[poppy2012]

I wasnt sure where to post this, so thought here would be ok!
We live on a smallholding with chickens goats e.t.c  also we actually live in a granny annex, the kitchen has no foundations, so the rats are comming straight up nto the kitchen through a hole in the floorboards, have tried hoovering cleaning everything out e.t.c....have found they have now nested under the concrete for the porch! its very frustrating and having to keep all food stuffs in metal boxes, but with 2 chiildren and a baby about to crawl, its getting rather distressing....is there anything i can spray on the entrance and under the kitchen that will deter them, any smells? i know rats are inevitable, i just dont want them in my house!
any help would be fab  

[FiB]

I really recomend getting the council pest controlers in.  Ours charged about £30 and they will keep coming back until the job is done.  I dont think you can go for deterents once they have moved in - got to kill them all.  Ours are back in the loft night before last, so I'll be making the call soon.  Good luck Fi xx

[Beewyched]

It must be really worrying for you Poppy - especially with young children at home. 
Personally, I think you have to hit them hard - poison - put it down overnight when you know the children & any pets cannot get into the kitchen (put a temporary lock/out-of-reach catch on the door).  They will take it back to the nest & eradicate the entire family.
Don't bother with the stuff from the DIY stores - I think they've built-up tolerance for it, as it won't work here.  We get the powerful stuff off EBAY - Roban & Neosorexa Gold & put it in a Rentokill Tube Feeder - which keeps it in the right place (also bought via EBAY).
Then try & block-off any entrances you can find to stop the little bu**ers from coming back in - don't use foam filler, they will chew through it in 1 night (speaking from experience here  )
Once you've got them out of the house, you could then use the Tube Feeder where you store your feedstuff (if you can ensure the children & stock can't get to it).
We were over-run last winter, not wanting to use poison.  But we've bitten the bullet, so to speak & we've kept on top of it this year with poison & have bought 2 farm-bred kittens in the hope that we will be able to control the rats again "organically" in the future.
Good luck 
 

[Anke]

If the problem is only in your house/home the council people will deal with it, if it is farm buildings a private contractor is necessary. But I woud get the professionals in too...

[poppy2012]

It must be really worrying for you Poppy - especially with young children at home. 
Personally, I think you have to hit them hard - poison - put it down overnight when you know the children & any pets cannot get into the kitchen (put a temporary lock/out-of-reach catch on the door).  They will take it back to the nest & eradicate the entire family.
Don't bother with the stuff from the DIY stores - I think they've built-up tolerance for it, as it won't work here.  We get the powerful stuff off EBAY - Roban & Neosorexa Gold & put it in a Rentokill Tube Feeder - which keeps it in the right place (also bought via EBAY).
Then try & block-off any entrances you can find to stop the little bu**ers from coming back in - don't use foam filler, they will chew through it in 1 night (speaking from experience here  )
Once you've got them out of the house, you could then use the Tube Feeder where you store your feedstuff (if you can ensure the children & stock can't get to it).
We were over-run last winter, not wanting to use poison.  But we've bitten the bullet, so to speak & we've kept on top of it this year with poison & have bought 2 farm-bred kittens in the hope that we will be able to control the rats again "organically" in the future.
Good luck 

thank you so much, we usede a lot of poison, but granny dies and we havent put any down for a few months so they have bred like crazy and come back! my partner is getting some strong stuff from teh farmers merchants tomorrow, a new kind, inace they have become tolerane, they usually die in the walls or roof! not nice, i had to move out for a week last year! also as we speak, hes blocking up teh holes!
unfortunately my partner hates cats, and wont allow one here as they kill birds and we have many here...shame, ah..something will have to be done, im thinking metal from an old caravan plated on the bottom and around the pipes where they come in...alot of work though! then lots of poison, not nice but necessarry!!

[Beewyched]

I can so sympathise with you Poppy  it's horrible!
We live in an rented, old farmhouse, with the old thick stone walls "cladded" inside with boarding of some sort & last winter all we could hear was the little blighters scrabbling inside them & after the storm in January I think the refugees from the byres that lost their roofs, moved their families into the attic space   
Even with storing all our feedstuff in metal bins & using treadle feeders, it seems that just having poultry attracts the vermin.  It's an ongoing battle for us here, as I think it is for most smallholders.
If your not able to have cats, could you consider a dog - Jack Russells & Collies are good ratters - even if it is a family pet it'll help keep the population down? 
Hope the "chemical warfare" is successful

[bazzais]

Put broken glass in the cement you fill the holes with - not talking big chardes like murder style - just big enough to stop the rats digging back through the motar.

Its hard - we have many many rats too - in the sheds it like watch wally - but there are lots of wallys with head poking out the walls.

The cat is great - got one in the shed and she keeps all the rats out of a huge building - I like to take her up to the top shed and put her on the wall as she always gets a baby rat up there too.  Bit gutted as she keeps bringing in voles and field mice.  I dont like to watch her tease them till there is only one leg left working ;~)

I'd get a cat or a dog - the smell should keep them out - especially if you get a dog - cos they a;; stink, well mine do anyway.

Baz

[bazzais]

Mind you the good thing about not having a dog or a cat is  . . .  you can use rat poisen

[Mammyshaz]

 :We've just had the council in as the old drain system was flushed and people have been plagued in their houses.

The rattan also told us to fill gaps with splintered glass in the cement to prevent chewing back through the walls.

The dogs and kitten didn't deter them, they just enjoyed their food 

You can now buy poison ( as was used here ) with warfarin at a level which will not harm dogs and adult cats but kills the rats well and truly
We had to restrict our kitten however ad he was very young and not far off the size of a rat.

[FiB]

Poppy - uless your council dont do it/charge a lot - they have much better stuff than you can buy and you will save money (Ours came back 3 times and used much more than £30 worth of poison) AND they do it thoroughly and safely with due regard to pets and children.  The stuff ours used was pink coated grain.  Really good luck, it's horrible I know.

[Mammyshaz]

I agree with FIB. Hopefully your council will do it free of charge like ours. But a small fee is still worth it for their service.

It really is awful. But it can be sorted. Give them a ring. The ratman who came out from the council was great. Gave some great advice and told us just to ring back and he'd come straight back out if any more problems 

He used lots of the poison that is safe for dogs and cats ( and kids ). We had traps as we had a rat in the hen run last year so also used them. Not squeamish so dealt with it from thereon but he was happy to return weekly if needed.

Good luck with it Poppy, there is light at the end of the tunnel, honest.

[Lesley Silvester]

When I kept hens we had many rats who lived in the drainage conduits under the house and came out for food when we were feeding the hens.  We coped with that until one found its way into the house.  Then it was out with the poison.  Fortunately there was only ever the one.  I now keep all animal feed that is not open in a metal feed bin.  We still get the odd one but only outside.  I think that having three dogs helps but do get the council in and get rid of them properly.
 
Feel for you.   

[Bramblecot]

Get the professionals in - the stuff they use is far far stronger than you will be able to buy.  Once you have a dead one in your house, you never forget the smell - oh I remember it so well!!  Good luck, feel for you.