how do i get rid of rats - PLEASE READ DETAILS?

Question

we live in a first floor flat. In a central part of town near lots of food outlets. so detering rats from the locality is not feasible.

we keep getting rats in our loft space.

we put poison down and rat traps - kill them off and a month or so later we get a new lot.

we have had the council and rentokill round who have been able to offer no further advise other than what we are currently doing.

we were hoping that someone might no a way of detering them somehow.

(sonic repellers are not an option aswe have no electricty to the loft)

Answer 1

Get a good cat...

Answer 2

You won't be able to rid your loft of rats until you find out how they are getting in or the ones you kill off today will be replaced tomorrow by others. If it is feasible, you could try sprinkling talc around the loft, including rafters, this way you will be able to follow the tracks and hopefully find out where they are entering/exiting the loft. If they are using the same routes each time you may find oily residue around the hole entrances where their fur has been rubbing against the sides as the rats squeeze through. You will be surprised at how a large rat can squeeze through very small gaps, and whoever said they don't have a skeletal structure is talking rubbish. Rats, like all mammals have a skeleton, but like many animals the actual body mass is larger than the skeleton that supports it. Because flesh and muscle tissue is flexible and bone isn't (at least not to the same degree) the muscle and flesh can me flattened against the skeleton. A rat skull is approximately half an inch wide which is why it can squeeze through a half inch space. Once you have located the entrance holes these can be blocked, but make sure it is done properly. Rats have large incisors and are perfectly capable of gnawing away paper and turning wood into splinters. They are also very good at climbing, so the entrance holes could be anywhere. Once you have blocked the entrances, you can then concentrate on getting rid of the ones on your property.

Answer 3

You need to find out how they are getting into the loft in the first place and block up any points of entry. When you kill one lot off, you create empty territory and a new lot moves in. If you block up any holes etc, you will prevent them getting in .
CAndy girl's advice is cruel. Rats are very very territorial. If you were to release them somewhere, they would be attacked and maimed and killed by the rats who's territory it was. Besides, people like me who keep poultry, don't want people coming and dumping bloody rats near our land so that we have to use more poison to kill them so that they don't kill out chicks, chew the legs off chickens and ducks on the nest, maim guinea pigs and go into the hedges to steal wild bird eggs and kill and eat the chicks. Humane rat traps PSHAWW!!! Peta schmeta.

Answer 4

This will sound really weird, but here it goes:

First I've read some stuff about using boric (sp?) acid for other pests, this may not work for rats though. You just put a healthy coat of it around the perimeter of the space and hopefully they will stop coming in. You will still need to dispatch the ones who have stayed behind.

I have had had luck against squirrels in Florida with cayenne pepper. crushed/diced dry kind. I just spread it around where they are coming in and apparently they hate it when they go to clean themselves.

I don't have to worry too much about rats here since we have plenty of snakes (thank god, i hate rats. I didn't even like touching them to feed my snake when I had one) but since you wrote about your "flat" I'm guessing there aren't a lot of snakes where you are.
Other than these too suggestions and trying to find the opening where they are getting in, I have no idea.
I hope someone else can help.

Maybe you can do a sonic deterrent with an extension cord?

Answer 5

Go to a market and get a small air pistol which shoots darts in case you see one. Also buy the big brother to the gluey louie pad and get them put up in your loft. The gits get stuck to them, can't get away and die of shock.
More sensible is get some camera footage of the food outlets doing dodgy disposal and call the HSE or the environmental protection angency with your concerns and say you've seen it, totally discreet. Get them a visit. It's likely they'll have the rats as well, they'll get an enforcement notice to improve their own hygiene. Do that and the problem should get better.

Answer 6

I would suggest you get some expanding foam and metal netting - the type used for repairing plaster.

You should get into the lost space and find the rat run holes - they use the same run - even new rats becuase they can smell the previous occupants.

Fill the hole with the wire, put expanding foam in the hole, push more wire into the hole....keep going on each hole

Once you break the habit they will give up.

Answer 7

Mice are allergic to peppermint, they won't go where they can smell it. I don't know if it's the same for rats but you could try a few cottonballs soaked in peppermint oil (not extract for baking) around the loft space. Another thing that repels about any animal is moth balls you can sprinkle a few around. Good luck

Answer 8

Please ignore the suggestion to set your pet rat free! In the US, it is illegal to set domestic animals free, as they can introduce disease to native animal populations, and they can compete with native animals for food. It is also a death sentence for the rat, as it will fall victim to a predator - a dog, a cat, a hawk or an owl, for instance. Take your rat to the local SPCA or other animal shelter and let someone adopt him that will take good care of him. Or see if your school would allow you to "give" it to the class, as a classroom pet, and then you could still see it almost every day.

Answer 9

Rats get into walls. You unfortunately need to remodel and include getting rid of them in the demolition. Covering any holes hidden inside the walls, and adding steel wool and poison to those you can't get to to actually repair. Using cement as opposed to drywall because even though they can chew through a cinder block in less than half a year, they are less likey to do that and will always go for drywall and wood because it is easier.

Rats need to do three things instinctively, hone their teeth, eat and breed and they will chew through anything just for the sake of doing it to achieve their ends. Your loft is providing them with one or all of the three necessities. If not food, then breeding space or honing materials?

You have got to use something that they dislike and would take forever for them to get through as the only way to get rid of them, is to make it impossible for them to get in!

Answer 10

The problem with rodents is that they are so prolific. Poison alone will NOT do the job.You need to do some exclusion work. All rats need , is 1/2 inch to get inside. You need to seal-up all cracks ,3-d , in your apmt. I mean from floor to ceiling. Since they have no skelital structure , its easy 4 them to squish down & get in unbelievable small spaces . If this doesnt work , you'll have to get some tracking powder. You may need a licienced exterminator 4 this application . I am licenced in new york , so if you need anything else , feel free to contact me via Email.
Good Luck!

Answer 11

Have you tried a decoy owl? Barn owls eat rats, you can get plastic ones to scare them off.
Try searching on Google.

Use the talc to figure out where they come in and put rat traps right up to the entrance holes.