Brown Rat problem

Steve30x

Heres my problem. I moved into this house in febuary this year (This is a council house I am renting) and the house next door is boarded up with over a year and a half now. Two weeks ago I was in bed with my dog and I heard scuffling in my attic , a few minutes later I heard the scuffling in the wall right next to my pillow and the squeeking sound of the rats. I have been sleeping in my sitting room since then.

At first I thought it was mice so I got one of those plug in Dual Action pest repellant which uses ultrasonic sounds and magnetics. This thing automatically changes frequency and turns on and off the magnetic field every few seconds. This started working straight away but it didnt work too well.

Anyway about four days ago my sister brought me a 500g tub of Storm Rat Bait. I threw about 6 blocks of this bait in different directions where I heard the rats and waited for somethin to start happen. That night I heard the rats scuffling and making lots of noise where I threw the poison (Maybe eating it)

A few days later there was one rat in particular doing his best to chew through the wall in my sitting room so I bashed the wall a few times and that rat stopped. A few minutes later that rat was trying to chew through the wall in the Kitchen. Probably trying to get to water.

On to today. I was away at tipperary for a few hours with my sister. I got home at 3:20pm and went to put the kettle on for tea. I then went into one of the storage rooms in the small hall in the main entrance and opened the door. To my surprise there was a Brown Rat in there and he made a noise then ran up the wall and into the house next door. This rat was aproximately twelve to thirteen inches long. That storage room is right next to the house next door that is boarded up.

I have been putting Rat Bait in that storage room with a few days now (The dogs cant get at it) and have been seing it been eaten slowly until after I saw that rat today. Ive left 3 blocks of bait down just after seing the rat and checked on it two hours later and the bait was gone (All 3 blocks of it) So I left down 3 blocks of bait on the shelf I saw that rat and 3 more on the floor about 8 feet away. The second batch of bait I left on the shelf was gone again a few hours later so I didnt bother putting more on the shelf but the bait was still n the ground.

Anyway I have a small jack russell for indoors as a deterant to keep the rats form entering the house (Not chewing through the walls) and a medium sized dog in my back garden for the same purpose. I can still hear the rats sneaking around the attic every once in a while but I think that plug in deterant is slowly working. I have it with 9 days now and the instructions say it takes 10 - 15 days to work fully.

Just wondering what your guys thoughts on this is and any advice you can give (I know to be careful with the dogs already) Also another deterant I was told might work is Builders lime.

Anyway sorry for this extremely long post but I could do with a little advice here. Anything else that I can do to deter the rats from my house. I am getting onto the council (Again) tomorrow about this and if theres nothing done by this time next week I will be getting onto the health board (Who do I contact about this?

dee o gee

Id definetely get onto the council about it, its a health risk.:eek: Never had a rat problem, only mice, but what about calling rentakill and sending the bill to the council?
Are your dogs vaccinated? Make sure they are up to date on them as rats pee can carry lepto. I like pet rats but the thought of a 12 or 13 inch long wild brown rat is giving me the shivers.:eek: Thats nearly the size of a small cat.:eek: I wouldn't be surprised if your dogs are scared of them!!

Edited to say: Iv heard stories of people putting down poison and the rats dieing under the floorboards and in the roof, apparently it happened where mum works, the smell was meant to be REALLY bad, not helped by air conditioning!!

Steve30x

Aparently jack russell's are meant to be good at catching rats. Yes the dogs are up to date with their injections. Not sure if I can call RenToKill and send the bill to the council. You got the shivers thinking about the rats so Immagine what its like living in fear with them in the house.

