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I posted this a few weeks ago and asked for everyone's advice.

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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 05:04 PM
Original message
I posted this a few weeks ago and asked for everyone's advice.
I have rats and needed tips on how to get rid of them. I received a lot of good advice. Some said to trap them and some said to poison them. I tried rat poison and that didn't work. I finally had to resort to hiring a professional pest control expert. I live in a mobile home and I looked under the trailer and saw that these critters had ripped out all my insulation. That's when I decided to declare war on them. He has set traps and so far has killed 3 of them, But there are more. I hear them every night. He checks the traps every day. This guy is a professional and promised to get me rat free for only $350.
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MiddleFingerMom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 05:09 PM
Response to Original message
1. When I lived in a mobile home, the neighborhood stray dogs had crawled underneath...
.
.
.
... and ripped off a good deal of insulation in order to warm their "den".
.
.
.
The ex-MsMiddleFingerMom and I couldn't figure out why we had to huddle
directly over the heating ducts wrapped in blankets to get warm.
.
.
.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 05:14 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. These are not neighborhood dogs. These are neighborhood rats, n/t
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csziggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 01:42 AM
Response to Reply #1
17. My dog Dan was smarter than that!
He ripped the supply tube loose that carried heat from the heat pump into the house, crawled into the tube (it was a big 18" duct) and was warm and comfy. Meanwhile, during the coldest spell seen in this area in 40 years, it was 38 F in the house and dropping. We ended up leaving the dog in the heat duct and went to a motel. When we got back the next day there was ice inside the aquarium!

For those who want to know why the dog was outside - we'd tried to get him inside, but he was afraid of hubby's cat. He was there the day that cat beat up the pit bull and knew better to enter that cat's domain.
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sibelian Donating Member (543 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 05:41 PM
Response to Original message
3. Try getting a cat or two.

They're pretty good with rats.
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graywarrior Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #3
4. Yeah, cats will do the trick in a serious way.
Rescue a few cats and make them happy chasing rats.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 06:51 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. I am not a cat lover. Dogs are my preference.
I already have 2 small dogs, a mini-pin and a Chihuahua. I am seriously thinking of getting a rat terrier.
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:04 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. My Jack Russell took them out at my place. They were bred for this, like rat terriers.
They have some problems in training but have an instinct to dig and kill mice, etc. Mine also went after snakes.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:16 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. OK, I'll also check out Jack Russells. n/t
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:24 PM
Response to Reply #11
12. Make sure you can train them. They can be aggressive but are generally great pets.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:51 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. It couldn't be more aggressive than my killer Chihuahua. n/t
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 08:48 PM
Response to Reply #13
14. And why hasn't Killer taken out the rats? LOL. Good luck. Important to take care of this.
Edited on Tue Nov-29-11 08:49 PM by freshwest
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 02:03 PM
Response to Reply #14
20. Because the rats are bigger than she is. n/t
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 04:03 PM
Response to Reply #20
25. Are you sure they aren't nutria or opossums? They won't fit in a trap...
Could be that you have some armadillos nesting under the trailer. That happened to me. The dogs didn't have a clue what to do with the one that made its home under the thing. Only learned of it when I stepped outside one day and it gave me that little armadillo lick on my heel... I nearly jumped a few feet in the air. I decided to let it stay. Like I said, my dogs took care of the mice...That and the snakes, one or the other. Mice and rats do encourage snakes. You don't want them setting up house in your environment, either.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 06:49 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. There many feral cats in my neighborhood and some
have sneaked into my garage, which is where a lot of the rats are, but I don't think they have any interest in catching them.
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graywarrior Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 06:58 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. They probably made a pact with them.
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:06 PM
Response to Reply #7
9. See Sibelian's thread... Yes, it happens...
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sibelian Donating Member (543 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 07:10 PM
Response to Reply #5
10. Feral cats are no good. You need proper domestic tabbys

Feral cats don't care about rats because they're too much trouble and want to spend their energy on killing to eat. Domesticated cats will have great fun with rats because they're already fed and have plenty of energy and will want to kill for fun!
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Major Nikon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 03:52 PM
Response to Reply #10
24. The study done on feral cats suggest they are far more active than home cats
It's just that they are active at night when critters like rats are also active so you don't see them as much.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2011/05/the-secret-lives-of-feral-cats/
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Throd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 09:01 PM
Response to Original message
15. I got rat-free for the price of eight traps and a jar of peanut butter.
I reckon I killed about 60 of 'em before they figured out they were not welcome.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Nov-29-11 09:29 PM
Response to Reply #15
16. I have a professional pest control person working on killing them. n/t
Edited on Tue Nov-29-11 09:29 PM by RebelOne
He has traps all over the place. So far, only 3 have turned up dead. And some of the traps have been sprung with no rats in them.
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freshwest Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 01:49 PM
Response to Reply #16
18. I'd reconsider ypur $350 investment. If they didn't bait the traps, that's an epic fail.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 02:02 PM
Response to Reply #18
19. Nope,plenty of bait in the traps. n/t
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Kali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 03:14 PM
Response to Original message
21. unless you are particularly squeamish that money would be better spent
Edited on Wed Nov-30-11 03:14 PM by Kali
fixing/blocking entryways

a couple traps and some peanutbutter is more of a do-it-yourself project

tie a light chain or wire to the trap and secure it to something so they can't drag it off, then bait but do NOT set for a few go-rounds. Once you know they are taking the bait THEN set the traps. It may take a while but it will work. You also need to work on eliminating whatever they are after if it is food or bedding, and block them from entry. 1/4 inch hardware cloth works quite well. Rats CAN chew through metal, but won't if there is someplace easier to go or no other reason for them to want to get in.
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 03:30 PM
Response to Reply #21
22. I have every entrance blocked off.
Edited on Wed Nov-30-11 03:32 PM by RebelOne
But I want these little bastards dead. And I don't want to have to do it on my own and deal with dead carcasses, so I would rather have a professional do it. In fact, after some traps were tripped with nothing in them, my pro giuy did set out bait traps to see where the rats were coming from. He is also doing what you were suggesting. Believe me, this guy is a real pro and is doing whatever he can to kill these little SOBs. We have already gotten 3 of them in the traps and they were very, very dead.
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Kali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 03:50 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. I understand the squick factor
Edited on Wed Nov-30-11 04:06 PM by Kali
they are smart and will learn to steal bait off set traps, but you can fake them out by feeding them unset for a while - they will get careless

good luck, those bastards can do a lot of damage fast, might have your wiring looked over when it is all done (plumbing too for that matter - esp plastic)
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RebelOne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Nov-30-11 04:35 PM
Response to Reply #23
26. That is exactly what may pest control guy is planning to do.
I have already had wiring destroyed a couple of weeks ago to the turn of $565. That is when I decided to take action against these little bastards.
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