Scaring a rat away and out our shed

Giraffe76

Hi all

We have a rat in our quite old and battered shed. I found a recipe for a solution that would force the rat to leave (including scotch bonnets) and have sprayed it inside the shed  whilst blocking all but 1 hole up but the rat still seems to be in there, I've tried making alot of noise to force it out but nothing seems to work.
I've seen the bait boxes online so I could catch and release it but if I did that I'm concerned about the rat spreading germs to me, my wife who has a compromised immune system or even somehow to our dogs. What precautions would I need to take if I went down the catch and release option?  we use the back of our van where I would put the caught rat in when transporting it to the release site for our dogs too so trying to make sure I take every precaution.
Any help advice and precautions would be most appreciated

Kind regards mark 

Isthisforreal99

Rats are not solitary animals so chances are there could be more than one and if left to breed.....

Is getting professional pest control an option, does your Local Authority offer a servuce?

Swipe

Make a poison that is harmless to other animals. Get a bait box and spoon in 2 parts baking powder and 1 part cake/cornmeal mix. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg9-yFIXlx0

soolin

I had an issue with rats and it never is just one! Nothing really worked and I tried a lot of stuff including the ant rat sprays (which didn't work). In the end I bought a plug in rat scarer as I have electricity available- there are 2 settings, insects and rats, the rat setting is audible to me, although my OH can't hear it . Luckily the shed is far away from the house and not near any neighbours, and it really seems to have worked. It has also driven out just about every other insect from there, as it was a spiders paradise, but recently I've noticed the occasional spider has returned. 

Giraffe76

soolin said:

I had an issue with rats and it never is just one! Nothing really worked and I tried a lot of stuff including the ant rat sprays (which didn't work). In the end I bought a plug in rat scarer as I have electricity available- there are 2 settings, insects and rats, the rat setting is audible to me, although my OH can't hear it . Luckily the shed is far away from the house and not near any neighbours, and it really seems to have worked. It has also driven out just about every other insect from there, as it was a spiders paradise, but recently I've noticed the occasional spider has returned. 

Hi,could recommend any item in particular

Regards 

Giraffe76

Swipe said:

Make a poison that is harmless to other animals. Get a bait box and spoon in 2 parts baking powder and 1 part cake/cornmeal mix. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg9-yFIXlx0

Thanks. Have you done this before yourself and if so what precautions did you take

ka7e

We had rats when a neighbour had chickens, but he got rid of them when avian flu was rampant. They tend to nest fairly close to a food source - bird feeders or compost bins. I've tried the bait boxes with the recommended peanut butter or chocolate and they have never been touched. We had two high prey-drive dogs who would stalk our shed for hours, but never managed to catch one. We now have a cat and he has caught 2 youngsters!

Swipe

Giraffe76 said:

Swipe said:

Make a poison that is harmless to other animals. Get a bait box and spoon in 2 parts baking powder and 1 part cake/cornmeal mix. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg9-yFIXlx0

Thanks. Have you done this before yourself and if so what precautions did you take

No, I leave my rats be at the bottom of the garden. They nest around my fish pools and compost bin. I rarely see them and if they see me, they leg it fast, so they don't bother me. I live in the countryside and my garden backs onto open fields so moles, voles, mice and rats are par for the course.

bjorn_toby_wilde

Try one of these https://www.toolstation.com/the-big-cheese-rat-mouse-bait-station/p80953?store=AV&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21016232523&gbraid=0AAAAAD-vLcUzqXibVtiT332jiOoVfMVEx&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIodG5zd3bkAMVYptQBh2HfgycEAQYAiABEgI93vD_BwE 
and some of the big cheese bait blocks.  They work.

Make sure the blocks are skewered on the bar in the box so the rat has to eat them where they are, rather than dragging them away somewhere other animals might access them.

You don’t state whether you’re committed to only use “humane” methods but IME they’re unreliable.

twopenny

Find out how they are getting in and fix it.
No good trapping them one at a time. A replacement will soon arrive.

Rats like cover to run in so clear everything around the shed and get it open. Any areas of dense growth.
They may be getting in for shelter but have you got any bird food or such stored there?
Is the shed raised? If so block it off with cheap wooden boards.
Stop up access points. Use some solar PIR lamps focusing on the area that will be triggered by movement. They'll go somewhere else.