Something in the Attic - How do I evict it?

Mr_Warren_2

I thought rat poison was specially designed to kill the beast "dry" therefore limited smells. What's our vermin expert saying on the subject? As poison does not kill the vermin on the spot, they will start feeling poorly and retreat to their den to die. Just thought (again) that poison were designed to keep smells down to minimum. I would be interested to have a reply. Cheers

safesound

Uhmm, from what I know (boyf is at work) it depends on what type of poison it is.
I'll ask for a definitive answer and post it here when he gets home tonight

safesound

Nile wrote:

The council pest officer will be your cheaper option (if they charge at all) than looking in the yellow pages and getting a pest control company to do the job.;)

Oh god yes, its absolutely disgusting what companies charge private customers to get rid of mice/rats. I'd absolutely advocate contacting your local council as here in S.Wales they dont charge at all so I'm guessing they probably wont charge wherever you are.

safesound

pealy wrote:

I have loads of creepers and a fairly big hole in the roof eaves (excuse spelling) so I might lie in wait and see if anything comes out.. If it's the squirrel then I should be able to block up the hole while he's knawing through my bird feeder. If it's rats then I'm calling the council..

First thing is trim those creepers, not only will it limit the access into your roof but it'll stop so many creepycrawlies getting in and it'll help with any damp too.
You *could* bait the attic for a few days/week or two and then block up the hole (this is the method that my boyf company recomends) or if you are a little squimish (sp?) then you could get some live catch traps (available from your local farm supplies or larger DIY stores).
If its a squirrel you can then take it someplace else and let it go (but no further than 1 mile away to stay legal, if I'm not mistaken) and if its a rat you can call your local enviro services and get them to come and take it away. Please note though that if you do this they *will* kill it as soon as they leave as they deal with them everyday and therefore have much less sympathy for them.

safesound

katiepops wrote:

I couldn't go round for months after that ... why why why can't someone invent something to get rid of them all for good!

Because then pest control companies would go out of business?
Seriously they say that there are roughly the same amount of rats in the UK as people. Just think about it for a minute....
The reason we will never get rid of rats is that they are the ultimate survivor and we feed them too well. Humans are such wasteful creatures and as long as we throw away so much useful rubbish the rat will continue to thrive.

safesound

Mr_Warren wrote:

I thought rat poison was specially designed to kill the beast "dry" therefore limited smells. What's our vermin expert saying on the subject? As poison does not kill the vermin on the spot, they will start feeling poorly and retreat to their den to die. Just thought (again) that poison were designed to keep smells down to minimum. I would be interested to have a reply. Cheers

There are a number of different poisons on the market; many that are licensed, many that were licensed and some that were never licensed for rodent control. The majority of baits (poisons) that are used are cronic rodentcides and work by disrupting the blood clotting process, these take between 4-8 days to take effect depending on how much the rodent has eaten vs body weight.
On a day to day basis I hear of these supernatural poisons, some which supposedly blow the animal up like a ballon and when kicked these rats will supposedly explode into many pieces (with this I suspect people are referring to carbide). I'm only an expert in the poisons that I use but there can be no doubt the rats do sometimes go and die on hot water pipes (because their blood is so thin they are attracted to the heat) and yes, they do make one hell of a smell. The saying 'you smell like a dead rat' couldnt be truer.
I'm not saying that a "drying" poison doesnt exist, just that I dont use it and have never come across it.
As an aside, rats will drink twice as much as they eat so it would be logical to presume a bait that would dehydrate the rat would force the rat out of the property or at least to a very damp area.