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KAMPURR · 09-06-2020, 11:38 AM

I need to find a way to encourage my current residents (rats) to leave. I feel that I have adequate prevention in place to discourage future wannabes but I need to find a way to remove current crop to go without them dying inside (stink).

hattitude · 09-06-2020, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KAMPURR

I need to find a way to encourage my current residents (rats) to leave. I feel that I have adequate prevention in place to discourage future wannabes but I need to find a way to remove current crop to go without them dying inside (stink).

You'll need to place a trap, make sure it's anchored in place so they can't wander off with it if it doesn't prove to be instantly fatal, and check it/them regularly...

For my cars parked in my driveway, I have used Victor electric traps with fair to good success...

They sometimes get robbed of their bait without a kill, but many conditions can affect their performance....

Overall, I kill at least one rat/mouse a month at each trap. Since placing them under my cars, and checking them regularly, I have not had a rat/mouse build a nest in the engine bay of either of my cars...

arcaguy · 09-06-2020, 12:17 PM

Whatever kind of trap you use mix some thread or a cotton ball with some peanut butter for bait. I had one of those wily critters stealing the bait from my spring style Victor trap until I put the cotton ball infused with peanut butter on the trip lever. Got that sucker. Just make sure that the thread or cotton ball is hooked to the little barb on the trip lever. Happy hunting. Oh yea, you could also get a ferret I hear they consider rats a tasty treat.

johninsd · 09-06-2020, 12:21 PM

Traps are the only reliable way it seems. All the strobe lights, ultrasonic noisemakers, peppermint oil etc. don't work for more than a few days until they get used to them. After a packrat infestation a few months ago I set some traps and got in the habit of parking with the hood open at home so they won't have that cozy little cave to nest in. I also go for a drive at least twice a month and inspect the area daily. I had the city vector control guy come out and he gave me a trap and did an inspection of the yard, said I had a pretty normal packrat population for the area (San Diego and my house is on the edge of a canyon (would be a gully in other parts of the country, point is it's an unusable area due to the slope)). I did order a barn owl nest box, barn owls are native to this area and are voracious rodent predators so I'm hoping one will take up residence and provide pest control for the neighborhood. I'll put the box up as soon as the weather cools (over 100 here today) and I figure out how to install a camera. BTW I am using an electric trap baited with dry dog food and it works well. Some people will say that the trap needs to be cleaned between kills but the vector control agent told me that it's not necessary, that the scent of dead rat smells like fresh meat to other rats. They are cannibalistic and will be attracted by the smell, not repelled by it. So far so good, the population seems to be dropping as evidenced by the reduced number of chewed seed pods in the yard.

astrnmrtom · 09-06-2020, 12:46 PM

There's no way to drive them out because there is no such thing as an effective repellent. The person who discovers or invents one, will become one very wealthy person. Trapping is the only way - IF, you've blocked up the entry points. Rodents leave urine scent trails, plus their body oils so if you haven't blocked the entry points there is an invisible dotted line for their fellow friends to follow. Rats are wary of new things in their environment, and may avoid baited traps for a while so you'll have to be patient. 2X on the electronic Rat Zappers. They come with a small bag of dog kibble, but any dry pet food will work. The only negative thing about them is they need to be checked regularly because you don't want a dead rat rotting inside because it corrodes the contact plates. If you go the snap trap route, you'll want to anchor them down with a small bit of light weight utility chain. I had one case at work where I failed to anchor a sticky board and the rat struggled to free itself tearing flesh loose and dragging the trap across the floor. It finally got loose but the floor looked like a bloody murder scene out of movie. If you can't regularly check snap traps, place them on a piece of plywood (cardboard for mouse traps) so if you do end up with a rotting corpse, the stinky "goo" won't leak out and soak into the flooring. Place snap traps at right angles to the wall with the snapping end against the wall. Place electronic Zappers against the wall parallel to the wall.

Ivylog · 09-06-2020, 01:57 PM

Last month our daughter discovered a uninvited friend in her DP. Borrowed our 7 lb cat which only caught 4 mice the first night and none the second. She was well loved.

Crasher · 09-06-2020, 01:57 PM

After you get rid of the critters, how will you keep them from returning?? A little trick I have used is to have a radio playing on a talk station 24/7. It seems they do not like to be around human voices. Our car sits in a garage at our WI home from Oct to mid May. Haven't had a mouse or sign of one in 10 years. A local motel replaced their analog radio/alarm units and I bought several. If the power goes off, an analog will come back on where it was set when power is restored. We play them in our basement too, and in the spring we might find one tripped trap of the four we set out just for insurance.