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Had something about a month ago, then one day I discovered one or two dead 'things' in a piece of downpipe I had stored in my garage. Then nothing, but now they are back.
I can hear scampering in the loft and floorboards. The steps seem light, but any nawing sounds loud?
No food had been touched until today. I found an apple that looks like it's been shaved.
I've only set one trap in two places with peanut butter, gone off both times, but no mice/rat.
I've only seen a couple of droppings in the loft, about 10/12mm long by 2/3mm wide...rat or mouse?
Coincidently a piece of mortar fell out of the eaves at the time the noises started first time.
All STW trappers wisdom appreciated.
is the poo wet or bone dry/turning to dust when you pinch it?
If the latter then it will be bat poo. If moist then a rodent's.
I've only set one trap in two places with peanut butter, gone off both times, but no mice/rat.
Youre not setting it right.
put the peanut butter on a little square of bread that's jammed on the bait pin.
Place the trap along a wall run/choke point in a run to encourage the varmint to commit to the trap.
[url= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3793/9303815771_be2c694460.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/90886684@N03/9303815771/ ]image[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/90886684@N03/ ]piemonster[/url], on Flickr
I've only set one trap in two places with peanut butter, gone off both times, but no mice/rat.
You're going to need more than one I'm afraid
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I would use poison rather than traps also the electronic repellents are sometimes effective.
Get some Neosorexa Poison. It is a small blue pellet that they just can't resist. They will die "quite painlessly in their sleep" (HA!) and dry out so no decomposing smells. Traps are fine but unfortunately wont solve the problem. The poison is good for both rat and mouse.
Before anyone starts with "poor little ratty or mousie get humaine traps and set them free in the park you cruel man you!!!!",
Sorry to say, they will return and bring their park family with them to cause you thousands of pounds worth of damage to your house not to mention sleepless nights with their chewing and scratching. Honestly they will be gone in a few days with poison!
who you gonna call,
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have you got any 'home emergency' cover on your home insurance? they will usually cover for vermin infestation. If not then get a new policy with it on and then claim. If it were me I'd bring in some experts as soon as you can, you don't want them breeding and it continuing.
Everything I've read about poison warns of the potential stench of dead vermin. Mice okay, but rats...pong.
Humane? not a chance.
House insurance is a good call.
A variation on this should be the best of both worlds
I've only seen a couple of droppings in the loft, about 10/12mm long by 2/3mm wide...rat or mouse?
Rat I'm afraid.
We use [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rat+glue+board&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=14381018276&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=748196&hvnetw=g&hvrand=211307380375154596&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_328zltlhsk_b ]these[/url] at work and while they arn't exactly geared towards a quick death they are very effective. The rats get stuck to them and you have to kill the rat with a blunt object.
Mr Ache, can you reassure us that poor innocent ratty won't chew all four legs off?
What's it going to do then, make a roll for it?
Going to get some mofo rat traps from the local country store.
I have know them to chew off their legs but they then just collapse onto the board and wait to die. Like I said its not a quick death. Some people have a problem with it being inhumane and having to do the actual killing themselves and thats fair enough. For me when my job depends on if I can bear to kill rodents or try more fluffy approaches that increase the risk of one being delivered into a customer then I'm going to use the fastest most effective way to get rid of them that I can. I would also have this mindset if I had them in my home.
Council will probably deal with it for a fee. I paid about £25 a few years back. They used poison. Lots of it. Several visits until they were sure the critters were gone.
This was after I tried traps, and in one instance, catching one under the loft insulation and thinking "now what?"
Honest, I don't have a problem: Weil's disease, black death, constant urination: nasty little bright-eyed germ warfare opportunists.
Check with your local authority. Some won't charge if it's a rat problem.
Is it not even worth [i]trying[/i] catch and release [a way away fo' sho']?
Srsly - it's not their fault you don't want to let them live in that nice secure and food-filled house of yours?
Weil's disease, black death, constant urination: nasty little bright-eyed germ warfare opportunists.
Out of those, I somehow think that Y.Pestis is rather unlikely.
Wrong species of Rattus, anyway.
I knew they'd wriggle out of some of it. Evil scaley tails, too.
Should see the rat traps we have here, bloody scary things, I hate setting them as at any moment I think they're going to go off. And take my hand with them. They're humane traps as anything that gets caught in them is dead. Very dead very quickly. We've tried poison, baited traps and plain old jaws of death metal ones. Most effective?
The dogs...
The dogs..
Toby passed away last month, but we did have a Jack Russell once, the dog from hell. Remember him? the one one that ate the neighbors Cockatoo, he'd have been in heaven.