filled them with foam and, sure enough, we didn't see any more.

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I haven't seen any knawed wood, nibbled food or wrappers. I had originally thought the scratching sounds came from opossum. I know better now. The only truly available food source has been the dogs' food, which I would leave for them to eat later if they didn't finish it at feeding time. I guess that practice will have to stop.

There are a few holes next to the fridge where my water and gas lines come up to my water heater. I'll check those. But, honestly, it could have gotten in through the doggie door. Since the rat ran under the fridge, and the only non-remodeled (and therefore only place with cracks or holes) place is back there, I think I'll try aggie92's poison block suggestion first. I wonder if throwing some blocks under the house might be worth it, too? There are rats all over our alley, on the roof, etc. In general, they do not bother me until they get in the house. Then, I have the nightmares of them crawling on me, stepping on them when I get out of bed, all that nasty stuff.

Oh, and I went through the rats in the attic thing about 6 years ago. Previous owner was putting vents in the fascia boards, but didn't finish, so she left several fascia boards off. One night, I saw a rat crawl in the gap. That night, I could hear it running through the attic. After I closed all of the gaps, that problem stopped.

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Where do they die? Am I likely to be dealing with the dead rat smell for awhile?

I grew up in an old house built in the early 1800's. Mice were an ongoing problem. We occasionally had squirrels inside the walls, too. The abatement products are supposed to have a component which dehydrates the rodent, forcing it to go look for water outside. It does not always work that way. In such instance, I recommend lots of stargazer lillies.

Indeed, cats are an effective tool. One of our porch cats caught one behind the garage last year. He was so proud as he trotted across the back yard, prey in mouth.

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I grew up in an old house built in the early 1800's. Mice were an ongoing problem. We occasionally had squirrels inside the walls, too. The abatement products are supposed to have a component which dehydrates the rodent, forcing it to go look for water outside. It does not always work that way. In such instance, I recommend lots of stargazer lillies.

Why stargazer lillies?

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It wouldn't be a bad idea to put some poison under the house too. Critters like to go under decks and sheds to die, I've discovered. I don't have an issue with it now because of all the outside cats, but in other places it seemed like I always had decaying rats and possums under the deck during warm weather. Especially during drought conditions. My last place in SA I built a composite deck, which is screwed together rather than nailed. Thus, a PITA to dismantle. Rather than tear it up to get the rotten critters out, I just let them be.

The smell goes away in about 3 weeks.

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Yeah, rats don't bother me at all until they are in the house. Then, I get the creeps.

Crunch, since they likely are getting in from under the house, I thought I'd throw some bait down there, as well. We're pretty much ate up with rats over here, as a neighbor used to put out bird seed for the birds. All that did was cause rat and pigeon infestation. She stopped, and the pigeons went away, but the rats have stayed. I used to get a lot of opossum, but after my lab killed 2 or 3, they decided my yard was hostile territory. I rarely see them or the raccoons anymore. Just the rats.

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Ah, college memories. I was part of a small group of people (7) who thought it was a good idea (it wasn't) to resurrect a fraternity that had been kicked off of campus for 8 or 9 years. The house was nice, built in 1920, but even before being abandoned for 8 years it was neglected for the previous 20. It took us 4 years of work to get the fire marshal to let us live there, and even then it was a hell-hole. I remember tossing the pieces of bread out that some rat had eaten through in the loaf to get to an uneaten piece to make a sandwich. Sitting there watching tv and a giant possum just strolls by, not giving a crap. Once my friend woke up and a squirrel was sitting on his chest, staring at him. Good times.

The possum was easy to catch (I strongly recommend leather work gloves), the rats not so much. They had so many holes to escape through. We tried traps, sticky traps, bb gun (they never did come while we were sitting there), but the only thing that worked was an accident. One came out of the pantry, and my friend flipped out and started doing cartoon-style stomping freak-out, and in the process of not trying to touch the rat he totally smashed its head.

So I guess my advice is to keep your shoes on until the situation is resolved.

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I got the creepies too when I had mice.

Doesn't D-Con make a bait that allows traps and kill it for you in an enclosed space so you don't have to look at that critter?

I don't blame you for not wanting to use poison and I get the creeps using the sticky stuff. Maybe if you just seal it up the place as best as you can and THEN go after those things.

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I got the creepies too when I had mice.

Doesn't D-Con make a bait that allows traps and kill it for you in an enclosed space so you don't have to look at that critter?

They do. Work like a charm, too. We caught two mice and all you could see was the tail sticking out. Not sure if they make them big enough for rats, though.

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I bought the blocks that aggie92 recommended. It isn't D-Con, but I imagine poison is poison. Once the neighbor comes over to help pull the fridge out (it is built into an enclosure), I'll set the bait and wait for the smell.

Another vote for cats. My neighbor had rats getting in through a hole somewhere. Once he got his first cat, they never came around again.

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Mousetraps are not really viable, as one of the dogs will likely try to eat the cheese and get snapped.

You could enclose the rat trap in a cardboard box, with an appropriate entryway.

If this is aesthetically unpleasing, hot-glue artificial flowers on the box.

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I've always understood that the poisoned rats go to water. It doesn't kill them right away but instead kills them later after they have vacated the premises in search of some water to quench their thirst. And I'm sure there is a "Rat-ologist" or other expert on the BB that can confirm this, but this has worked for us at our place we have in the country where the mice seemed to always find a way in. Haven't seen evidence in several years now that we use the blocks.

On another note, I'm glad the lab worked out and is such a defender of the property. Seems I recall you trying to find a home for a stray a couple years back but sounds like it has worked well.

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Both the lab and the boxer were strays, but the one I posted a few years back is the boxer. He is a good defender, too, but the lab is the killer. Such a sweet dog normally.

Apparently, neither is worth a damn at running off rats, though. :(

Not all breeds possess a genetic instinct to hunt and kill vermin. I've always had

terriers that were constantly on the lookout for anything that moved. My current rescued Jack Russell mix is terrific at catching mice, rats, cockroaches and other critters but doesn't quite know what to do with the prey when the chase ends.

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