getting rid of rats

[Terry]

We have mice. I haven't been able to get rid of them.

Here is a picture of why.

[Bob F]

LOL!

Bob

[SquiddlieDiddly]

Great picture!

Seriously though - seems like I have roof rats. We hear them scurrying around at night.

If antifreeze is so effective, AND, I have no animals that might get to it, seems like that would be best.

My problem is that if they go back into the roof/rafters, I am concerned about disease as they die up there.

I don't like the idea of traps since the doggone animals are awfully smart - had a bid for an exterminator and it was WAY too expensive.

I liked the 5 gallon bucket idea, but I wasn't clear on how to get them to go into it willingly. I don't have oats, so need another temptation for them, plus, how to rig the bucket???

Help?!?!

Bob F wrote:

[clannorm]

Catch ya some rats Put them together with water and no food They will start eating each other. The last one standing is let go He will eat all the other rats now that he knows how tasty they are This is how they got rid of the rats in the Vatican in the Middle Ages Rosco

[jtnospam]

I was most interested by your ace in the hole. Antifreeze. I would be interested if anyone has knowledge if Antifreeze would pose the same danger to house animals as poison does. (snip)

In any mammal, including humans, ethylene glycol (the major component of earlier generation antifreezes) will convert to oxalic acid in the body which crystallizes in the kidneys, causing a painful internal bleed leading to death. (A few humans have been saved from same with a kidney transplant). The sweet odor and taste of it attracts animals and even small children to consume it. It is one of the major causes of dog deaths in this country. (the newer antifreezes use propylene glycol, which is far less toxic). The Warfarin products that some rat populations are resistant to is believed to be due to the emergence of a digestive bacteria in the target rats that produces large amounts of vitamin K, which counteracts the Warfarin. I believe some newer baits have been formulated with an antibiotic that kills this bacteria so the Warfarin can do its work. I do not know the brand name, or where to get it. I have used a Benjamin .22 pump air rifle with some occasional success.-Jitney

[gfretwell]

I did not see the 5 gallon bucket idea but a roof rat can jump about 3 feet straight up so jumping out of a bucket is no big deal

[Lar]

The 5 gal bucket trick is to fill it 3/4 up with water. Place a layer of bird seed (oats) on the water..make a ramp with a board with a light trail of the bird seed up the board...rodent works itself up the ramp then drops down on to the birdseed in the bucket thinking it is solid footing.

[gfretwell]

OK cool Better make sure that is a new shiny bucket. If there is any texture on it at all they will just climb out. I am amazed at what the roof rat can climb, I also had one eat a hole in a 30 gallon rubbermaid trash can before I could get my pistol to shoot the little bastard I had the top on it because one had jumped out already. (why I know the three foot jump thing) Rattus rattus is a very common pest here is SW Florida. They eat pretty much everything people plant in their yards and a palm tree is a rat condo. Of course an attic is the Taj Mahal. Once they eat a few holes in the A/C ducts it is air conditioned up there.

[C.K.]

Get a cat or two. They did that at the LA Port. I quarantee the rats won't hang around long.

[Bob F]

My neighbor wasn't very happy when her cat brought one home to play with.

Bob

[gfretwell]

All cats do is kill everything else that is eating the food on the ground like birds, rabbits and squirrels so the only thing there to eat it is the rats and a cat can't eat as fast as a rat can f*ck. Rats can also go places a cat can't. A roof rat could live his whole life without ever touching the ground. You show me a neighborhood overrun by cats and I will show you one with a roof rat problem. If you really want to control rats natutrally you want black racers or rat snakes. They have no problem climbing trees and going into the holes where rats live, eating all the babies. They will also take on an adult if it shows up. Cats will kill them too.

[CharlieBear]

replying to Edwin Pawlowski, CharlieBear wrote: High blood pressure leads to a higher risk of a stroke, so Warfrin to prescribed to thin the blood and prevent clots forming, clots forming and breaking loose are the cause of strokes.

[Wade Garrett]

Anti-coagulants like warfarin are regularly though mistakenly called blood thinners. Blood ain't no thinner, it just clots slower.

[Micky]

Maybe if you compare the average density of blood with hard clots to blood with soft clots or almost clots, the latter might be lower in density, thus "thinner". Even though the liquid part of the blood is unchanged.

[clare]

It is a "thinner" in that it keeps the blood from getting "thicker"

[Don]

replying to Terry, Don wrote: Antifreeze kills dogs, too. It tastes sweet to them.

[Sam Hill]

Half the dogs in the country have died since Terry made his post *ten* years ago.

[Neill Massello]

They may be stiff, but they're not frozen.

[tortugato]

replying to HeyBub, tortugato wrote: IMPORTANT NOTE!: I didn't read all the comments--this may have been addressed--but NEVER use ammonia and bleach together. They have a chemical reaction that forms a poison gas, used in trench warfare in WW I. Bleach is excellent for cleaning up pathogens, bacterial, and I understand even viral. Bleach will bring back whites stained by substances, but not grease. Ammonia is semi-antibacterial, but excellent with grease and oil based cleaning. If one must use both bleach & ammonia, use the ammonia first, and let it thoroughly dry. Ammonia will completely go to a gaseous state, thus no residue. Then use the bleach, but a caution: if you clean with a heavy bleach solution, the water can dry and leave solid bleach residue. Powdered forms of bleach have been on the market. If you later use ammonia, you could have the bleach/ammonia reaction, and damage your lungs or worse.

[Jean]

Correct! Blood thinner.