To kill a rat

Dancook

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
15,963
Reaction score
6,880
Points
4,173
The rat surfaced in our boiler cupboard, where we had some flour and bird feed stored - have removed the food sources and yesterday I mortared the hole - they have already gnawed through it.

WhatsApp Image 2022-01-13 at 08.58.12.jpeg


The extension is fully built, but these early photos help illustrate better

The red circle is their entry point, due to a gap in the brickwork (goes over underground pipe) the render is weak
ratentry.png


They probably go through the cavity wall and under the suspended floor boards in the old part of the house, and come up on the other side of the wall in the boiler cupboard
l1000696.jpg


Added slabs and mortar on the outside, have to go via neighbour for access - but i suspect they've already gone through the mortar/or around it.

Both the neighbours and we have dogs.

What would happen if we dropped roshield poison down the boiler cupboard hole and mortar it up again? will they drag it out to where dogs could get it?
 
You don't want to risk any harm to the dogs, might be worth getting a pro in. Having said that, can you get a loose bait that they'd have to eat in situ?
 
You don't want to risk any harm to the dogs, might be worth getting a pro in. Having said that, can you get a loose bait that they'd have to eat in situ?

We had a pro out once, seemed like it would be an endless cycle of handing over money to rid the neighbourhood of a non-exhaustive supply of rats.

We have some traps + boxes - just not a fan of leaving the hole and having it come into the house again before we can kill it.

it may be the only option for now, setup the boiler cupboard as a kill room.

Our neighbour works for the canal, will speak with him when he gets home - just didn't like to sit on my hands waiting.
 
Last edited:
Killing them doesn't work anyhow, they breed so fast. Staple gun and screw steel wire wool into the gap could be an option. Then you could mortar over, but they may chew further along so probably ongoing battle!
 
You can get stainless steel mesh, maybe make the existing hole bigger then put in the mesh and concrete over... Or even a steel plate?
 
Mortar can be quite crumbly, so I was going to suggest proper concrete with aggregate in it. I guess your suggestion could be considered an aggregate :eek:
 
going to leave the hole open for a bit, setup a kill room for the rat..

unfortunately last night it was rather noisily scratching away below the floors.. but not coming up in the boiler cupboard to die
 
Mortar can be quite crumbly, so I was going to suggest proper concrete with aggregate in it. I guess your suggestion could be considered an aggregate :eek:

Sure, concrete is better but not enough on its own :(
 
How about getting a couple of cats? They say that nothing keeps a place safe and clean from rats and mice like cats. You would do a good deed, give some cats home and food and at the same time solve your problem in a non-hazardous way. :)
 
How about getting a couple of cats? They say that nothing keeps a place safe and clean from rats and mice like cats. You would do a good deed, give some cats home and food and at the same time solve your problem in a non-hazardous way. :)

I wouldn't bet on our dogs vs the rat.. here's the smaller one, Newt
 

Attachments

  • L1000586.jpg
    L1000586.jpg
    444.7 KB · Views: 68
I wouldn't bet on our dogs vs the rat.. here's the smaller one, Newt
A cute tiny dog! :love:

However, dogs aren't their natural enemies.

In Chicago they tried everything they could to deal with the problem with rats and nothing worked except - cats! So, they established a programme called "Cats at Work". Read more about it here. :)

This is a perfect solution to your problem! :lesson:
 
A large office I worked in had resident cats. They had free roam of the basement during the day, which is where the auditorium is, they loved jumping in front of the screen during presentations :D

On a related note, I've just discovered one of the furry buggers going through my pasta! Got someone coming in later to lay traceable bait so we can see how it's getting in.
 
Since removing the food source, we had one day of a lot of noise under the boards - and now nothing.

Saw a rat this morning at the end of the garden.. Louise is going to town with the traps :)
 
We have a constant problem with rats at work, commercial premise. We're next to their home, a brook. Staff kindly leave out food waste bags, instead of putting in bins. Once we inform staff, and they use the bins, we don't see much activity with bait traps.

That said, it only takes one lazy fool, and they are back. We're told its something you have to live with, we'll never completely kill them off, but remove the food sauce, and they'll go elsewhere.
 
