Rats - keep poisoning them, keep coming back

T

Toby

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I know there are other posts about rats but we have tried all the things suggested for killing them and they keep returning. This has been going on 2-3 years now.

We live in a residential street in the city, nowhere near water, building works or any other obvious source of rats.

We've had the co co in putting down poison 3 times, I spoke to about 5 "rentokil" type companies who said all they can do is put poison down and check it regularly so we're doing that ourselves now to avoid paying them huge fees. Poison is taken every now and then but after a while we start seeing evidence of them back - holes in flowerbeds etc.

I have small kids who love to be outside all day and this is worrying me so much.

We do have a deck which I know is a haven for rats but we never leave a crumb of food outside so they must be getting food elsewhere. And surely they can live under sheds too which most people have so why do decks seem to be such a source of trouble?

I spoke to someone in the dept of health last year who wasn't much help but I was thinking of ringing and asking them to call to local houses to see if anyone is leaving out food.

Don't particularly want the hassle of a dog/cat but at this point I'd consider it.

Can anyone suggest anything else we might try to stop them making a beeline for our garden?
 
you can buy solar powered rat prevention units on ebay..they emit a noise that drives rats etc away..not sure if they are very useful but sure worth a try.you just stick them into the ground and leave them..might work
 
anthony 1 said:
you can buy solar powered rat prevention units on ebay..they emit a noise that drives rats etc away..not sure if they are very useful but sure worth a try.you just stick them into the ground and leave them..might work
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Thanks, could be worth a try but found this which would imply that it mightn't work

"Rats are wary animals, easily frightened by unfamiliar or strange noises. However, they quickly become accustomed to repeated sounds, making the use of frightening sounds, including high frequency and ultrasonic sounds, ineffective for controlling rats in home and garden situations." http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74106.html
 
Someone once told me, if you can get bedding from someone who keeps ferrets and spread it where the rats are that they will pack up and leave straight away unless there is an abundance of food
 
I would keep an eye for evidence of what routes they are travelling and leave rat traps and poison along the routes. Make sure you position the traps correctly. Everybody gets mice but rats urghhh!!!
 
You may be unfortunate & live in a 'rat run' , when i was a kid our house was smack bang in the middle of one. My poor parents spent a lot of time & money rat proofing the house , it was a very old one so it was a matter of learning as they went , blocking holes & chimneys.

I remember seeing a huge white one out the back garden one day , my parents wouldnt believe it was the size i described, until they found it dead out the back garden one day , it was the size of a rabbit , killed by our dog presumbly . My parents couldnt really afford to keep pets but we had no choice , the dog and our many cats kept them at bay , the dead bodies were proof .

If nothing else is working a dog might be the job, terriers are usually good rat catchers , although we had a german shepherd and she soon learned , Cats usually are just good for mice, but their scent might deter the rats somewhat .

Best of luck , its an awful problem to have .
 
Thanks for all the replies

Renter27 said:
You may be unfortunate & live in a 'rat run' ,
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We have lived here for over 10 years and its only become a problem in the last 2-3 although maybe we're in a newly created rat run. One exterminator company did mention that once a scent path is laid rats can keep following it no matter how many of them you poison - great!

I live in hope however that there is some reason they are coming here other than just habit and if we can identify whats attracting them we can get rid of them.

We swore we wouldn't get a dog till kids old enough to help mind it and our garden isn't really big enough to deal with the dog poo issue, but once again it may be the lesser of two evils.

Any other ideas would be very welcome
 
I think the decking may well be problem. Two neighbours here had similar problems with decking.

A couple of cats may solve this, but make sure you get cats that had have had a chance to learn how to hunt from their mother, ideally farm cats.
 
Complainer said:
A couple of cats may solve this, but make sure you get cats that had have had a chance to learn how to hunt from their mother, ideally farm cats.
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Would cats need to live indoors though? Am wary of cats around small kids. Would a cat tolerate living outdoors?
 
Sorry to hear of your dilemma. If it was my place, I would remove the decking and put down alternative.. maybe decorative concrete solution .. obviously be careful if you decide to remove it

Btw... are there any drains running under your garden that they may be coming in from?
 
A tough one all right.

A terrier might be what you need. There are loads of them in shelters that would gladly sort out your rats for a bowl of dog food and a daily walk. They wouldn't even need to come inside (unless it was really, really cold).

Seems like the cost of a dog (kennels, vaccines etc) might be cheaper in the long run than paying Rentokil.
 
Toby said:
Would cats need to live indoors though? Am wary of cats around small kids. Would a cat tolerate living outdoors?
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A cat can live outdoors, although if you don't provide some decent shelter, it will probably wander.

A dog is a much better solution. Cats are mousers more than rat killers, and cats also kill birds.
 
A cat is the way to go - for sure. We have young children and got a cat that stays outdoors. She was half-wild when we got her and we never intended for her to become a pet. We just feed her daily and she takes care of the rats. Easy as that.
 
Sorry, just a quick one but if you get a pet, whether a dog or a cat, and you choose to have it live outdoors it will then need to be fed outdoors.

Therefore you're leaving food out and would that not further attract the rats? You've been so careful I just wonder about this.

Just a thought - well open to correction!
 
addob said:
Therefore you're leaving food out and would that not further attract the rats? You've been so careful I just wonder about this.
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Should be safe enough with dogs anyway, in my (albeit limited) experience, they don't tend to leave anything behind. You could dispose of any left overs within a few minutes of putting it down.
Leo
 
I have both cats and a jack russell terrier.
The cats are lethal mousers - they keep bringing presents to the back door :)
Thank God I have not had too many rats but the terrier has taken good care of any that did appear.
 
I tried the poison route a few yrs back but no joy. Then I put down conventional rat traps that I got in woodies (bait was cooked pieces of frankfurter smeared in nutella with an extra u-nail through them on the trap) and hey presto. Caught the bugger within 48hrs.

If you can pick them off 1 by 1 you might be getting somewhere. Plus the added satisfaction of having physical evidence is great
 
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