As for getting onto the council about it , well most of my neighbours have the same problem and they have gotten onto the council about it too many times. The house next door was on the local news paper because of the problem and its an eyesore and theres a few coincillors got onto the concil about it. I got a letter from the council at the start of may stating that they were going to work on the house in a few weeks after I recieved the letter but they havent wnt near the house yet

Also My jack russell is a fearless little thing. He was barking and going for a rat in the back garden a few nights ago. Also both dogs are out in the garden most of the day but I will have to start keeping the jack russell indoors for a while until I am mostly rid of therat problem.

dee o gee

Your not by any chance from sligo are you? There was a similar story in my local paper a while back? I honestly don't know what else to suggest except to keep putting pressure on local council and getting councillors/media involved.

ronbyrne2005

traps?

aboutimeilogin!

. I moved into this house in febuary this year (This is a council house I am renting) and the house next door is boarded up with over a year and a half now.
"Two weeks ago I was in bed with my dog"???


and I heard scuffling in my attic , a few minutes later I heard the scuffling in the wall right next to my pillow and the squeeking sound of the rats. I have been sleeping in my sitting room since then.

At first I thought it was mice so I got one of those plug in Dual Action pest repellant which uses ultrasonic sounds and magnetics. This thing automatically changes frequency and turns on and off the magnetic field every few seconds. This started working straight away but it didnt work too well.

AnywayI threw about 6 blocks of this bait in different directions
crumble the blocks or they store it!

That night I heard the rats scuffling and making lots of noise where I threw the poison (Maybe eating it)

On to today. I was away at tipperary for a few hours with my sister. I got home at 3:20pm and went to put the kettle on for tea.

I then went into one of the storage rooms in the small hall in the main entrance
posh! council house!!:L


and opened the door. To my surprise there was a Brown Rat in there and he made a noise then ran up the wall and into the house next door. This rat was aproximately twelve to thirteen inches long. That storage room is right next to the house next door that is boarded up.

I have been putting Rat Bait in that storage room with a few days now (The dogs cant get at it) and have been seing it been eaten slowly until after I saw that rat today. Ive left 3 blocks of bait down just after seing the rat and checked on it two hours later and the bait was gone (All 3 blocks of it) So I left down 3 blocks of bait on the shelf I saw that rat and 3 more on the floor about 8 feet away. The second batch of bait I left on the shelf was gone again a few hours later so I didnt bother putting more on the shelf but the bait was still n the ground.


Just wondering what your guys thoughts on this is and any advice you can give (I know to be careful with the dogs already)

Anyway sorry for this extremely long post but I could do with a little advice here. Anything else that I can do to deter the rats from my house. I am getting onto the council (Again) tomorrow about this and if theres nothing done by this time next week I will be getting onto the health board (Who do I contact about this?[/quote]

when you see millions of flies in the house, then you know they are gone!
rats are impossible to get rid of!!

Magenta

aboutimeilogin! wrote: »

. I moved into this house in febuary this year (This is a council house I am renting) and the house next door is boarded up with over a year and a half now.
"Two weeks ago I was in bed with my dog"???


and I heard scuffling in my attic , a few minutes later I heard the scuffling in the wall right next to my pillow and the squeeking sound of the rats. I have been sleeping in my sitting room since then.

At first I thought it was mice so I got one of those plug in Dual Action pest repellant which uses ultrasonic sounds and magnetics. This thing automatically changes frequency and turns on and off the magnetic field every few seconds. This started working straight away but it didnt work too well.

AnywayI threw about 6 blocks of this bait in different directions
crumble the blocks or they store it!

That night I heard the rats scuffling and making lots of noise where I threw the poison (Maybe eating it)

On to today. I was away at tipperary for a few hours with my sister. I got home at 3:20pm and went to put the kettle on for tea.

I then went into one of the storage rooms in the small hall in the main entrance
posh! council house!!:L


and opened the door. To my surprise there was a Brown Rat in there and he made a noise then ran up the wall and into the house next door. This rat was aproximately twelve to thirteen inches long. That storage room is right next to the house next door that is boarded up.

