[Daisy]

In my kitchen, second night in a row - HELP what to do

[Sylvia]

Put rat bait down unless you have a good ratting dog. Sterilise everything the rat may have been in contact with, they are incontinent and their urine carries VERY nasty diseases such as Weils and listeriosis. Kill the bugger any way you can.

[Bionic]

Daisy,
Have you contacted your local council?  I was telling someone else on here very recently. I saw a rat in the garden and a man from the local council came and put poison down but in places where children and other animals wouldn't come into contact.  He also checked my loft (luckily found nothing). He came back a week later to see the results of his work and then came back a month later too.
It didn't cost me anything and he was a lovely man.

I'm not sure if all councils do this service but its certainly worth a try.
Sally

[robert waddell]

time of year for them migrating from outside to the warmth    you will need to see how it is getting into the kitchen and back out again   if there is one there will be another ten   kill the bugger and deep clean the kitchen

[CameronS]

"feed" the bugger if it's convenient! if there is one there will be more 

we i had a serious mice infestation this year, our traps couldn't keep up, we were catching about 3 a day from each trap (5), dropped some special foor between the floor boards, and into the loft spaces, and touch wood the problem seems to have abatied

[Daisy]

Two nights without a visit as far as we can see, hopefully the poison has worked, we've put traps out as well and the only thing that has set them off is the dog 

[bazzais]

I got rats too

Got two dachunds and they are useless at anything but finding and barking endlessly at the point where the rat was an hours ago. Occasionally the get one cornered or perhaps have some luck in finding a rat thats f*****.

I bought farm kittens the other week and have them in the top shed, they are getting nice and big, so hopefully next year they can help keep them away. Their aint any in their shed at the moment

I have traps out but to no avail. cant use poison cos a dead poisoned rat is about the only thing the dogs could catch.

I feel for you though it being in the house.  Luckily we re pointed our walls and they cant get in anymore - but they are in almost every vehicle on the yard which is a pain in the arse.

Its a right pain in the but opening the shedded 4x4 and finding little s**t biscuits everywhere and a stink of piss.

What I cant understand is after I have wiped the rats s**t off the seats - I always get an itchy nose or eye and have to run to the nearest puddle and wash my hands.

I am pinning all my hopes on having cats that can help me by next year.

I try to keep foodstuffs away and not encourage rats but I think they are thriving on seeds and stuff from bedding and accidental spillages.

Baz

[robert waddell]

bazzias you will have to be very carefull with there s**t and piss you can contract wails disease from it
flu like symptoms and then death there was a guy in Edinburgh a few years ago when the water of leith flooded he was trying to save some machinery and was splashed with the water he died after
when my son was in Afghanistan his car was in our shed the rats made it there home and chewed the wiring 

[princesspiggy]

we had a cat in out terrace townhouse once - ithink it jut came in the open door. but it must have been there a week before we realised, was hiding in the kitchen cuboard and crapping on the plates etc.
our cats were scared of it, we had to get it out the house (with aide of an umbrella) and the lurcher killed it in full view of the neighbours... argghhh

when we lived in ireland our housing estate was plagued with mice. it was quite normal to see them running round the room. caught stacks in traps too.

rats are worse tho

[Daisy]

Our semi ferral cats don't seem to be catching any, bet we get another inside tonight as it's snowy - think I need ferrets

[Yeoman]

The humane traps I use seem to act as a repellent rather than actually catching anything!

[ellisr]

My semi feral kittens seem to catch at least 1 a day I know of, so everything is rosie here and I have not noticed any running about the place except for the top field I caught site of one.

[bazzais]

I do get quite worried about being around where rats have been pissing and pooping as I normally have cuts on my hands and tend to use my jeans alot to wipe hands on when out and about.

Does anyone know how long rat diseases like this will last in lets say a car seat thats been in the dry and away from rats?

I'd like to burn everything, but when I finally get a handle on the rat population how long before its safe to go in the 4x4 and hover it out and sit in their knowing I aint gona get anything?

Baz

[jaykay]

Baz, I'd wear those thin latex gloves when you clean.

think I need ferrets

I have a friend who keeps the polecat-marked ferrets as house pets - says they're great so it might be a possibility 

[Hazelwood Flock]

Ferrets need to have a pretty mean streak to take on rats, and can get badly mauled. If any rats are bold enough to come to the hen feeder during the day they get a pellet behind the eye!