There's a rat in mi kitchen!

We live very rurally and a few years ago I had a few friends round for lunch. We heard a clatter in the kitchen and saw an enormous rat perched on the open window latch. We all froze as it fell into the sink. One of my brave friends picked up a saucepan to whack it with and it jumped back up the window and down into the honeysuckle where it had scrambled up, never to be seen again, not that I was looking for it.
We have to be very careful what we put out to feed the birds and where we train the honeysuckle,
Also had mice nesting in the engine of the car, causing hundreds of pounds damage, chewing through cables.
My husband traps them ( yes, peanut butter) and takes them in the car and releases them when he go golfing ( not on the course) but I’m sure they come back?
The joys of living in the country!

Ever since I read that rats can get in via the toilet we put the lid down. Both toilets have quite heavy lids and, hopefully, the horrible creatures wouldn't be able to lift them

I agree with tigger,they hate the smell peppermint and if you put some by your machine / doors/skirting boards it should deter them from coming into your home.
Oh and by the way,i don`t think there will only be one.

tigger

Sprinkle peppermint oil everywhere they hate it.

I've been watching a mousetrap enthusiast on youtube who tests out traps, antique (which he collects) and new ones.

He tested out the theory about peppermint oil as he was sceptical, but they really didn't like it!

Thanks for reminding me, because I'm sure I have some of that somewhere.

A few years ago two of my GC had a couple of lovely rabbits with a large run in the garden, we realised that the rats had built a home underneath the run and they were coming up to eat the rabbit food, it was the perfect pitch for them. I’d read that if you find one of the entrances to the nest and pour lots of water down via a hose pipe they will all run out. We found the hole and did this, half expecting it not to work, we were taken a bit by surprise when several big rats shot out at a rapid pace and headed off up the garden into the woods. It caused great excitement with the GC. We got rid of the rabbit run after that and filled the rat holes up.
I have a Border Terrier and he somehow just knows if there’s one about, he’s great at catching them but I can’t stand the thought of him having the filthy creatures in his mouth so wouldn’t encourage it. I also hate the way they squeak when a dog gets hold of them, as much as I hate them it just seems cruel.

Peanut butter with a little chocolate - rats and mice cannot resist.

We had a rat (we presume) die underneath our sitting room floorboards in the heat of the summer and the smell was dreadful.

To remove the smell, peel an onion (into 'leaves'), put it in a bowl and cover it with water. This eradicates the smell from the decomposing animal. It really works.

My little granddaughter found a dead rat next to out decking. The decking has now been ripped up and we have a new stone patio. Apparently most deckings have rats underneath

Can anyone buy a couple of rat traps to set? If we were nearby, I’d send mr i round with a couple of his. He uses peanut butter as bait but I may suggest chocolate
Best of luck Miss A

Sprinkle peppermint oil everywhere they hate it.

I can't afford to pay at the minute, as I'm not well and haven't been working.
Never mind; more than one way to skin a rat cat.
Resourcefulness is needed.

Thank you, I'll try the chocolate trick.

One upside of all this is that my boy carefully put his shoes away last night, instead of leaving them under the bookcase in the living room.

So, I have my electronic mouse trap, some snap traps on the way, the chocolate trail to try....

Shandy57 Your suggestion created a terrible dilemma, how could I possibly waste chocolate by actually putting it on the floor

we had rats a few years ago when we had chickens & my husband did the rat catching training at the local agricultural college, it was about £130 but gave him a licence to use the super strong poison you can't buy in the shops. He uses it now and it works, the only thing is being a gentle soul doesn't like using it much and will say things like 'its only one' to which I say 'it'll have a mate so will breed' they're very hot on avoiding secondary poisoning, which is good. Most local authorities don't have a service now, you have to go private in keeping with Tory ideas of small welfare state

Last summer my daughters cats brought 25 of the b******s in the garden always left thematic the same spot,was horrible.

Try the chocolate trick MissAdventure, then check the lounge to see how he got in.

I live in the countryside and know I'm surrounded by rats and mice but luckily none in the house yet.

Sorry to hear council cuts
Now include pest control. The rat population will flourish
Hope you find one that is affordable x

I’m sure there will be private pest control services in your area, try Google.

The Pest Control Service has now been stopped with no plans for this to be replaced.

This, on the council website today.

I would get pest control in. They will check where its got in and block any holes. To me, it's too big a problem to tackle yourself.

We have an ongoing rat problem where I live - due to people (not my neighbours) feeding the pigeons seagulls rooks, crows etc etc. Although we haven't caused the problem in the first place the council are quoting over £180 to do something about it. And they won't do anything about the people putting food. I caught one man putting meat, cheese bread dough and all other manner of things in a public place to feed the birds.
I despair sometimes

First check your bye-laws. Here it is illegal NOT to report rats to the municipal authorities.

You need to catch the rat, find out how it was getting into the house, and whether there are more rats. There probably are

I don`t want them in the house, but I quite like rats and mice, so won`t kill them. I used to take mice off Mia before she could hurt them, then set them free on the river bank at the front. The last rat I saw was a very large, furry one, came out from behind one of the wheelie bins, I presume it was a water rat, as we`re on a river bank.

Many years ago while I was staying at a friend’s in the country, I opened the dishwasher and a mouse shot out.. It didn’t seem to bother it that two cats and two dogs lived in the house. Don’t ask me how it got in there but she said it was an old machine and it had come up through the water pipes.

You need a professional to deal with this. Don't try to do it yourself as a friend of mine did. She put down poison, rats died under her floorboards - dreadful smell, maggots, bluebottles.She had to move out for weeks.

When I had a rat , visiting under my kitchen sink, I kept putting poison down - after about 4 nights no more poison was taken Mr. Ratty was no more...........but interestingly enough the whole packet of poison was taken each time!! And then I saw a mouse in my sitting room a few nights ago - it was grey and fluffy but it had to go..........again I put down 2 lots of poison and the next morning both had disappeared completely..........have put more down anyway. Maybe its this time of year...............good luck everyone! I've had a dead rat in my basement (I live in London) a few times and the smell of decaying rat is positively evil but there is some very good gel stuff you can buy which sort of absorbs the smell - I can recomment that! If anyone wants to know the name of it, message me,and I'll look it up.

I had rats in my house about 5 years ago. They actually chewed a hole in the kitchen wall and another in the hall and got into the house that way. They can chew through stone and brick. I bought a large rat trap but they would not go in. Do you know it is illegal to trap a rat and release it somewhere? So then I bought rat poison and put it into the holes. A dying rat appeared in my kitchen and I had to call a man for help. He put it in a plastic shopping bag and went off with it. I put the rest of the poison pellets down the holes and got the same man to fill the holes. To date I have not had any more rats.
However I have had mice and they are so bold they actually run about in the daytime. I have caught several in humane traps. Luckily I don't have any at the moment.