Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

foreversomeday

If you live in a semi-detached or terraced house it might be an idea to let the neighbours know too...

tanith

Last winter we had mice in the garden shed and I have put down some poison (sorry but I don't want to see the dead bodies I know its not kind) there were 3 packets in the box and I already had some enclosed trays from last year... they emptied the first lot so I redid the trays and then I found that not only had they emptied the trays again they had also eaten into the box which I stored on a top shelf , this happened last week . So I put the box in what I thought was an inaccessible place only to find they have once again chewed the box and plastic satchet and there is poison all over the place ...
So if these mice are eating the poison as they surely are why are they not all dead by now? I am very puzzled.....

Horace

I hate to say it but perhaps they are immune to the poison. Try getting some good old fashioned snapping traps - they mighty quick and better than the mouse bleeding to death which is what happens with the poison.

randomtask_2

Coinciding with the building next door having scaffolding put up, during the past few weeks a rodent problem with my flat has been emanating from the loft. It's a shared loft actually (Victorian conversion) and stupidly, no one in the block seems to have access. Further set back by the fact the freeholder lives in France and is proving hard to reach of late.

Anyway, two nights ago I woke at 3am to noises in my kitchen. Didn't see anything but on hitting the light heard something scurrying away behind the washing machine and into the cavity walls (via a hole left by an old drain). Heard it move along into the lounge and not long after, and rather astonishingly, I was present in the room as the rope on the left hand pulley of my lounge sash window just fell away - it had been gnawed through so I guess the rat(s) had been chewing away at it for a while. Pics below:





And to compound my woes, in the early hours of this morning, I finally spotted the culprit (or at least one of them), In front of me, in the kitchen was a rather big brown rat (about 20cm in length, not including tail) in my bin. I had already plugged in a sonic repeller but clearly it's not doing the job.

Going to get some traps and expandable filler to try and block off entrance points, though I'm not sure I can reach them since it's somewhat tucked away behind the sink in the kitchen. The priority after this is to get into the loft where the nest must be. Am I within my rights to force entry if nobody in the building seems to have the key?

And who knows where I start on replacing the window pulley...will definitely need to reach my freeholder then as it should be part of the buildings insurance, right?

Any advice or tips? I'm away overseas for work next week so need to get acting on this sharpish...

marleyboy

Call Environmental Health, as its classed as a health hazard, they will treat this as an emergency, and if its rats, you wont be charged for it. see http://www.brent.gov.uk/ehealth.nsf/24878f4b00d4f0f68025663c006c7944/90b6d9aeead9cb1780256b9700548fcc!OpenDocument for more info.

randomtask_2

I called my council's pest control division but they're fully booked until Dec 12th apparently!!!

iamstacie

Hello, have a bit of a rat problem. Long story short, I found a rat under the bonnet of my car while I was at work, it escaped but no-one saw where to so I drove around for 4 days petrified that this vermin is sat in the back seat watching me and waiting for the right minute to pounce (my work hours mean I only drive during darkness now ) Anyway, a few days later I was going to go out in the car but as I went to get in I saw bit of car seat stuffing and sponge and rat droppings on the floor. I called the council who couldnt do anything as it wasnt in a garden or house, and eventually got a local guy to come out and get rid of it for me. Only it turned out I didnt pick it up from work and take it home, it came from home to work with me. I live in a row of 4 terraced houses, mines at one end and I park the car on the drive at the other end of the houses - as my landlord owns both houses he and the other tenants said this was ok. Anyway, the guys that lived in the end house (8 people, 2 bed???) moved out 2 months ago and left loads of junk in the back yard. The rat catcher said this is where the rats are nesting (right near there back door) and have made a nice little hole near the reg plate of my car and have been climbing up into the boot and pulling the back of the drivers seat apart and eating the dog food I left in the car (I know now that it was a bad idea, but I thought a car would be safer than putting it in the garden or garage to attract mice & rats! Never expected them to eat their way through my car I can see their claw and tooth marks in the plastic bit :eek: )

My question is, whose responsibility is it? My landlords since its his house/garden the rats are living in (even though he didnt put the rubbish there, he's had nearly 2 months to clean it up and hasn't - household stuff and beds, chair, tables in the gardens etc)? Which would mean trying to chase him thru the LA. Or can I contact the council myself and ask them to go to the empty house even though that property has nothing to do with me?

Luckily there doesnt seem to be any evidence of them nearing my house or yard yet, and I'm sure my dog would sort it out if there was, but I think I might invest in one of those plug-in things, otherwise I might never have a comfortable nights sleep again

Tao81

Does anyone know if it's true..... that mice and rats do not normally co-exist?
I was always under the impression that if there where mice nesting somewhere it usually indicates that there no rats nesting in that immediate environment??
I'm not sure where I heard this from but remember that it was a pretty reliable source at the time?!

Any pest control experts out there can put me right on this pls? Ta

frugalpam

If you think the problem is coming from the empty house, the council would investigate, I'm pretty sure of it.One of our neighbours used to leave out bin sacks of waste including food, in her back garden - silly moo was too lazy to put them in her wheelie bin. Result - rats seen in the neighbourhood including my garden Another neighbour rang the council who went round there to investigate and I hear she was given some sort of warning.I'm sure its their duty to investigate any sightings of rats.Good luck with it all.

iamstacie wrote: »

Hello, have a bit of a rat problem. Long story short, I found a rat under the bonnet of my car while I was at work, it escaped but no-one saw where to so I drove around for 4 days petrified that this vermin is sat in the back seat watching me and waiting for the right minute to pounce (my work hours mean I only drive during darkness now ) Anyway, a few days later I was going to go out in the car but as I went to get in I saw bit of car seat stuffing and sponge and rat droppings on the floor. I called the council who couldnt do anything as it wasnt in a garden or house, and eventually got a local guy to come out and get rid of it for me. Only it turned out I didnt pick it up from work and take it home, it came from home to work with me. I live in a row of 4 terraced houses, mines at one end and I park the car on the drive at the other end of the houses - as my landlord owns both houses he and the other tenants said this was ok. Anyway, the guys that lived in the end house (8 people, 2 bed???) moved out 2 months ago and left loads of junk in the back yard. The rat catcher said this is where the rats are nesting (right near there back door) and have made a nice little hole near the reg plate of my car and have been climbing up into the boot and pulling the back of the drivers seat apart and eating the dog food I left in the car (I know now that it was a bad idea, but I thought a car would be safer than putting it in the garden or garage to attract mice & rats! Never expected them to eat their way through my car I can see their claw and tooth marks in the plastic bit :eek: )

My question is, whose responsibility is it? My landlords since its his house/garden the rats are living in (even though he didnt put the rubbish there, he's had nearly 2 months to clean it up and hasn't - household stuff and beds, chair, tables in the gardens etc)? Which would mean trying to chase him thru the LA. Or can I contact the council myself and ask them to go to the empty house even though that property has nothing to do with me?

Luckily there doesnt seem to be any evidence of them nearing my house or yard yet, and I'm sure my dog would sort it out if there was, but I think I might invest in one of those plug-in things, otherwise I might never have a comfortable nights sleep again

judderman62

Hey Pam :wave:

Wish I could get rid of our mice that we've had for months :mad::mad::wall::wall: