Rats in the ceiling - repelling?

[Mad-Biker]

they are easily trainable :-)

[shawn]

wouldn't it be better to fix the problem...otherwise it will be a reoccuring event

[e-mail] wrote:

[Remi]

Poisoning the little critters is the way to go. Get a rat poison that dehydrates the rat causing death and they will leave in search of water. If one should die on your property it won't smell because it will be dehydrated. Good luck.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) Poisoning the little critters is the way to go. Get a rat poison that :) dehydrates the rat causing death and they will leave in search of water. If :) one should die on your property it won't smell because it will be :) dehydrated. Good luck. :) :) :) Except.... there isn't such a bait. Wish there was a bait to guarantee no calls about a dead smell. At least those type of calls are rare a far between.

[gfretwell]

Don't count on this advice. I had one croak in the low point of the attic and it took months to get rid of the smell. I was thinking about cutting a hole in the roof to find it.

[Remi]

Rat Attack is a non-warfarin rat poison that will dehydrate rats.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) Rat Attack is a non-warfarin rat poison that will dehydrate rats. :) :) :) "shawn" wrote in message Never heard of it..curious to what the active ingredient is. Mice are one of the few animals that can live their life without drinking water so a rodent bait to make rodents go for a drink wouldn't be an answer in many cases.

[Happybattles]

Poison is not the most effective. Rats and mice will both gather poison bait and horde it. You may think that since all the poison is gone that the problem is solved, but its not. It could be quite some time before the poison is actually eaten. Also - most poison is an anti-coagulant. This means that the rodent will "bleed-out". However, the antidote is vitamin-k... which is very high in dog food.

The most effective way is to find how the rats are getting in to the house and BLOCK THE ENTRANCES!

Do this by using hardware cloth (available at most hardware stores), copper (not steel) wool, construction adhesive, concrete anchors and medium gauge wire. A staple gun may come in handy too.

Then all you have to do is set the traps to catch what is trapped inside. Once the ones inside are caught -poof- the problem is solved. Just go back and check the "rodent exclusion" twice a year and repair it as necessary.

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) Poison is not the most effective. Rats and mice will both gather :) poison bait and horde it. You may think that since all the poison is :) gone that the problem is solved, but its not. It could be quite some :) time before the poison is actually eaten. Also - most poison is an :) anti-coagulant. This means that the rodent will "bleed-out". However, :) the antidote is vitamin-k... which is very high in dog food. :) :)

In my experience, baits are surely the most effective... to keep from rodents gathering the baits, use blocks that are secured down rather than "pellets" that can be easily moved. The vitamin K in dog foods is a different form of what is used for the rodenticides antidote...so puppy can have a shiny coat and have no fear of saving unwanted rodent pests.

[Sanpaku69]

[Lar]

In article , [e-mail] says... :) best to find the entrance(s)...if you can repair...do so, otherwise try :) some hd steel wool balls....is a snap! :) :) :) Avoid just using steel wool on the exterior openings..over time they will rust then crate a running stain on the exterior of the structure. Maybe pack the exterior openings with the SW then cover that with caulking.

[gfretwell]

I have had roof rats pick out the steel wool (SOS pads with soap) and keep using the hole. I like galvanized sheet metal or 1/16" aluminum.

[bugs]

Do you have a link to a site with a label or a MSDS sheet on it because I can't find one anywhere?

[Glenda]

[Glenda]

Kudos! You really know your stuff.

[Glenda]

Tying raw bacon works wonders in my experience. Also, anchoring the spring traps will prevent a larger specimen from dragging trap and all away.

[Uli Lachmuth]

The dehydration theory is a nice example of what happens when people who don't know try to explain something they observe:

The normal MOA of the normal anticoagulant rodenticide is that due to the suppressed coagulation internal hemorrhages don't stop, the poisoned animal bleeds profusely into guts and joints.

Fact 1 : the blood is no longer concentrated inside the blood vessels but dispersed throughout the body

Fact 2 : Blood is moisture

Fact 3 : With reference to their individual mass rodents have a HUGE body surface

What happens? Usually they dry out before bacteria can start their job to decompose them. Effect: no smell.

Cheers, Uli

[<aemeijers]

Well, I can verify that for smaller rodents, at least. My previous apartment had an outdoor storage cubby with a poorly-fit Z-strapped plywood door, so every year when it got cold, mice moved in. I dreaded the annual cleanout, because there was always 1 or 2 feet-up little corpses to suprise me, in the niches between the crates and such. (I gross out easily.) I never put out poison, so I assume hot or cold weather killed them. I could smell the piss and turds and chewed cardboard, but never noticed any decomp. (Only experienced sickly sweet smell once or twice, and you never forget it.)

aem sends...