Dead rat in attic!

loveisdivine

My husband just rang to say he went into the attic to get the christmas stuff down and found a dead rat in the middle of the attic.

Now, we're crazy animal loving vegans and would never want to intentionally kill any animal. But we're also not stupid and know that we can't leave this to turn into a huge problem.

My husband also said he found some old bait traps down the back on the attic (we've only been in the house a couple of months) so it's possible this rat died from eating the bait.

We've not heard any noise from the attic and not seen any signs of rats or mice downstairs.

There are some gaps between the attic and extension roof which I believe have soffits but may need to be checked and have something else put on to stop them getting in.

Is there anything humane I can do to catch any that are still in the house? and what would we do with them if we caught any?

Please, humane/non violent responses only.

pilly

One dead rat does not necessarily mean there's more so don't panic too much. I actually don't know of any humane ways to get rid of them to be honest. I have a cat who deals with them for me, not very kind maybe but it's kind of nature taking it's course. One tip, if you have any presses with food down low move the food up high. They tend to come in under the sink etc and stay if there's food available.

BetsyEllen

You can definitely get humane traps, My Mum and Dad recently used some in their house for mice.

It traps them in a little box (with airholes!) so you can just pick it up and put them outside. Obviously you'd have to check every day.

I'm sure if you google it you'll find a wide selection.

Avatar MIA

Was there a smell, if not it could be there any length of time and may not be an on going issue. But, best to seal up any possible entry points. Unless a concrete floor you'd most likely hear them moving around.

dazed+confused

BetsyEllen wrote:

It traps them in a little box (with airholes!) so you can just pick it up and put them outside.

Make sure you seal up every potential entry point before doing this. Otherwise they will just come straight back in.

loveisdivine

No smell, husband said it seemed quite fresh. We'd be in and out of the attic regularly enough and we've never seen any rats or signs of them.

Kinda hoping this is just a one off that found it's way inside and got caught with the bait. We live in an exceptionally quiet area and I'm a light sleeper so I'd like to think I'd have heard something if they were regularly up there. Plus our bedroom is directly under the main part of the attic and right under where he found the dead one.

I'm aware of the dangers of having rats/rodents in the house and obviously we want to nip it in the bud, I'd just rather do it in the least painful way. Poisoning is a pretty nasty way to go. I'd really rather stop them getting in in the first place and then have humane traps to deal with any that make it through.

Would a steel mesh securely put up stop them, or can they chew through that too? Want to ensure we still have adequate ventilation.

We do have 2 cats, however they're well used to not attacking our guinea pigs, so they'd probably just want to play if they saw a rat!

Cherry Blossom

Just a reminder to all that any method of pest control other than humane trapping and release is not permitted here. Any more posts suggesting other methods including death by cat or terrier will be removed and the poster sanctioned if deemed necessary by the mods.

Thanks,
CB.

loveisdivine

Here's a picture of it, it's definitely a rat? Don't think it's small enough for a mouse. The pictures not gruesome or anything.

I think we'll go with a few humane traps and making sure the gaps are covered.

http://imgur.com/a/1PsSX

Avatar MIA

loveisdivine wrote: »

Here's a picture of it, it's definitely a rat? Don't think it's small enough for a mouse. The pictures not gruesome or anything.

I think we'll go with a few humane traps and making sure the gaps are covered.

http://imgur.com/a/1PsSX

That looks very fresh alright - very recent I'd say.

In fact, sure it wasn't sleeping

Mooooo

This is the time of year when rats will move in from outside. They can get in anywhere and climb anywhere. Are there kids ib the house? with rats its a health issue so If I were you I'd get in the professional to deal with it, they may have a "humane" way to deal with it if u wish. If releasing it would want to be out in fields away from any house. Health and safety should trump anything else here

loveisdivine

To be honest I'm not getting a professional in and paying an arm and a leg for 1 dead rat. If we get more and it's obviously becoming an issue, then I guess we will have to at that stage.

No kids.

