Urgent advice needed - rat in house

makemineabud

OMG - someone please tell me what I can do. Found a rat in the kitchen today. I know the next door neighbour had rats not so long ago but was told that they dealt with the problem themselves. What is the best thing to do????:eek:

Nolanger

mandz

Buy rat poison and maybe contact Rentokil

mandz

Oh and act fast as if god forbid you had a male and a female about female only carry baby rats for about six weeks I believe - not to frighten you...

Mr Digger

mandz wrote: »

Buy rat poison and maybe contact Rentokil

Don't poison, I did and the feker died in the attic and stunk the place out, a good rat trap but keep other animals and kids away from it, when you get him you'll be able to dispose of it no prob instead of hunting for the 'smell'
good luck..

mawk

take shovel. Apply liberally.

TirNaNog.

Play UB40 full volume in the kitchen while dancing like a fruitcake,dont worry just live for the moment

Davy

Dont use poison, it makes them thirsty, and they will chew thru anything to get at water.

Get sticky sheets/boards to catch him

Mr Digger

Apply Jack Russel Terrier

ART6

Golden pages for vermin exterminators and fast. Rats urinate on everything and can cause Weill's Disease which can be fatal. It has similar symptoms to flu, which in the present Swine Flu epidemic could mislead medics. Don't waste time looking for traps or poison. Get in the professionals.

waraf

Ring the council. They have lads that deal with rats.

Sleipnir

ART6 wrote: »

Golden pages for vermin exterminators and fast. Rats urinate on everything and can cause Weill's Disease which can be fatal. It has similar symptoms to flu, which in the present Swine Flu epidemic could mislead medics. Don't waste time looking for traps or poison. Get in the professionals.

The organism which causes Weil's Disease can also be found in the urine of many farmyard animals yet farmers aren't dropping like flies.

Let's not panic shall we?

Joey the lips

I would not use poison. When they die you wont know where they will die. It is not safe around children or pets.

My fav trap is the big cheese. its available in woodies and a few other places.


http://www.signsealedelivered.co.uk/rat-trap---reusable-quick-click-trap-the-big-cheese-stv-141-p.asp

Joey the lips

Sleipnir wrote: »

The organism which causes Weil's Disease can also be found in the urine of many farmyard animals yet farmers aren't dropping like flies.

Let's not panic shall we?

+1 Jesus!

Lex Luthor

Woodies do rat traps...the old fashioned wooden ones. I caught a big muther phucker in my back garden a few yrs back with one...

cooked piece of sausage, cut into small bit and smear in nutella....maybe place 2 traps facing eachother just to be sure....

its definitely a rat? Any idea how it got in?

Fingalian

I chain my traps down with a bit of light chain.I've trapped rats before and the trap has not killed them and they crawl off with the trap....pain to track them down.

Joey the lips

Fingalian wrote: »

I chain my traps down with a bit of light chain.I've trapped rats before and the trap has not killed them and they crawl off with the trap....pain to track them down.

That usually happens with a moose trap or an old rat trap with a poor spring. Its quite funny to watch a rat run off with the trap. I once seen a bird attempt to take a dead rat and the trap away. Needless to say it was not happening.

Lex Luthor

I gotr a piece of 6" twin/earth cable and took out the earth wire, cut 1" lengths and soldered 3 onto the trap section facing in the direction of impact.

Anything to cut down the time from when the trap snaps to closing down is in your advantage. Impailing a rat makes sure he can't get away aswell as the wire goes right through his brain or neck....:D

ART6

Sleipnir wrote: »

The organism which causes Weil's Disease can also be found in the urine of many farmyard animals yet farmers aren't dropping like flies.

Let's not panic shall we?

Very true, but farmers generally don't allow their animals to urinate in their kitchens. Rats are the most common carriers of the bacteria, but I accept that even dogs can carry and transmit it. However, rats urinate almost continually and can contaminate floors and work surfaces. I work in the waste disposal industry where Weil's Disease is treated very seriously because it is an industry where rats are common and are ruthlessly guarded against. According to the UK health service ([URL="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Leptospirosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx") an estimated ten million people world wide are infected every year. OK, not a large percentage of the world's population, but enough to be considered perhaps?

What I was attempting to do in my response to the OP was to warn that he should get professional help and advice, and not rely on Woodies traps or Granny's solutions.

slavetothegrind

ART6 wrote: »

I work in the waste disposal industry

OOOOHH! Best be creful what i say then!!!!:D

Ok i watch too much sopranos....

Yeah get in the pro's but you can look for any points of entry.
Badly or not sealed orifaces around waste pipes, if your house has suspended floors are the vents all intact that kind of thing.

On trapping, they tend to have set routes and stick to them, if you can find such a route outside place a 4" drainpipe in the route and a rat trap inside this. They more likely to take bait in shelter and it will prevent injury to dogs, birds etc.

Been there before, not nice. Was lucky enough to get the fecker.

Safest way is as anthony Art says, get the pro's in.