I have been putting Rat Bait in that storage room with a few days now (The dogs cant get at it) and have been seing it been eaten slowly until after I saw that rat today. Ive left 3 blocks of bait down just after seing the rat and checked on it two hours later and the bait was gone (All 3 blocks of it) So I left down 3 blocks of bait on the shelf I saw that rat and 3 more on the floor about 8 feet away. The second batch of bait I left on the shelf was gone again a few hours later so I didnt bother putting more on the shelf but the bait was still n the ground.


Just wondering what your guys thoughts on this is and any advice you can give (I know to be careful with the dogs already)

Anyway sorry for this extremely long post but I could do with a little advice here. Anything else that I can do to deter the rats from my house. I am getting onto the council (Again) tomorrow about this and if theres nothing done by this time next week I will be getting onto the health board (Who do I contact about this?
when you see millions of flies in the house, then you know they are gone!
rats are impossible to get rid of!!

We have a beautiful Quote function that works quite wonderfully

OP be careful about letting the dog at the rats now that you have poison out because if he gets one that's eaten poison he could be poisoned himself.

00112984

Agree with the others about rats eating poison and dying in cavaties. Haven't experienced it myself but sounds nasty. I have this thing about wild rats. Ugh.

Was going to suggest borrowing (or adopting!) a cat? My parents live on a farm and, while their cats are very well fed, they're also great mousers and ratters. From my understanding of rats, they seem to be very intelligent creatures and I bet word would get around their little rat commune very quickly if there was a cat about.

Have to say, my heart goes out to you. I know rats make great pets but even thinking about the wild brown ones gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Steve30x

aboutimeilogin! wrote: »

. I moved into this house in febuary this year (This is a council house I am renting) and the house next door is boarded up with over a year and a half now.
"Two weeks ago I was in bed with my dog"???

Let me word it better. I was in bed and my dog was on the bed next to me

and I heard scuffling in my attic , a few minutes later I heard the scuffling in the wall right next to my pillow and the squeeking sound of the rats. I have been sleeping in my sitting room since then.

At first I thought it was mice so I got one of those plug in Dual Action pest repellant which uses ultrasonic sounds and magnetics. This thing automatically changes frequency and turns on and off the magnetic field every few seconds. This started working straight away but it didnt work too well.

AnywayI threw about 6 blocks of this bait in different directions
crumble the blocks or they store it!

Thank you for that tip

That night I heard the rats scuffling and making lots of noise where I threw the poison (Maybe eating it)

On to today. I was away at tipperary for a few hours with my sister. I got home at 3:20pm and went to put the kettle on for tea.

I then went into one of the storage rooms in the small hall in the main entrance
posh! council house!!:L

Its more like a glorified appartment. Theres only one bedroom , the house is 24 feet deep by 48 feet wide. The biggest part of this is the garden.

and opened the door. To my surprise there was a Brown Rat in there and he made a noise then ran up the wall and into the house next door. This rat was aproximately twelve to thirteen inches long. That storage room is right next to the house next door that is boarded up.

I have been putting Rat Bait in that storage room with a few days now (The dogs cant get at it) and have been seing it been eaten slowly until after I saw that rat today. Ive left 3 blocks of bait down just after seing the rat and checked on it two hours later and the bait was gone (All 3 blocks of it) So I left down 3 blocks of bait on the shelf I saw that rat and 3 more on the floor about 8 feet away. The second batch of bait I left on the shelf was gone again a few hours later so I didnt bother putting more on the shelf but the bait was still n the ground.


Just wondering what your guys thoughts on this is and any advice you can give (I know to be careful with the dogs already)

Anyway sorry for this extremely long post but I could do with a little advice here. Anything else that I can do to deter the rats from my house. I am getting onto the council (Again) tomorrow about this and if theres nothing done by this time next week I will be getting onto the health board (Who do I contact about this?

when you see millions of flies in the house, then you know they are gone!
rats are impossible to get rid of!!

