Rats! (of the rodent kind)

[ohyes]

This is what I saw when I looked out the kitchen window this morning.

The bush needs a good pruning, but can you see the rat?!?! It's rather small and I called it a mouse, but DH promises it is a rat. He also says it is a cute rat that makes good eye contact.

We thought we heard squirrels in the attic, but now are thinking along different lines. DH purchased a Have-a-Heart trap and put it right near the attic entry.

He also took down all the bird feeders. We have one of those Droll Yankee feeders near this particular bush that squirrels can't use.

Guess what. Rats can.

 

[W2R]

Is it a rat? I can't see it very well at all. I would have thought it was probably a squirrel.

Whatever it is, I wouldn't want it in my house...

 

[grasshopper]

I walked out to the barn this morning, and had a full grown Black Bear, sitting by a hay bale eating wild bird seed.

 

[MichaelB]

Good luck with the rats.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I walked out to the barn this morning, and had a full grown Black Bear, sitting by a hay bale eating wild bird seed.

Send the bear over to Ohyes's house to eat some rats.

 

[freebird5825]

All I see is a red X in a box. Is it my browser (IE 8 on Windows XP) ?

 

[packrat44]

I use a RatZapper 2000 on my rodents. Works great. Make sure you purchase the one that uses D cell batteries.

 

[easysurfer]

All I see is a red X in a box. Is it my browser (IE 8 on Windows XP) ?

Similar setup for me (Win XP, IE8). I can't see the rat either. Probably a good thing

 

[Tyro]

I use a RatZapper 2000 on my rodents. Works great. Make sure you purchase the one that uses D cell batteries.

If I had rats, I'd prefer the 220 model.

 

[Tyro]

All I see is a red X in a box.

Likewise. It may be some obscure browser security setting.

 

[Tyro]

We thought we heard squirrels in the attic, but now are thinking along different lines. DH purchased a Have-a-Heart trap and put it right near the attic entry.

I wouldn't be so humane. Those buggers (roof/black rats) carry all kinds of diseases. Despite the range maps, they're common in (at least) Sun City West, feeding on all the fruit trees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_rat

 

[Lsbcal]

Rats outside are no problem for me but when they are inside that's a problem. It's a good idea to take down the bird feeders unless one can set up a way to catch the seeds that are pushed out by the birds.

I've had a problem with rats and mice in my crawl space over the years. Never could get the area completely sealed off.

Current solution is to use those plastic spring loaded traps with peanut butter bait. I went to them after snapping an old wooden type on my thumb, ouch! I check them about every 3 or 4 weeks. If I've caught a rodent it goes out into the open space to be recycled into nature. Vultures, foxes, raccoons like a treat once in awhile.

 

[killingme]

Rats outside are no problem for me but when they are inside that's a problem. It's a good idea to take down the bird feeders unless one can set up a way to catch the seeds that are pushed out by the birds.

I've had a problem with rats and mice in my crawl space over the years. Never could get the area completely sealed off.

Current solution is to use those plastic spring loaded traps with peanut butter bait. I went to them after snapping an old wooden type on my thumb, ouch! I check them about every 3 or 4 weeks. If I've caught a rodent it goes out into the open space to be recycled into nature. Vultures, foxes, raccoons like a treat once in awhile.

Might want to check them more frequently because the phermones released when they die attracts others. Also, any rodent which lives outside the home is tryng to FIND a home, so limiting their habitat around the house will make them less likely to come in. When you have a crawlspace, that itself is like a motel 6 sign. Hey and at least you are completing the circle of life

 

[packrat44]

We thought we heard squirrels in the attic, but now are thinking along different lines. DH purchased a Have-a-Heart trap and put it right near the attic entry.

.

IMHO catch and release is not the way to go. If you release them near other houses, you create a problem for those people. Not very neighborly. Those critters removed into the wild seldom survive. Better to terminate.

 

[Chuckanut]

Removing bird feeders got rid of the rats in back of my home.

 

[misanman]

I couldn't view the picture so am flying blind on this but is there a chance it could be a vole? We have just discovered that we have voles in our yard - first time I've encountered them (that I know of).

 

[veremchuka]

There isn't a box with a red x, just a blank space.

 

[REWahoo]

I see this:

 

[Lsbcal]

Might want to check them more frequently because the phermones released when they die attracts others. Also, any rodent which lives outside the home is tryng to FIND a home, so limiting their habitat around the house will make them less likely to come in. When you have a crawlspace, that itself is like a motel 6 sign. Hey and at least you are completing the circle of life

I understand rats are good cannibals. You know that you have a really bad problem if the one you caught is gnawed on. I've caught 18 rats + mice in the last 3 years.

Once I opened the crawl space to see a quite decomposed rat. Vultures were circling our house in minutes. Those guys have wonderful smellers. I threw the rat out in the field for their pleasure.

 

[Tyro]

If I've caught a rodent it goes out into the open space to be recycled into nature. Vultures, foxes, raccoons like a treat once in awhile.

That's one way rabies (and other nasties) are spread that aren't to healthy for the good li'l woodland creatures. I used to bury em (when I could) to protect the other critters, but lately I've had to put the corpses in a plastic bag headed for the landfill.

 

[Tyro]

I see this:

Thanks. Yep, dassa rat.

 

[SumDay]

OMG, we've lived through this. And the bird feeders were THE culprits. All gone now. I feel for the birds, but I will not have rats....

We looked up someone in the yellow pages, who asked if we wanted him to come today. "Why yes, I replied, my father's funeral is tomorrow" (it really was). He came and told us he'd place traps for $150. DH thanked him and said he could handle that. The guy then handed him a bill for $50. WTH?

3 days later we got a bill for $365 for the emergency/same day consultation. Long story short, but it turned into a case with the state Attorney General's office, along with a story on the local TV station about their shoddy business practices. They now have an F on the BBB site, along with a mile long list of complaints on Angie's List. I'd loved to have gotten the $50 back, but am just glad their reputation is trashed.

We were in duress due to the funeral, and just didn't do our homework. Never, ever again....

Good luck. Got a cat?

 

[Lsbcal]

That's one way rabies (and other nasties) are spread that aren't to healthy for the good li'l woodland creatures. I used to bury em (when I could) to protect the other critters, but lately I've had to put the corpses in a plastic bag headed for the landfill.

Maybe I've got something to learn about this? My reasoning was that these rodents were killed by a trap so they are safe for creatures to eat. Am I wrong?

I found this factoid:

Rabies is caused by a virus belonging to the family Rhabdoviridae. It was first recognized over 3000 years ago, and is now found on all continents except Australia. A virus is a very small and simple organism that must live inside an animal to survive. It is made up of a single genetic (RNA) strand, a protein cover, and an outer envelope. Rabies is most often transmitted via saliva when an infected animal bites another animal. The rabies virus can survive and cause disease in all mammals, including humans. Once a virus is living inside of an animal, the animal is called a host.

I suppose my dead rat could be cannibalized by another rabid rat before I get to the situation. Maybe I should just put out rats that have no signs of gnawing -- this is generally the situation.

 

[Lsbcal]

...
We were in duress due to the funeral, and just didn't do our homework. Never, ever again....
...

We've seen some really questionable (and costly) practices by these sorts of rodent services over the years. That's why I prefer to handle it myself.

 

[JakeBrake]

My formerly feral cats have my rats on the run. The cats DO get rabies shots.