Rat's again

[Meli]

I've got a rat in my wall cavity right next to my bed.
It's driving me nuts.
Every morning at about 5am, it's happily crunching snails and stomping over the shells in the wall next to my bed. Ever rubbed two snail shells together? squeek shudder
I never see them outside. They are not going near the bins and I've no evidence of them in the house.

There's plenty of natural fruit and snails for them to eat so I'm not that worried from a health perspective.

I cant get into the wall cavity to trap it and after seeing one poor thing trying to walk along the top of the fence haemorrhaging from it's nose, I wont use a de coagulant bait, but I dont want it to cark it in the wall either.
(Someone else must have the same problem)

Is there any way of just getting it to move house.? (the cat is useless and the dog ditto)
I've only ever seen two dead ones in the garden in 18 years
We have had this every autumn for as long as I've lived here. It's not like there's a lot. but now mr and mrs ratus have moved from the longue wall to my room ... they have to go

Maybe if i played a recording of cats? it might disturb their sleep during the day?

[katey]

I've had some luck with peppermint extract. I don't know if they dislike the smell for itself or if it simply overwhelms their sniffer, but they don't like to be where it smells strongly of peppermint. Any way to get some into the wall cavity?

[Meli]

hmm, sounds like a possibility.
thanks Katey, I'll give it a go

[seanz]

Nothin' worse than a rat with bad breath.......

[botebum]

The biggest threat with rats/mice in the walls is that they chew on electrical wires and create a fire hazard.
Get some poison into the wall. Also, try to encourage non-poisonous snakes to live near your house. There's a few ways to do this.

Doug

[Meli]

no snakes round here, I'd ask gary to send one down but it would permanently hibernate

[skuthorp]

PM WX and get him to send you a python......... A rat has died in my shed, I never found it but as someone said, it fades with time and it is. Either that or I'm getting used to it. The owls get them round our way and we have Bandicoots Bush Rats and Burramy's as well so poison is out.

[Meli]

I think I'll sleep with ear plugs for a few weeks, they seem to disappear after autumn.
I have no wish to sleep 6" from a dead rat thanks.

being a weatherboard house, I'ts prolly snugly boxed between 3 studs, the weatherboard and the lathe and plaster.
It;s prolly got in from under the floorboards, I've only 10" clearance so I cant get in there to put a bait in.

[MiddleAgesMan]

Try mothballs.

[Mrleft8]

I have no wish to sleep 6" from a dead rat thanks.

Why not?.... Clearly you spent a certain amount of time even closer than that to a live rat for years.....
I suggest therapy. That's what I finally resorted to with the squirrel problem that I've been having....
"But..... Lefty!...." you say, curiosity piqued.... "What sort of therapy would help with this situation.... Oh great and wise, Mr. Lefty?".... And I shall tell you....
Hot lead therapy.

[Chris Coose]

Tools required:
lighter fluid, a razor, a match, ice pick.

Shave one half the affected area, douse the unshaved area with lighter fluid, light doused area with match, stab escaping vermin with ice pick.

[purri]

Nothin' worse than a rat with bad breath.......

mush less one with a gold tooth...

[Meli]

Bloody yanks, one wants to burn my house down, the other wants to blow holes in it.

This is what happens when raised on a diet of "Road Runner" "tom and Jerry" and BB

[Meli]

The mothballs??? what ??
Ah, insert mothball inside tasty looking apple or big snail, leave under the house with a red ribbon.

Stop it ! The visuals are killing me

[Mrleft8]

Moth balls don't bother rats..... But how they manage to get their noses between the moth's legs is just amazing!.....

[Keith Wilson]

Donn's not here, so I'll have a go: Dont put apostrophe's on plural's.

[Meli]

Ha, I just had an Idea.
I assume they sleep during the day, soooo If I put something that vibrates against the wall during the day, it might disturb it so it moves somewhere else.

But what? (Dont be rude ) Orbital sander without the paper on it? just leave it on? or something like the 16" speaker faced to the wall with the worlds most irritating song on replay ?

[Chris Coose]

Bloody yanks, one wants to burn my house down, the other wants to blow holes in it.