I can only do my best

I know the after effect of a dead rat or rats in the cavaties will be realy bad but it might just make the rest of the rats not come near the house. I will buy a rat trap on thursday when I get paid and set it down. I will try everything.

It was also suggested to me by a few people to borrow a ferret and let him lose in the attic. He would get rid of all the ats and his scent will keep them away.

00112984 wrote: »

Agree with the others about rats eating poison and dying in cavaties. Haven't experienced it myself but sounds nasty. I have this thing about wild rats. Ugh.

Was going to suggest borrowing (or adopting!) a cat? My parents live on a farm and, while their cats are very well fed, they're also great mousers and ratters. From my understanding of rats, they seem to be very intelligent creatures and I bet word would get around their little rat commune very quickly if there was a cat about.

Have to say, my heart goes out to you. I know rats make great pets but even thinking about the wild brown ones gives me the heebie-jeebies.

I mean no offence with what I am going to say but I wouldnt get a cat because they are dirty> I had a pet cat when I was small and any little corner in the house is its toilet. Dont get me wrong. I love cats but I dont want them doing their business al around my house. Also I dont know what way the dogs would react.

star-pants

Aboutmeilogin please next time be more helpful in your reply- we're all aware its tough to get rid of rats. OP- have you tried traps? Rather than just poison, we had mice and used the plug in thing but lots of traps around too. Mice liked nuts or bit of chocolate, but not sure if that would tempt a rat too. That way you could check the traps and know where the dead rats are if you catch one. I would continue trying to get someone in the council- if its a big problem in your area it's dangerous for all involved.

Steve30x

I havent tried traps yet. I havent seen any rats inside the house yet. Theyre in the walls and Ceiling for now. I will get two Rat Traps on thursday when I get paid. What are the best and easiest Rat Traps available. I dont want a Humane trap because thats only removing the problem from my house and putting it at somebody elses house.

star-pants

I only know of traditional wooden mouse traps i'm afraid but i'm sure if you go to your local hardware store they should be able to give you advice on what ones are best. You could put some in your attic too. And have a look around for anywhere they might be able to get out. Like gaps for wires to attic etc.

Steve30x

I will borrow a Ladder today after I get home from doing a bit of work for my father (Fixing some computers) and have a look around the attic> The problem is the attic is very low and is hard to get around.

By the way what did ItsAboutTimeILoggedIn mean when he said the rats store the rat bait? Will they actually eat it? I might conside getting a cat if I can find how to house train it. As I said I will try everything possible to get rid of the buggers. Also I was looking at a site that says Jack Russells make great rat hunters @ http://www.terrierman.com/dogsrats.htm

Ding Dong

The problem with blocks is that ur not 100% sure that theyre effective. They can easily move the blocks and store them but not necessarily eat them. putting grain down is more certain. They have to eat it there and then, so if your missing grain from the bait bowls, you know its working. also keep an eye out for coloured droppings after they have eaten the poison, another sure fire way of seeing its working. We had rats in our attice and thats how we got rid. if they die up in attic, you wont smell anything. chances are they will go outside to die.

Steve30x

Yes there is blue'ish coloured droppings where I left the rat Bait. I will crush up some more before I leave this morning. I have a spare dog bowl that I will use.

Steve30x

I crushed up 7 blocks of bait into powder form and put it into a dog food bowl before I left home yesterday. The Rats have eaten about quarter of it so far and there seems to be a lack of rats around the house since yesterday evening. I know theres at least one in the attic still because I can hear it sneaking about every once in a while.

Ive also reported this to the council and they didnt seem to care. The woman at the reception said to me "You must try a few things yourself First" I told her I put down rat poison and she took my details and that I had rats in the house , I said to her before I left "I need something done about this as soon as possible because its a health hazzard to me". Its only then she took my phone number because there was two other people behind me.

I've also reported this to the health board but the people I needed to talk to were gone home (It was 4:40PM) and they should be calling me about this problem today some time.