How about getting a couple of cats? They say that nothing keeps a place safe and clean from rats and mice like cats. You would do a good deed, give some cats home and food and at the same time solve your problem in a non-hazardous way. :)
I've got two cats, one actually brought a rat and let it go in the kitchen. It went behind the washing machine and I couldn't get to it. I decided to shut myself and the other cat in the kitchen and pulled the machine out and the second there was a scurrying noise, the cat was on the top of the kitchen wall units looking petrified :rolleyes:. The rat got behind the integrated fridge freezer which made the problem worse but eventually I managed to catch it with some cat biscuits and a humane trap.

Cats are too well-fed these days so want to play with mice and rats not do what they're supposed to do and keep them away 😎
 
I've got two cats, one actually brought a rat and let it go in the kitchen. It went behind the washing machine and I couldn't get to it. I decided to shut myself and the other cat in the kitchen and pulled the machine out and the second there was a scurrying noise, the cat was on the top of the kitchen wall units looking petrified :rolleyes:. The rat got behind the integrated fridge freezer which made the problem worse but eventually I managed to catch it with some cat biscuits and a humane trap.

Cats are too well-fed these days so want to play with mice and rats not do what they're supposed to do and keep them away 😎
It depends on a cat. Some are very good hunters and enjoy hunting, others hunt to "help the household" (you feed them, so they bring you a mouse/bird/rat in order to feed you - they don't know that humans don't eat such food) and some are lazy and even scared of the small animals. :D

Usually semi-feral cats are the best choice. They are accustomed both to natural wild life and to humans. We have such cats in the neighborhood and they do hunt. I saw them hunting and eating birds and lizards (probably they hunt mice and rats, too), in spite of being well fed by us. :lesson:

The article states that the presence of a cat is enough to scare mice and various rodents away. :)

I live in a flat and my previous cats didn't have much opportunity too hunt, but one of them still managed to catch pigeons on a balcony and proudly bring them as a gift! :thumbsup:
 
It depends on a cat. Some are very good hunters and enjoy hunting, others hunt to "help the household" (you feed them, so they bring you a mouse/bird/rat in order to feed you - they don't know that humans don't eat such food) and some are lazy and even scared of the small animals. :D

Usually semi-feral cats are the best choice. They are accustomed both to natural wild life and to humans. We have such cats in the neighborhood and they do hunt. I saw them hunting and eating birds and lizards (probably they hunt mice and rats, too), in spite of being well fed by us. :lesson:

The article states that the presence of a cat is enough to scare mice and various rodents away. :)

I live in a flat and my previous cats didn't have much opportunity too hunt, but one of them still managed to catch pigeons on a balcony and proudly bring them as a gift! :thumbsup:
You've gotta love em haven't you - I think the one cat thinks she's bringing me gifts or a contribution to the housekeeping so I should be grateful but I'd rather she didn't 🙄
 
When I were a lad, one of my friends had a one eyed cat that had lost a fight with a rat :eek: He lived down near the river and they had some big buggers down that way. On the other hand I may have been more gullible back then and he'd made it up :)
 
You've gotta love em haven't you - I think the one cat thinks she's bringing me gifts or a contribution to the housekeeping so I should be grateful but I'd rather she didn't 🙄
She brought you a live rat, so that you can have fun, play with it, hunt it, catch it and then eat it while it's still warm and fresh. :love::D
She loves you. ❤️
You should be grateful and always say thank you to your cat when she does something like that and pet her. Don't scream, run around and yell at her. :D She will be confused...
I know that we don't like to receive such gifts, but cats don't know and can't understand that...
 
She brought you a live rat, so that you can have fun, play with it, hunt it, catch it and then eat it while it's still warm and fresh. :love::D
She loves you. ❤️
You should be grateful and always say thank you to your cat when she does something like that and pet her. Don't scream, run around and yell at her. :D She will be confused...
I know that we don't like to receive such gifts, but cats don't know and can't understand that...
I was actually surprisingly calm. In the evenings, the cat flap is now locked so I can check whether she's brought any presents before she can come in which thankfully she hasn't lately. She went through a stage of one nearly every day, I think she'd found a nest and was bringing me the babies.
 
I was actually surprisingly calm. In the evenings, the cat flap is now locked so I can check whether she's brought any presents before she can come in which thankfully she hasn't lately. She went through a stage of one nearly every day, I think she'd found a nest and was bringing me the babies.
With her help, you also learned how to catch them and you will never be hungry again! :D
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom