Is there a way to repel rats from inside your ceiling space? I have heard that possums dislike naphthalene and camphor. Is there anything that rats dislike? I am definitely not putting rat poison in the ceiling, so the little critters die in some hard-to-reach wall cavity, and then perfume the whole house.
In article , snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com.au says... :) Is there a way to repel rats from inside your ceiling space? I have :) heard that possums dislike naphthalene and camphor. Is there anything :) that rats dislike? I am definitely not putting rat poison in the :) ceiling, so the little critters die in some hard-to-reach wall cavity, :) and then perfume the whole house. :) :)
Maybe try placing peanut butter or other bait on an un-set(SP) trap or trap(S). After a couple of days of something eating the bait set the trap(S). With the perfume of death, if it occurs, you at least know it will be gone in about 10 days... can't be said with the odors of mothball. Can linger around months and costs lots for the clean up.
If you don't find and repair the hole they are using you are wasting your time. Then trap them out. These "cat" answers are from people who don't really want to get rid of the rats. They just want an excuse fior a cat. A cat may catch a few but it won't ever get them all. Rats can go where a cat can't and they evolved to survive.
Man, I gotta get new glasses- when I first read the title for this thread, I got an instant visual flash of a bunch of rats doing a Special Forces style rope descent from the air grates and light fixtures, down to the sleeping human population below......
I would try to figure out how they get in, and then put traps with bait outside on their run. Yuck! Trim tree branches that touch or hang over roof. Close up trash containers, etc. You in warm climate? I knew for a while we had an occasional visitor that traversed the downspout next to our patio; they would "drop in" once in a while. One morning, out for coffee, I saw one scoot across the flower bed and go UP the downspout! Around these parts, they don't like to be on the ground, and their runs are usually along fences, tree branches, etc.
Are you sure its rats, Ive had Flying Squirrels running in my ceilings and walls as they go out at night, Mothballs in a sock with a string attached for later retrieval, and a large bucket of amonia in my attic made them leave, finding and sealing their holes fixed it. Gee Twice I had them in the house and caught them alive, One just sat on my fireplace 3ft away from me, they are tame and not scared of humans as they never see us, they are nocturnal and common in many areas. It could also be squirrels or chipmunks, Rats are usualy not in ceilings running around, flying squirells are. You need to find their entrance, seal it only after you evict them.
In article , snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net says... :) Rats are usualy not in ceilings :) running around, flying squirells are. You need to find their entrance, :) seal it only after you evict them. :) :) You may used to dealing with Norway rats...the attic area of a home is quite common for roof rats...it's part of their territory. If there is an opening they will get in and explore around, usually at night. Flying squirrels would be another nocturnal pest if they are located in ones area.
"Born on April 21 1963, Towser lived at Glenturret Distillery for almost 24 years and caught a total of 28,899 mice (pity the person who kept score!) plus an uncounted number of rats, rabbits and pheasants in her life. Her tally of mice earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the World Mouse-catching Champion."
Now had I been Towser's, uh, "supervisor," I would have hired a helper! But at an average of 3.5 mice/day, she had to have been making a dent.
Further, if, as you say, rats evolved to survive, it would eventually dawn on them that a monster lurks in this house and move on. The fact this thought didn't occur to the mice at Glenturret is no doubt because they were stupid Scottish mice.
I doube Towser ever made a dent in that mouse population either. As Lars said attic rats are usually "roof rats" (rattus rattus) AKA fruit rats, tree rats or "Palmetto Squirrels" to those who want a nice spin on the holes in their citrus for the snowbirds. They are very good climbers and they will manage to stay away from a cat to the point that the cat will not significantly affect the population. They could probably live their whole life without touching the ground. Rats breed up to the food supply. If you don't limit the food and the places they live you can have thousands of them in a pretty short period of time. Gestation is about 3 weeks and they can breed at 3 months old bearing a half dozen pups at a time. Do the math.
Roof rats very common here, and our condo, long ago, had a very bad infestation in attic spaces. They also had open trash containers in yard. Anyone with fruit trees will probably find signs of them, but most folks are meticulous about picking up dropped fruit. Most folks keep trees trimmed away from roofs, but some don't bother. I have found dead rats beneath palms or at bottom of downspouts a few times.
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