Roland Rat

Weve had loads of them and I've tried everything.
Rat trap - caught about 7 of them released into the wild miles away. Boy can they scream in a car.
Sonic devices did nothing
Blocked all entry points - I see them climbing up the trees next door and swinging onto our bamboo.
Terrier - she's fast but still too bloody slow for rats
Red kites - caught one but not enough
Poison - they don't seem to be interested

The buggers now come into the walls and the space in our extention ceiling.
I need one of those air rifles
 
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Rats breed like crazy, where there are rats there will usually be a whole colony

1 rat is rapidly replaced, so you'd need to catch a lot.

Have you got pest control on your home insurance policy as an extra? Worth checking
 
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ThatFragranceGuy said:
Rats breed like crazy, where there are rats there will usually be a whole colony

1 rat is rapidly replaced, so you'd need to catch a lot.

Have you got pest control on your home insurance policy as an extra? Worth checking
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What could they do beyond setting traps? Do the find/kill the colony?
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
Rats breed like crazy, where there are rats there will usually be a whole colony

1 rat is rapidly replaced, so you'd need to catch a lot.

Have you got pest control on your home insurance policy as an extra? Worth checking
Click to expand...
We've only occasionally seen one at a time so far, so hopefully there isn't a nest on our property.
 
Dybuk said:
What could they do beyond setting traps? Do the find/kill the colony?
Click to expand...
Usually removal of the pests on site and damage caused by the pests for example knawed wires damaged pipes holes left where they entered, but not damaged caused by their damage eg a burst pipe chewed through would be covered for pipe damage but not any flood caused by it, that would be a regular insurance claim

Essentially if you have pest cover either as an addon or as home emergency cover they should come in, do the traps/ sealing up etc and fix any damage they have directly cause

Might be limited if not on your property directly but worth having in case it does become a problem
 
Thanks for that. No idea how they are getting in to the walls. I've got rolled up chicken wire everywhere now. But I get frequently woken up by chewing and knawing.
I definitely was when Roland was around but I am no longer a rat fan.
 
Dybuk said:
Thanks for that. No idea how they are getting in to the walls. I've got rolled up chicken wire everywhere now. But I get frequently woken up by chewing and knawing.
I definitely was when Roland was around but I am no longer a rat fan.
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Try also wedging balls of wire wool into any gaps they might be getting into.
 
Hap said:
We have a rat in the garden. There are a couple of ponds in houses around us, and we have quite a bit of decked platform and two sheds that attracts rats to the immediate area sometimes.

Well they’re back.

I hate the idea of poisoning them, and definitely don’t want to risk harming all the squirrels we have in the garden. So it looks like a live trap is the only option.

Anyone have experience or suggestions before I head to Screwfix and commit?

TIA.
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Rats, I thought this was a thread about Rishi Sunak.

Is it a solo rat? If so the little fella has been kicked out of his tribe and is just trying to get by on his own. We used to have one and he did no harm. He eventually died or moved on.

If it’s loads of them I would look into live traps too.
 
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He’s still on the scene. Spotted him again last night.

I resited the trap overnight and caught…

A mouse.

Who now lives, at the small pond, near the shops.

Rats 0, Mice 1…
 
Priv said:
Air Rifle, leave it upstairs with the safety off next to an open window so then when you see it you can go upstairs aim and shoot it.
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This is what i did, luckily seems there was only one. It was a decent size female so i was expecting others. This was coming from neighbours decking, and we had bird feeders. Unfortunately i don't bother with bird feeders anymore for the risk of attracting more rats.
 
Hap said:
He’s still on the scene. Spotted him again last night.

I resited the trap overnight and caught…

A mouse.

Who now lives, at the small pond, near the shops.

Rats 0, Mice 1…
Click to expand...
Following in on from Molten’s post.; Do you know if it’s the same rat each time? I think it would be handy to know in order to discern the appropriate level of response. When you do catch him perhaps you could stick a little name badge on him, maybe on his tail in the manner of a sticker label you get on electrical goods perhaps, and then let him go. I it then becomes apparent it is just him and him only then just let him be. If it turns out there’s others then, well, you have a problem which I’m not qualified to help with as I demonstrated earlier in the thread.
 
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We have them in our garden, they ruined the outside furniture by nesting inside the sofa.
They need to be gone as they carry weils disease in their urine.
Get some poison down
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
Usually removal of the pests on site and damage caused by the pests for example knawed wires damaged pipes holes left where they entered, but not damaged caused by their damage eg a burst pipe chewed through would be covered for pipe damage but not any flood caused by it, that would be a regular insurance claim

Essentially if you have pest cover either as an addon or as home emergency cover they should come in, do the traps/ sealing up etc and fix any damage they have directly cause

Might be limited if not on your property directly but worth having in case it does become a problem
Click to expand...
Also worth checking as a home emergency claims through some providers don’t have an excess and in addition won’t count as a claim against the home insurance. You should check with your provider as it’s not a uniform approach
 
I have made something similar to this but I used a piece of plastic pipe instead of a bottle to catch mice going into my shed in my old house. Then put peanut butter on the pipe towards the centre. You could half fill the bucket with water if you wanted a more permanent ending of the rodents. Look for rat holes or runs then put the bucket there.
 
El Guapo said:
Following in on from Molten’s post.; Do you know if it’s the same rat each time? I think it would be handy to know in order to discern the appropriate level of response. When you do catch him perhaps you could stick a little name badge on him, maybe on his tail in the manner of a sticker label you get on electrical goods perhaps, and then let him go. I it then becomes apparent it is just him and him only then just let him be. If it turns out there’s others then, well, you have a problem which I’m not qualified to help with as I demonstrated earlier in the thread.
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And luckily rats are notoriously cooperative when you try to attach things to their tails.
 
Dybuk said:
Thanks for that. No idea how they are getting in to the walls. I've got rolled up chicken wire everywhere now. But I get frequently woken up by chewing and knawing.
I definitely was when Roland was around but I am no longer a rat fan.
Click to expand...
Mice and rats can squeeze through surprisingly small holes. We had mice when I lived back in the UK and they were coming into the kitchen via a hole no bigger than the size of a pencil between bricks….the pest inspector fella that came around and identified it as I would never have picked it up as an entry point. Rats need a bigger hole than pencil width but they can get through some bloody tight gaps..
 
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Trap resited once more as rat was spotted leaning on it, while resting after bird table exertions.

Current tally.

Rat 0 / Mouse 1 / Angry Squirrel 1 / Blackbird 1
 
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