This is what happens when raised on a diet of "Road Runner" "tom and Jerry" and BB

3 Stooges actually.

The prescription I offered came originally for the elimination of crabs but with some slight adjustments can be effective in the elimination of most all pests. For former husbands would be substituting a Samuari sword for the ice pick.

Use Kill Bill II as a training video. Pay particular attention to Uma.

[Canoeyawl]

Maybe concentrating on removing the snails in your wall would do it, they are not quite as smart as rats...

Hint, they like wine.

[bobbys]

We had a rat in the wall but it left, it could not take living next to a Menopausal woman...

[David W Pratt]

Drill a hole in the space and use an internal combustion engine to CO it to death, or moving.
Good luck.

[Meli]

Heh, apparently it's not just my place.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/ra...429-1xt26.html

While what the article says is true about more feed around, I wonder why no one has connected the rat explosion with the fact that most councils insist that cats are kept in at night?

This was done to protect native beasties and prolly a good thing in more rural areas but the only native beasties I ever see here are possums, and a possum is a good match for most cats

[2MeterTroll]

the peppermint oil thing works pretty well.

[Phillip Allen]

I've got a rat in my wall cavity right next to my bed.
It's driving me nuts.
Every morning at about 5am, it's happily crunching snails and stomping over the shells in the wall next to my bed. Ever rubbed two snail shells together? squeek shudder
I never see them outside. They are not going near the bins and I've no evidence of them in the house.

There's plenty of natural fruit and snails for them to eat so I'm not that worried from a health perspective.

I cant get into the wall cavity to trap it and after seeing one poor thing trying to walk along the top of the fence haemorrhaging from it's nose, I wont use a de coagulant bait, but I dont want it to cark it in the wall either.
(Someone else must have the same problem)

Is there any way of just getting it to move house.? (the cat is useless and the dog ditto)
I've only ever seen two dead ones in the garden in 18 years
We have had this every autumn for as long as I've lived here. It's not like there's a lot. but now mr and mrs ratus have moved from the longue wall to my room ... they have to go

Maybe if i played a recording of cats? it might disturb their sleep during the day?

well... that explains a lot (sorry, couldn't help myself)

[Shang]

Try mothballs.

Throw them at the rat, as hard as possible.

[Donn]

Call this guy:



I think he lives in Hamelin.

[purri]

Play some Jethro Tull.

[Meli]

Hey, I want the rat to leave, not the kids

[skuthorp]

Play some Jethro Tull.

Oy! I like Jethro Tull. Bagpipes is what'll shift 'em. Course if you can get him to vacate for an afternoon you could fill the cavity with expanding foam, only a small hole will be needed. But make sure he's out before you do!

[Meli]

Hello, Mr Rat? are you there?
squeek squeek? No

Achully I used that stuff around the hole where the dishwasher pipe goes out. Mouse was getting in.
I chucked a couple of rat Sac blocks in for good measure
But I cant access this bit at all. maybe I'll get the chippy to take the boards off and get him out.

I know I've seen cartoons like this (demolish the house to get the critter), but I cant remember which one. loony tunes I think.

[Meli]

Well I tried to get some peppermint oil ant the chemist.
They only had it in capsule form.

BUT.

Chemist reckons rats and possums hate Vic's Vaporub (You must have that in the states, sort of petroleum jelly with eucalyptus)

So I bought a pot and smeared it all over the underside of the floor (where there were lots of empty snail shells)

No rat last night, unless it's stopped snoring

[skuthorp]

Hello, Mr Rat? are you there?
squeek squeek? No

Achully I used that stuff around the hole where the dishwasher pipe goes out. Mouse was getting in.
I chucked a couple of rat Sac blocks in for good measure
But I cant access this bit at all. maybe I'll get the chippy to take the boards off and get him out.

I know I've seen cartoons like this (demolish the house to get the critter), but I cant remember which one. loony tunes I think.

Mousehunt; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yIQE7-w408

[Meli]

Yer, that's it

But if you have rats in the bilge, bring on the Vic's
I might post this for the rich bastards upstairs