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Old 12-08-2014, 11:20 PM   #621
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Now that you mention the Bubonic plague ( I think its actually on the fleas on the rat).
I would not live trap it, I would put down the seed type rat poison, and cover over the holes.
I know you don't like the idea of the poison, but the idea you could catch the plague from the rats living under you is more scary to me.

I saw a documentary of a guy from AZ that caught it from some rodent and it showed up while he was in NY. It was pretty awful, I think he lost some parts of his body.

If you do poison the rat, I would think you can just leave it there and it will rot away and the fleas and plague will die.
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Old 12-08-2014, 11:43 PM   #622
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Now that you mention the Bubonic plague ( I think its actually on the fleas on the rat).
I would not live trap it, I would put down the seed type rat poison, and cover over the holes.
I know you don't like the idea of the poison, but the idea you could catch the plague from the rats living under you is more scary to me.

I saw a documentary of a guy from AZ that caught it from some rodent and it showed up while he was in NY. It was pretty awful, I think he lost some parts of his body.

If you do poison the rat, I would think you can just leave it there and it will rot away and the fleas and plague will die.
It is pretty rare. I live near large areas of open space and parks so rodents are everywhere. There are only a handful of cases in the entire U.S each year, so I'm likely to be in more mortal danger from slicing a bagel:

Freakonomics » Bagel Danger

I'll see if the lights and music and mint will drive him/her/them off. I don't want the neighbor's cat or the vultures or snakes or whatever else is around at night to eat a poisoned rat and get sick.
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:14 AM   #623
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We have Victor traps in the crawlspace. Day 1 the bait was gone, trap sprung, no rodent in sight. Since then the traps have been untouched - not sprung and bait in place.

I am hesitant to put the traps outside in the yard as I don't want to harm the other wildlife, like squirrels and baby opossums.
If you do as I said, using a Wood box and peanut butter, you will catch a mouse.

Squirrels and opossums can be more destructive than mouse. You need to remove them from the area. Trap or bait. Take your pick.

Could be a snake.
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:20 PM   #624
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An engine is an item better to take time and be sure than be rushed and make potential mistake!
Never figured out why the manufacturers store spare parts in every engine...
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:24 PM   #625
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We're trying to outsmart rodents getting into the crawlspace. So far the rodents are winning. They can bite right through the vent screens and they are too smart to get caught in the traps. The long term solution is we are going to have to find crawlspace vents made of titanium. Short term today we put motion lights outside the vents to scare them off, and plugged the holes with steel scrubbie pads drenched in mint oil. The mint oil stuff got good reviews on Amazon as a repellent.
Agree that better wire grating is needed. For areas where that doesn't make sense we have had great success with steel wool (scrubbies work too) doused with chilli powder. They have to gnaw to get thru and they can't tolerate the spice. You can definitely hear the ruckus when they first run into the powder.
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Old 12-09-2014, 01:36 PM   #626
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Mice are trivial to trap with a standard mouse trap and peanut butter. Rats are much harder since they are smarter and more wary of unfamiliar things. Certainly a standard sized mouse trap will not trap them!
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:12 PM   #627
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We're trying to outsmart rodents getting into the crawlspace. So far the rodents are winning. They can bite right through the vent screens and they are too smart to get caught in the traps. The long term solution is we are going to have to find crawlspace vents made of titanium. Short term today we put motion lights outside the vents to scare them off, and plugged the holes with steel scrubbie pads drenched in mint oil. The mint oil stuff got good reviews on Amazon as a repellent.
Electricity...(or concrete). Works all the time.
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Old 12-09-2014, 04:26 PM   #628
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How about electric rat traps? They are clean, efficient, fast hence humane. See following video (fast forward to 1:40).

For a deterrence, ultrasonic repellers are supposedly good on rodents if placed close to the point of entry.

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Old 12-09-2014, 05:36 PM   #629
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I've been using the traditional traps forever. Lots of mice in this area to practice on! Gonna change course with the electric traps from Victor.
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:48 PM   #630
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Here's something interesting I just found about the rats' ability to withstand electric shocks, from reading product literature on electric traps.
"... the rat steps onto the metal plates, completing the circuit and the trap delivers a quick, humane 8,000 volt shock. Since rats have the ability to restart their heart, the shock is applied for 2 minutes ensuring a high kill rate."
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Old 12-09-2014, 05:57 PM   #631
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Here's something interesting I just found about the rats' ability to withstand electric shocks, from reading product literature on electric traps.
"... the rat steps onto the metal plates, completing the circuit and the trap delivers a quick, humane 8,000 volt shock. Since rats have the ability to restart their heart, the shock is applied for 2 minutes ensuring a high kill rate."
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Old 12-09-2014, 07:32 PM   #632
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How about electric rat traps? They are clean, efficient, fast hence humane. See following video (fast forward to 1:40).

For a deterrence, ultrasonic repellers are supposedly good on rodents if placed close to the point of entry.
Good video. Either they work or that rat was a really good actor. I have looked at these and they are on my list of things to try. I think he is out tonight. The cotton was on the ground and I heard rustling on the fence. Trying the steel wool soaked in cayenne pepper tonight to seal up his re-rentry point with three motion lights on the vent so maybe he will just move on to some place easier to live and nonlethal force will work.

