In article , snipped-for-privacy@abc.gov says... :) I would like to know what the benefits to glue traps are, though. At :) this point I'm willing to do whatever works best. :) :) Safer to use, so no broken fingers or puppy snouts.....lower profile, so can be placed in areas the snap traps sometimes can't.....rats are neophobic, some times they explore the edges of the traps and decide not to go to the trigger, if they explore the edge of the glue trap, they may get a foot stuck and end up getting the body stuck trying to release the foot.....when the animal dies and the body goes cold, the parasites that may be on the rat will crawl away, with the glue trap they too are caught
In article , snipped-for-privacy@abc.gov says... :) > Robert Barr wrote: :) > Let me make a suggestion: Your rat might be wary of human smell on :) > the trap, from you handling it. :) > :) > Buy a new set of traps (cheap enough). Put on a pair of rubber :) > dishwashing gloves before opening the package. Bait & set the traps :) > wearing the gloves. :) > :) > This approach worked for me, for what was apparently a very :) > discriminating rodent. :) :) That entered my mind at one point, but I didn't think it would be that :) big of a deal. Sounds like a good idea. :) The rodents will be used to any human smell, especially if they are inside the structure. Gloves should be a must though when handling a used trap or removing a carcass the fleas will readily jump to you from the carcass and several types of bacteria will be found on the spoiled meat/blood on the trap.
Rats go where the food is. And where there are rats, there are very often dogs. Rats are copraphilic, they eat feces. They have to, they don't absorb the B vitamins well. Rats are like uninvited guests. They'll stay as long as you feed them. Their numbers will expand to accomodate the food supply. Stop feeding them, and they will resist moving. To the point of eating their young as a food source.
Rats are very suspicious of new items in their environment. Many years ago there was a long interesting article in National Geo about rats.
I'm not sure where I learned this technique but it REALLY works, my son says it's not fair.
Whenever I've had to trap rats I used a spring trap (Victor).
The key is to bait the trap (I use peanut butter) but DON"T set it.
I do this for three or four nights. After giiving the rats 3 or 4 free meals, I bait and SET the traps. By this time they are no longer wary of the traps.
The first time I used this method I caught four rats with six traps in one night......the lot of them gone!
I had the same thing happen a few months ago. Actually I had 2 rats. I live on a farm, and they are common. Outdoors and in the barn, I shoot them with my 22 using bird shot. I have never had a rat in the house till those, but mice are common. I have recently allowed one of the barn cats to come indoors from time to time, to assist with the mice. However, cats will NOT control rats. I guess the rats are too big or too tough for cats (not sure). I have considered a rat terrier dog, but I am not much of a dog lover, and then I got to keep feeding another animal.
Anyhow, your post drew my interest, because mine did the same thing, moved into the insulation around the oven. Apparently that is where they go. I put out a several of the rat snap traps, along with several mouse traps too. I caught 3 mice the first day, but not the rat. I put out rat/mouse poison. the same time I put out the traps. The poison was eaten and some scatterred on the floor around the tuna can I put it in. Whether it was the rat, or the mice, I am not sure. However, several days later, and after finding more oven insulation scatterred on the floor, I saw the ratrun under the fridge. I quickly stacked boards and boxes and my tool box around the fridge, trapping the rat under there. Then I grabbed a 5 gallon pail and opened a small spot for the rat to escape, and began to bang on and rock the fridge. The rat came out and I placed the pail over it. My plan was to slide the pail toward the door and outside, but when I got to the threshold, it almost got away. It's head popped out from under the pail. I slid the pail back off the threshold crushing the head under the pail, and I stood on the pail. It just happened that I had a piece of 2x4 standing behind the door. I grabbed the 2x4 crushed its head and proceeded to beat it to death. (leaving a disgusting bloody mess to clean up).
I was releived, because I was finding it hard to sleep knowing that thing was in my house.
I forgot to mention that the FIRST thing I did was find the hole where it entered. I had to do some serious tearing things apart to find it. It turned out there was a hole chewed next to the pipes behind my bathtub, where there is a crawl space below. I filled the hole with "Great Stuff" foam, then put some scrap tin on top, and over that, some plywood. I also placed some large blocks of rat poison in the crawl space, and went around outside and fixed some foundation holes with cement.
OK, the rat is gone, or so I think...... The next day I find another piece of oven insulation on the kitchen floor. I never really considered another rat, just thought the piece blew out from under the stove from the air register nearby. 3 or 4 days later I am on the computer when I hear a loud snap in the kitchen. I ran in there, and found the rat trap between the stove and fridge snapped shut, but see no rat. Seconds later I see movement behind the fridge, and there was the rat flipping around. Apparently the trap had broken its neck or something but the body was flipping around. I ran and grabbed my 2x4 and beat that one to death, leaving a nasty mess behind the fridge.
I have not seen any more rats, or even mice. I have not found any more entrance holes either.
As far as the oven, I noticed the same thing. When I turned it on, it smelled nasty. I am not able to afford a new stove right now, and finding used propane stoves is not easy. I just have not used the oven since, I rarely ever use the oven, and got one of those electric toaster ovens.
My plan is to keep watching for a cheap used stove, but if I dont find one by Spring, I may take mine outdoors and see if I can completely disassemble it, then clean it all with bleach, install new insulation and put it back together. I cant do that now in the cold and snow. I'm sure it can be disassembled, but could be a lot of work. Aside from the odor, I think too much insulation was removed to be safe to use the way it is now.
Whatever you do, be sure to find and close up the entrance hole, or they will keep coming in.
I hate rodents !!!
PS. My next stove (or this one if I rebuild it), will have 1/4" mesh screening placed over all openings behind and under the stove. I dont want this to happen again. I figure I can install it with sheet metal screws and wahers.
snipped-for-privacy@UNLISTED.com wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
We have a lot of those,also. It was a huge sewer rat. ewwwwww. I saw it. ugh! A possum is kinda cute. My dog catches a few possums and it's funny to watch how they really do play dead. That other thing was some super sonic rat. Marina
I had a similarly difficult time trapping a rat in my house as the OP. The city rodent control officer advised setting the spring trap (Victor type) at a right angle to the wall, with the bail springing toward the wall. The idea, I guess, is to make it harder for the rat to jump out of the way. Once I started doing that, my rat ceased having success in springing the trap without injuru . While I can't claim I have conducted randomized controlled trials, I have found that this setup improves my success with both rats and mice.
Good luck. Getting a rat can be difficult and frustrating.
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