Blocking rat holes

[Doug Miller]

Now I'm LOL -- Calgary's a pretty big city. You telling me there's not ONE slum neighborhood in Calgary that has a rat problem? Yeah, riiiiiiiiight.

[Oren]

I'm not telling anyone anything. This is published by National Geographic. Their words, not mine. Are there rats in Canada? You bet and a slum is not needed, imo.

We have Kangaroo rats in the Mojave Desert....far from the city.

-- Oren

"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"

[jthread]

I guess the sarcasm went over your head. Rat humor can be hard to grasp.

Jim

[jthread]

A clean house is a good defense against most common pests. I cannot stand mice or roaches!! yuck!

Jim

[gfretwell]

That is exactly the point. He specifically said "small rat". That is usually a roof rat and they tend to live in your attic, only coming into the house to eat. You seldom even know they are there unless you happen too be up at 3 AM and you are sitting in the dark waiting for one. Just remember the cat only kills to feed his hunting instinct and that instinct tells him not to kill therm all. The rat has a lot more to lose. The cat loses a meal, the rat loses his life. I'm sure Bub will tell us about Towser and all the rats he killed but it is clear he never did much to stem the rat problem or he would have run out of rats.

[gfretwell]

If the rats are free to come and go and they find plenty to eat outside they may happily live in the attic for years without you seeing them. Once they do figure out there is food downstairs they will lay down a trail for all their buddies. Roof rats leave a dark trail anywhere they go a lot. That was what the AC guy pointed out to me when I figured out they were there ... along with the chewed up ductwork that brought the AC guy out there in the first place.

[Lar]

For interior holes only though...if it is used for exterior openings it can oxidize and leave a rust stain down the side of the wall.

Lar

[Lar]

I'd go ahead and repair the opening just in case there are others that might have access to the inside of the home. Place a secured trap in front of the plugged area just in case there are any already inside the structure. You probably can find the outside entry point that will need to be closed when you feel that the problem has been stopped.

Lar

[Dick Adams]

Rat traps and rodent poison are my favorites. But if you go that route, get your cat out of the house.

I caught one mouse about 12 years ago and none since. I attribute it to sprinkling ground Habenaro peppers in the doorways. The stuff also stops insects.

We acquire a house cat 6 years ago and she has yet to find a mouse - plus she stays away from the doorways after sprinkling.

BTW: Cats are not animals. They are family. Unlike children who want to argue with you, cats just ignore you.

Dick

[Norminn]

Cat food and the cat box will do fine. Yuck!!!!!!!!!

[TD]

"jthread" wrote in news:cxs%i.107113$ [e-mail]:

puleeezeeeee!!! They come inside to get warm, dummy.

[observer]

You must live in a slum or out in the country. In this city rats are found in the slum areas only as in most clean cities. However what no poster has yet say is if they live on a farm .

[Cheri]

I don't live in a slum, or out in the country, and we will get an occasional rat. Ivy is a big draw, and a lot of people in the city have a lot of ivy and other shrubbery to attract. We get an occasional possum or raccoon as well. A clean city has nothing to do with it. Now, if you get a rat infestation on your property or in your home, and do nothing about it, then that might be a problem of cleanliness.

Cheri

[Cheri]

Free services from the pied piper.

Cheri

[salty]

Hoo-boy!

[Tony Hwang]

Rat or mouse? Rat is very serious problem.

[observer]

Got it, mice are one thing but you'll note this thread started with some guy getting rats in his house - big difference between those two.

[Norminn]

clipped

Don't know the ability of rats, but mice can squeeze through 1/4" opening. My son trapped a bat in his house a while back. It landed on the window side of a sheer curtain, and he smacked something flat against the curtain to trap it. Thought it should be dead, smashed flat, but only injured. Got a box to take him outside and finish the job.

[Cshenk]

"observer" wrote

Wee bit overboard there. In some areas, mice are endemic. Folks learn to deal with them without removing the cat (who's mere presence reduces the number trying to get in and this one is a mouser so even better than that).

Daniel, set a few traps where the cat cant get at them, with peanut butter. Also, an odd but very useful one for the smaller levcel problem (non-breadbasket wheatlands of USA) is a plastic owl on a string so it swings in the breeze, strategically placed . Excellent interior devices you plug into the wall that emit a high pitched sound and irritate the $E@#$#@ out of mice. Careful, they have to be pitched to not also drive the cat insane .

Yes, do seal all holes you can find outside. Once you do that, interior ones arent but a cosmetic issue. You can seal them fast with just a fine mesh metal screen. They will eat through plastic ones but not metal ones.

Likely entry points? Attached garage and a door to the kitchen or other part of house with an 1/2 inch 'gap' covered by mere plastic 'bottom skirt'. Mice can move that out of the way and get through fine.

[Lar]

Hmmm...the slums of Highland Park. Over 80% of my work is in the towns of Highland Park and University Park (5 miles north of downtown Dallas)where both towns break the top 20 list for most wealthiest cities in the US. Roof rats and outdoor roaches are dealt with on a daily basis for me out there. Not so much sanitation issues, but the manicured landscapes in these 60 plus year old neighborhoods are the perfect environment for them.

Lar