One of our friends was pushing the ultrasonic device, but we have a dog and all the other wild life critters that roam through the backyard at night that aren't pests. I don't know how far the sound carries so I don't want to torment our dog or the resident squirrels.
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Old 12-09-2014, 11:24 PM   #633
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Here's another video showing a BIG rat getting killed instantaneously by electrocution (forward to 0:40). If I have a problem with rats and mice, this would be the thing I get.

I could not find a video I saw earlier, showing a redneck guy purposely testing the trap by sticking his hand inside. He lived.

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Old 12-10-2014, 03:59 AM   #634
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Seems as if age brings more small mistake. DW is having a temporary like affair with Ramen soup, and filled the cup with noodles and flavor pack, put it in the microwave, but forgot the water.

Three minutes later... a funny smell filled the house, and the noodles had turned black. I said "let it cool, and I'll clean it up, but, undeterred, she simply made another bowl and proceeded to cook that. Now, not only smell, but same smoke, and the inside of the built-in microwave turned a gold color.

After a fifteen minute session with Mr. Clean Eraser and different kinds of soap, it looked clean, but... the smell got worse and very heavy. Very unpleasant. Opened the doors, used three different air fresheners, and turned on the fans. Febreezed the furniture, curtains and drapes... Some help, but now a week later, still some faint smell from the oven. I expect that the smoke is inside the case.

Every day it gets to be less, so I don't think I'll try to take it apart, or buy new. Of course the first thing I did after it happened was to look on google for help. With thousands of suggestions that popped up right away, I realized I wasn't alone. The most common problem is burnt popcorn. The most common suggestion is vinegar and water (steam) followed by cinnamon sticks and lemon or orange. Tried all of these, and immediately after "solving" the problem, all appears ok, until the next time we cook.

It appears to be a matter of time, until the last vestiges disappear, so we'll live with it. DW thinks the smell is gone, but her "sniffer" isn't as sensitive as mine.

Now I wonder if there is something else I could have done, or could do in the future. A few years ago, I would have taken the microwave apart for cleaning, but now, it's a bit too heavy and more than what I want to tackle. Apart from the self venting filters which only work for the stove below, no easy access.
Any personal experience with this?
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Old 12-10-2014, 05:57 AM   #635
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Here's another video showing a BIG rat getting killed instantaneously by electrocution (forward to 0:40).......
We need to talk about this addiction to rat electrocution porn.
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Old 12-10-2014, 06:01 AM   #636
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......... Tried all of these, and immediately after "solving" the problem, all appears ok, until the next time we cook.
.......
You can get a new microwave for $50 - or a lot less at the Salvation Army or Habitat ReStore.
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Old 12-10-2014, 07:02 AM   #637
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You can get a new microwave for $50 - or a lot less at the Salvation Army or Habitat ReStore.
Now I have to convince DW... current one is like this.

GE Profile 1.9 cu. ft. Over the Range Microwave in Stainless Steel with Sensor Cooking-PVM9195SFSS at The Home Depot

Maybe I'll just try to fix:
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Old 12-10-2014, 07:30 AM   #638
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....

Now I wonder if there is something else I could have done, or could do in the future. A few years ago, I would have taken the microwave apart for cleaning, but now, it's a bit too heavy and more than what I want to tackle. Apart from the self venting filters which only work for the stove below, no easy access.
Any personal experience with this?
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You can get a new microwave for $50 - or a lot less at the Salvation Army or Habitat ReStore.
But the built in are more $$$, and not so easy to get in/out.

But here's a suggestion - use some of those cleaning methods again, but this time, after you run the u-wave with the lemon/vinegar/whatever, set a small desk fan in the oven. and leave it running with the door open a bit (will need it open to run the cord in anyway).

This way, you can get air circulating in there all day. It might help push some of the freshening vapors through the nooks and crannies inside, and flush it all out with fresh air. Might take a week of this, but it should help, I think.

Good luck!

-ERD50
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Old 12-10-2014, 08:23 AM   #639
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But the built in are more $$$, and not so easy to get in/out.

But here's a suggestion - use some of those cleaning methods again, but this time, after you run the u-wave with the lemon/vinegar/whatever, set a small desk fan in the oven. and leave it running with the door open a bit (will need it open to run the cord in anyway).

This way, you can get air circulating in there all day. It might help push some of the freshening vapors through the nooks and crannies inside, and flush it all out with fresh air. Might take a week of this, but it should help, I think.

Good luck!

-ERD50
Thanks... I should have thought of that... Didn't see that anywhere in the dozens of suggestions I looked at.
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Old 12-10-2014, 04:08 PM   #640
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We burned popcorn in our microwave, and other than wiping it out with a dishrag (little bit soapy like washing dishes) , we found the smell went away over a short time.

Some have a fan you can turn on, even when not cooking in it, try leaving that on for an hour or so.
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