Two of my oldest friends live in a first floor flat in a very nice area. both are disabled, one suffering from dementia.
The last thing they need is rats but apperently they have somehow got into upper cupboards in the kitchen and nibled packets of food.
It appears there are holes in the wall in several places.
The wife is one of those people who takes advice from several sources, much of which conflicting. A search on the www brought articles from people selling stuff.
My view is to fill the void with foam and plaster up behind it, leaving no trace. Others say they eat the hardened foam. Yet more talk about wire wool. They tried that and the rats appear to have seen it as no obstalce at all.
Scents recommended by some are pooh-poohed by others.
Is there anyone with experience of these things that can offer advice?
All I do know is that as rats are mostly incontinent, find out exactly where their runs are and block them off. They may find another way in, but they must be coining in for a reason so also make sure this is very well sealed away. As its in a kitchen, don't use products there, try to find where they live/breed. I'd be tempted to get in a professional myself though. Brian
Best advice if they don't know what to do is contact local council pest control. They will be experienced and have access to poisons and traps that will actually kill rats in your locality. Some rats are virtually immune to some of the poisons supposed to control them these days.
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Rats are pretty good at digging through obstacles and squeezing through tight spaces. They find steel mesh rather more difficult. Mice are even better at it and where you have one you quite likely have the other.
Waste of time. Likewise for ultrasonic rat scarers.
If there is food easily available for the taking then they will keep coming back for more once they have found it.
Local council pest control would be the most obvious choice.
You could DIY reinforced mortar repairs to all the obvious holes in the walls. I am surprised that rats can get into a high cupboard without there being a hole in the cupboard somewhere.
One immediate quick fix is to put everything food like inside a plastic container so that they cannot nibble into a packet on the shelf.
PITA I know but you have to prevent them getting access to any food or they will keep coming back and multiply exponentially. Winter isn't a bad time to use rat poison since they don't stink as much as they would in summer but you need the professional licensed stuff. The rubbish sold to domestic users most rats can actually consume without any problems! (although it is quite toxic to humans)
The balance of using poisons or rat traps in a kitchen where there is someone with a mental impairment is fraught with difficulty. Rat traps will break the fingers of an unwary setter and they are hair trigger. Poisons that work are dangerous to handle and not ideal in a food preparation setting. I expect practitioners know how to manage the risks. Pests in (commercial) kitchens are a common occurrence.
I don't think this is easily solvable as a DIY project. YMMV
Ha! I once bought a box of rat poison (the shaped briquette type) which came in a tupperware / ice cream carton type polyethylene container.
One day I found this with the lid and corner completely chewed off, and all the bait gone.
Didn't have a rat problem after this for some time. (This was in a stables where they are virtually impossible to eliminate, even with cats and terriers).
They will eventually but if it has mostly rounded edges then they will struggle to bite it. We used to have trouble with them nibbling insulation off underground cables. Certain grades of coax were a particular favourite.
By comparison a cardboard cereal box and they are inside in a few seconds (although arguably the cardboard may be more nutritious).
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