Will try and figure out the most obvious places they could be getting in at the weekend and get it sorted.

boobycharlton

Seal every possible entry point, around roof/guttering and where pipes are entering the property. Stuff any gaps with steel wool then fill them with expansion foam. Keep food in sealed Tupperware boxes and make sure bins are secure to eliminate food sources. I'd also make sure water tank in attic is covered. Once you're satisfied everywhere is sealed, stick down whatever humane trap you want.

I wouldn't mess about with rats if it was me, and the two cats would be going in the attic for a few hours each day at a minimum until I was satisfied there's no more present, but each to their own.

km991148

just remember tho - depending on the type of house - some ventilation will still be required - you cant go completely to town with the expanding foam.

Mesh might be a good idea and removing any food sources that they can sniff out?

loveisdivine

Yeah I'm gonna use a steel mesh instead as we need to keep good ventilation due to woodworm issues.

Obviously there's food in the kitchen but it's all kept in cupboards. We have a rabbit and guinea pig inside so there are food bowls in their cages, but can't really do anything about that. The cats obviously have food out at meal times but it's never there that long.

We have chickens in the garden too but there feeds are kept out the back in the shed.

Like I say, we thankfully haven't seen or heard any signs of rats anywhere else in the house. Hopefully just an isolated incident. But the fact there was already some bait traps in the attic tells me it must have happened before so definitely need to get the openings covered.

fret_wimp2

We had a mouse problem in a rented apartment a few years ago, and came up with a very cheap humane solution.

A big empty dustbin with some very smelly food in the very bottom is put in the room.
A stick, with a bit of rope on the end is placed from the floor to the top of the bin to allow the mice to climb up to the top of the bin, and down the rope inside the bin. The rope only goes about half way down into the bin so they have to drop the rest of the way. They are now caught.
We then set them lose a mile or two up the road.

Would set this up before going to bed and caught about 10 mice this way, after which they either got clever or there were none left.

L1985

Let the cats walk around the attic. Even if they don't do anything the smell should be enough to scare of rats and mice-they won't know their friendly cats!! If you can let them around the outside of the property as well-generally speaking though if you have hens I'll have a rodent problem because of their food!

loveisdivine

Caught our first rat last night!

We've been round and covered any obvious possible entry points with galvanised mesh. I'm also gonna put all the chicken food in an airtight box, it's already in the shed but it cant hurt.

Still no signs of them anywhere downstairs. I think the presence of the 2 cats is probably putting them off venturing further than the attic.

We're also gonna try putting some soiled cat litter in the attic to try and deter them too.

Something else I only thought of after we released this one was that we have blue spray we use on the chickens. It's harmless so I'm gonna give the next one we catch a small spot of it on it's back, that way we'll know if they're getting back in or if we're just catching ones still trapped inside.

Mooooo

loveisdivine wrote: »

Caught our first rat last night!

We've been round and covered any obvious possible entry points with galvanised mesh. I'm also gonna put all the chicken food in an airtight box, it's already in the shed but it cant hurt.

Still no signs of them anywhere downstairs. I think the presence of the 2 cats is probably putting them off venturing further than the attic.

We're also gonna try putting some soiled cat litter in the attic to try and deter them too.

Something else I only thought of after we released this one was that we have blue spray we use on the chickens. It's harmless so I'm gonna give the next one we catch a small spot of it on it's back, that way we'll know if they're getting back in or if we're just catching ones still trapped inside.

How big was it? Thought I was great when I caught one when we had problems but it was a young one and caught 6 more before the day was out. The adults are clever feckers

kathleen37

Where are you releasing it? When I trapped some mice years ago, I used to take them with me on the way to work and release them in a local park. If you release them anywhere close, they will make their own way back easy enough..

loveisdivine

Husband said it was a little big smaller than a guinea pig.

We put it in a field down the road. Hopefully we can block it all up so they don't get in. Could be hard to get it completely tight though.

Have to see if they return once I get some blue spray on the rest.

It's weird cos there are still no droppings in the attic and all the wiring is un-chewed but by god once it gets dark it's like they're having a party up there.

MAJJ

Check and seal your water tanks in the attic. The bait left before depending on what it was make them crazy for water. Best check for peace of mind

loveisdivine

Yeah it actually doesn't have a cover on it at the moment. I ordered one online a week ago but it's still not arrived.