Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

thor

We have spotted rats running around our back garden and are looking at ways of getting rid of them. I have ruled out those traps which are essentially cages and catches the rat alive. This would require you to dispose of them and I would feel a bit sqeemish about having to do the actual killing. On the other hand I would not want to let them out again because no matter how far I let them go I bet they'll remember me and want to come back for revenge.
Ideally I want a trap that will kill them without any human involvement apart from the setting up and I would not have any problems about getting rid of the bodies once they are dead. The thing that is stopping me from buying such a trap is that if I set one up in my garden I could not be sure that a non rodent such as a small cat would not get caught up and killed in one. The same would apply to rat poisons. They might designed for rats but surely a cat or a dog looking for food might fancy a taste test.
So does anyone have a possible solution?

natalie1974

Chances are they are not only running around your garden but everyone elses as well , depending on where you live of course. I personally would phone the pest control dept of your local council and they would send someone out who would look for the rat runs and place the poison in strategic places and then come back and check for bodies etc and take them away .

kippers

I would ring the council too. We had rats under our shed a couple of years ago and they came quickly and it was free!

TheOneSteeltips

We use to have a jack Russel that caught and killed them. we had cages as well the jack Russel could kill three at a time released form the cage at the same time but they still had to be disposed of. The cages can be immersed in water to drown the rat.Rat poisons not a good idea as the rat will smell a lot if it dies's under the floor. not good

Try this
http://www.ppcsupplies.co.uk/STV038
big mouse trap really but a cheap option

scooper

we had the same problem in our garden and around us,but the council said they wouldnt lay any poision or traps outside because of dogs cats children etc.
we just make sure there is no rubbish around our garden and bins are tight shut,also if you have a shed or garage you can put some in there

sophlowe45

After three days i found a dead mouse in a trap in the kitchen but whats the best way of opening the trap and getting rid of the dead body?

wilroda

Dont know about cats being a great mouse/rat deterrent - mine cats bring them in alive! .....Luckily for us, the dog soon sorts them out, well usually....

Interesting to note that you must leave all water out of a mouse/rats way.
That includes leaving the lid down on loo.....

smogzy

Rodents tend to like the edges of rooms so place your traps around here. Get a good old fashioned mouse trap and bait it with chocolate or peanut butter.

Check around to find out where they are getting in, you`ll be surprised how small the holes can be. Seal any holes up with wire wool first then squirt in some expanding foam.

judderman62

wolfehouse wrote: »

B&Q do an own brand one - about a fiver for 2. they are a plastic box with a bit of poison already inside (the wrapper has a picture of a very cute mouse peeping out of one...not the most sensitive choice, i thought).
they are very very easy to use as all you do is put one down in a suitaboe (out of the way) place.
worked for us the first day.

Glad it worked for you - I have two where the rubbish is kept for our flats and they've been 100% useless :mad: :mad:

The stuff the environmental health folk left has killed the huge sum of ............... one mouse :mad: :mad:

****ing things - how the heck do you get rid of the ****ers :mad: :mad:

has anyone had any joy with the mint oil idea ?

Rowan_2

We discovered we had a mouse problem last week in a round about way.

The dishwasher kept filling up and wouldnt stop. Except the water wasnt making it to the dishwasher, it was just gushing from the inlet pipe onto the kitchen floor. the kitchen ended up with a 1.5cms of water until we figured out what had happened.

The little .... mice ... had eaten the hose, and start the whole mess.

B&Q sell a couple of different options, I settled on a two pack of standard, ye old style mouse traps as I couldnt face the possibility of poison killing it where I couldnt get to it.

That night we caught one. We baited the trap with a tiny squidge of primula. They seem to like that well enough. I was all for just throwing it out, it was about £2.50 for two traps, I am happy to spend that to get rid of them, but my husband was happy enough to deal with the dead mouse and reset it.

We set another trap just in case, but nothing. Till this morning, a week later, we got another one.

So, the trap will be getting reset and put back again tonight. Just in case!

I can recommend these traps. Even though its hardly pleasant, I think its better than releasing them to plague someone else, or poisoning them so you have no idea where the body is.