CO as ratkiller ?

Enjoying a nightime nightcap in the pleasant weather (a few days ago, in case you missed it). Sitting on the decking I fitted to give level access from back to patio.

Opposite end of decking there's a brief commotion, and *two* rats shoot out from under the decking. (Which does make me wonder wtf the neighbours cats are up to when they prowl our garden ????)

From experience, trapping is hit and miss, and I know rats tend to avoid anywhere humans have been - making trap laying less effective.

Not a massive fan of poison - quite aside from the possibility of it not working anyway, the chances of a dead rat where you can't get to it isn't appealing.

I did have a vague idea about flooding the under-decking space with carbon monoxide ... never heard of it being used this way before, but as it's outdoors, and CO is heavier than air (and so should pool under the decking) ... If I then remove one of the decking planks, I can access the entire under-run to remove any rodent corpses ?

Or am I being too cavalier about risks of CO - despite it being outdoors and below the door level to the house ?

Can you buys CO canisters ? Or would a hardcore DIY project be to make my own CO source ?

Reply to
Jethro_uk
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You may have been thinking of carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide is actually slighter less dense than air. (But not so as to make it matter all that much where you put a CO detector as it diffuses through a room.)

Reply to
Robin

Mol. wt of CO would be about 28, same as nitrogen and less than oxygen at 32. So I doubt this is true. You're probably thinking of CO2 (44).

Have you considered Sarin? It would probably work quicker.

Reply to
Roger Hayter

That's wrong on two counts. Neatly explained here:

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Atomic weight of CO is very slightly less than N2, and quite a bit less than O2.

Reply to
GB

Seems I've learned something :) So a pretty good day.

I was under the impression (should have checked) that CO sank. It was this which triggered the rodenticide idea :)

If it doesn't sink, it's not really such a good idea, obviously.

Now I know CO2 is heavier than air (it sits on the top of fermenting vats).

But as a pesticide, it seems a bit hit and miss, and if rodent reflexes are like human ones (increased CO2 leads to distress) it's not very humane.

Mind you, neither is hoping a neighbourhood cat would do the job. But at least that's "nature" ...

Snakes ?

Reply to
Jethro_uk

Cats are apparently very good at keeping rats out of sight. Just the area where a cat roams will cause a rat to steer clear. So a mate told me (at length) in the pub the other night, and google backs up to some extent.

Reply to
RJH

Decking! Man's contribution to providing homes for rats!

Mike

Reply to
Muddymike

Clearly rats can get out from under your decking, but can cats get in? If there isn?t room for cats to get in consider making room.

Tim

Reply to
Tim+

Ah, now that is an angle :)

Reply to
Jethro_uk

Out of sight, out of mind, eh :)

Reply to
Jethro_uk

Or in our case, mans contribution to wifes quality of life in a wheelchair.

Reply to
Jethro_uk

I doubt you could keep it in long enough to act on a rat. I don't thinks its going to be dangerous outside look at how much dry ice is used in effects on stage and nobody passes out. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

Yes the only chance is co2 as I said before but even that won't stay there for long. I think you need to see where the rat runs are and attempt to catch them in a trap if you don't like poison. Chances are they are somewhere close by under some junk in a corner of somebody's outbuilding.

They have also to be near their food source. Brian

Reply to
Brian Gaff

I once managed to get a mouthful of CO2 from my brewing vat.

Pleasant it ain't :(

Reply to
Jethro_uk

Yep, during the cold snap I noticed a mouse constantly running out from the neighbour's decking, nibbling the bread I'd put out for the birds and back again.

Reply to
Andy Burns

Salisbury has some poison for sale.

Reply to
PeterC

Apart from its poisonous nature, mixtures with air are explosive (content of CO from 12.5 to 74%).

Reply to
Jeff Layman

Again, hadn't thought of that ...

Reply to
Jethro_uk

It's not normally regarded as heavier than air is it?

Reply to
Chris Green

Perhaps you should have a work with that Russian chap, see if he has some spare novicheck ;-)

Reply to
John Rumm

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