Rats in garden and noises in loft

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by shirl

Well my rat moved in again a few weeks ago, live traps are up there and I am waiting patiently. Kept the sonic device on since Spring and that didn't stop it. Just got a motion sensor camera yesterday and I am determined to find out exactly where it's getting in and block it! It can be a long process I am afraid, but definitley go and look for droppings so you can confirm it's a rat rather than a squirrel or something else - mice can sound like elephants in the loft!

Good luck

Shirl

As can Starlings, at 3AM (Bats are a bit quieter)

[Beekeeper]

For me Rats are totally disgusting creatures, if anyone has had the wonderful experience of working in a loft as i have, the ceiling of rooms below being totally covered in rat faeces it is not at all nice, the smell is enough to make you feel sick, all the time i was working there i had to wear a special mask to reduce the smell to an acceptable level, apart from the illnesses they carry and the damage they do.

As an electrician, i was called into the house of a good friend who had a rat problem, the first thing he knew about them was when water started coming through their utility room ceiling, the rats had eaten the pipes to the water tanks, also all the wiring from the mains gear (consumer units) to the main of the house was ruined.

On another occasion, a house which had recently been rewired by an local electrical business who's boss is a good friend, had a call to say the house was on fire, it turned out to be rats, one had chewed through a cooker cable which electrocuted the rat but also set fire to him, which in turn set fire to the house, the house needed months of work of rebuilding, all because of one rat.

Another disgusting thing about rats is that they defacate in their own nests, i had to remove a large nest from a loft space last year as it was where downlights were being installed, the nest filled the space between two joists and was around 2 ft long, a pile of straw, chewed paper and bits of carpet etc and about 4 bucket loads of faeces.

Although rats are firmly established in our country and breeding probably out of control now due to the amount of buildings now sat on our once green and pleasant land, i think i am right in saying thay they are not native to our country but were brought here as unwelcome passengers on ships during the days of exploration of the world.


Ian

[rats!]

ok, i think it is rats and I don't want to put poison down because apparently that is what the previous owners did before we bought the house and one of the rooms absolutely STANK for several weeks probably due to a decomposing rat. So, I am banging on the ceiling and generally trying to make as much noise as possible in the evenings, but I am seriously considering glue traps.
I hate hate hate the idea of rats (however disgusting they are) being in agony for days on these things, chewing off their feet etc, so I am thinking get a pest control company to do it properly, put them down at twilight and come and check on them first thing in the morning, we will maybe check on them at midnight. Anyone had any experience of these traps - do you think that will work??

[salukiwhippet]

Glue boards are horrible. Why not get someone who knows what they're doing to set good kill traps? (Having first checked that it is rats) No suffering, quick clean and efficient. Where in the country are you?

James

[shirl]

I hate the thought of some wild creature being stuck on a glue trap, writhing around in desperation trying to free itself until someone comes along and puts it out of it's misery. That is horrible. How are you going to kill it after it's been stuck on the glue trap for hours?

If you have to get rid of it by killing it, let an expert do it and kill it quickly so the poor thing doesn't suffer. In the short term though please try and find out where it is getting in and then stop it from doing so.

Shirl

[cutecoot]

Originally Posted by badgerwatcher

Hello Bagpuss, and Richboy.
We had starlings nesting in our loft once, and they were amazingly noisy. And they would sit around telling each other dirty jokes and laughing, when they weren't racing each other the length of the loft wearing comedy clown's shoes.

I had starlings in the loft too, badgerwatcher, which I had initially thought must be rats with all the scratching, etc, even their chattering sounded like rats squeeking! Managed to get up their with a nestcam in the end and got some pix of baby starlings (of which only one or two seemed to have survived and fledged, hopefully not due to fiddling around with nestcam )

[rangersarah2]

Originally Posted by du tan

It wasnt a humane trap, I killed it.

Rats are disease-ridden vermin, and although I agree with you, poison getting into the food chain is bad news. Disease-ridden rats scratching away in my loft, which they are entering from (the empty) next door's loft, leaving droppings and foul urine smells everywhere, and keeping me away for endless nights has not exactly earned any favour from me.

In the wild, although I would never encourage them, I accept they have their place. In my house, however, they do not.

While I understand the desire to not have rats in your home, may I point out that they are a long way from being disease ridden or dirty. Like most wild animals they are extremely clean, and all animals carry diseases. Only about 40% of rats carry leptospirosis (Weils Disease), which is a much lower percentage even than a lot of domestic animals.

[rats!]

Having read up a bit more on glue boards, we are definitely not using those, ever. So traps it is, plus continuing my regime of banging on the ceiling all evening to disturb them. Something HAS to be done though - the lid of our food composting bin has been completely chewed through in just one night, there is a huge ragged hole. I don't think squirrels or mice could do that...

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by rangersarah2

Only about 40% of rats carry leptospirosis (Weils Disease), which is a much lower percentage even than a lot of domestic animals.

Interesting statement!

So what domestic animals have a much higher rate than 40%, of carrying leptospirosis - what animal and what percentage?

Jim

[shirl]

Originally Posted by rats!

Having read up a bit more on glue boards, we are definitely not using those, ever. So traps it is, plus continuing my regime of banging on the ceiling all evening to disturb them. Something HAS to be done though - the lid of our food composting bin has been completely chewed through in just one night, there is a huge ragged hole. I don't think squirrels or mice could do that...

Well I am so pleased the glue boards aren't an option now. I am setting up a motion sensor camera in the loft this weekend to record the rat's comings and goings. If I can see where the nest is I might just start by removing it, hopefully the rat won't like it's nest being disturbed. Live traps are still there and as yet no rat in them. It's a little so and so - patience is a virtue my mum used to say.

Shirl