Plz Help - Terrified!

[funnybunny]

Hi eveverybody

Only posted on this forum once before but hope that someobody can please help. Its gonna be a long post but please bear with me.

basically we moved into our house just over a year ago and after about six months i started hearing stratching in the loft and to cut a long story short - we put poison down and killed rats (the council confirmed we had rats by the droppings). We were then infested by flies but this soon went and never heard anything until now.

now the scratching is back and is worse than ever. the council are totally useless (wont go in loft coz they are not insured etc) so i hired a private firm and they came out on tuesday. i had put my own poison down and trap and they confirmed i had put it in right place. it turns out the rats have been trying to set up a nest (used plastic bags and xmas decorations) - think they were getting ready for xmas he he he. anyway, the men took away this nest, cleaned out the eves and said the poison was enough to kill anything that was there and they are coming back on sat to check trap, bait etc and to try and find where they are coming from.

However, this morning i heard the worst scrathing, knawing i have ever heard in my life and am sooooo worried they are going to chew through my wiring coz i am skint and cant afford to spend anymore money on this!!

i cant understand why the bait is not killing them, how they are getting in (checked all round bottom of house etc no holes etc) and what they are coming in for anyway because there is no food in the loft! i only hear them on one side of the house (touch wood) and unfortunately it is right above my bedroom ceiling so i am exhausted after listening to them having a party in my loft every night.

im absolately terrified and dont know what to do. i know these rat catcher men are just gonna say they cant find where they are coming from, charge me money and im gonna be left with a rat infested house.

any advise. thanks for reading that essay if your still awake - much appreciated. X

[paulthomas]

I'd wait and see what the rat catchers say when they return.

[eeyore]

I wouldnt be suprised to find that you have grey squirels not rats - they dont take rat bait , build large nests , gnaw like there's no tommorow, and are a so and so to keep out (typically they get in by forcing up rooftiles)

rats or squirels a better solution is a trap like a Mk iV fenn trap - or a cage trap if you prefer to catch them then kill them.

investing in several fenn traps will not break the bank and they are simple to set and use ( though it hurts when you trip them on your thumb by accident ) so you can set them yourself rather than spending money on pestcontrollers.

note that these are fine to use in the attic but you shouldnt use them outside except in tunnels

Also on the question of why they are coming in - easy its because its flipping freezing outside and your attic is nice and warm by comparison

[Lance Morgan]

I agree with Eeyore. It could be Squirrels looking for somewhere warm to hang out. We had them come down our chimney once.

[tcvarlh]

Can you get a cat up into the loft? Or, and I know this sounds disgusting, place some cat droppings up there? It will discourage either rats or sqigs. as it's winter you won't smell it and they will.

[BloomingMarvellous]

I found a dead squirrel once in my friends house, thought It was fast asleep, It was all curled up under the stairs. We came to the conclusion that It came In through the Cat Flap and couldn't find It's way out. I was Scared, phoned a friend to help me remove It before my friend returned home, she would of Freaked.

[funnybunny]

thanks for your replies guys.

surprised that it could be a squirrel because we dont have any trees around etc and have never seen any about where i live. If it was a squirell - i wonder if i have got rats too because i definately killed something with poison this year - got flies and horrible smell.

maybe that is why the bait isnt getting touched. oh im at my wits end with all this i just want a house without rodents living in the loft i feel like ive got a dirty house or something.

ive got two rabbits which i keep as housepets downstairs (keep all their food well away etc) but think i might have to invest in getting a cat now!!!! either that or move house if this doesnt get sorted! i cant go through this every year.

x

[RobinP]

Whereabouts do you live, funnybunny? If you're in the Northern Home Counties you may have Glis Glis (edible dormice) in the loft, which is bad news because a) they make a helluva racket all night and chew through the wiring, and b) they are a protected species.

[funnybunny]

Hi RobinP I live in Middlesbrough

[funnybunny]

Just been on the phone to Rentokil and think i might get them round instead (i expect they will be expensive though). They said they would do a full site survey and find out where they are coming in.

anybody used Rentokil before?