Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
There's a rat in my kitchen, what am I gonna do?
It's not the first time this has happened. I've a garden flat with undeveloped basement on the Ladder. Normally a couple of well placed traps in the basement solves the problem, but this rat seems to be staying hidden. The only time I know it's still there is when I hear it scrabbling in a partition wall. I could remove the bath panel and put down poison but I want to avoid a dead rat somewhere I can't access, and want to avoid it getting into any of the rooms.
I also need to stop it's friends getting in. All the obvious external access points have been blocked up. I'm thinking of getting a drain survey done in case they're coming in via a broken pipe - can you recommend someone? Is there anything else I can do to secure the house? Can pest control help, or do they just state the obvious?
It's an age old problem so hoping some HOLers can share their advice. No, I don't want to get a cat! On a positive note, the occasional late night cockroaches seem to have disappeared!!
Thanks
Lisa
Tags for Forum Posts: pest control
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nigel Tuppen on
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I would speak to the Environmental Health Dept for some advice.
Would you consider using glue traps?
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Hi Nigel - I'm not at all keen on glue traps. Too inhumane and after reading up on them they don't sound any more effective than a snap trap. This rat seems to be sticking to the walls. No signs of life in the basement. I'll see what Env Health have to say.
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Yes you have a problem. Even the best pest people can't guarantee no dead rodents stuck in the wall. I have likewise blocked all vents etc with fine mesh and all floor/skirting/cabinet backs with course wire wool and haven't had a problem since. Are they getting in via a neighbours house? Could be the cold weather driving them in.
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Hi Philip, we're a mid terrace so it's definitely possible they could be getting in via a neighbour's house. How you can tell without pulling up the floorboards etc... Seems impossible to effectively rat proof an old Victorian property. Drains seem an obvious next check.
The flat is rat proofed enough to stop them getting into the house, but my worry is they could damage wiring and cause a fire hazard, as well as bring disease and generally freak me out. Would love to solve once and for all.
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Permalink Reply by Alison P on
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I'm interested in how you know it's a rat and not a mouse? Scale of the noise? I'm getting a little bit paranoid about some of the rustling going on in our walls ...
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Yes, scale of the noise. Could be a mouse with clogs on, but it's exactly the same type of noise as before (when the rats were caught). It's just highly frustrating that the traps in the basement are being left alone. Peanut butter and my mum's jam normally does the trick!
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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My mum (who lived in the countryside for 15 years) is the expert on rodent eradication. She says there is bait you can get that makes them really thirsty, so they go outside in search of water and die out there. I don't think she's had a dead one inside since she started using it.
This is in NZ so I don't know what brand you would use here, but I know a colleague of mine with the same problem has managed to order some on Amazon. I can ask her what it was (not at work today though).
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beware the companies that tell you their bait is the real deal and every bit as strong as licensed exterminators....it isn't....
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I'd be interested in knowing what this brand is if you could ask your colleague. Having read this post have come to the (horrible) realisation that our 'mouse' is probably a rat too...
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Permalink Reply by tulips on
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I would use a professional pest controller. Unfortunately I can't recommend one myself as I've lost details, but there are probably recommendations on here. Years ago we saw a rat in the garden - our cat was following it round the garden, walking behind it, not doing anything, like they were mates, if I wasn't so horrified it would have been funny. We got a pest controller who put down a special box with poison inside which could only be accessed by a smallish tube so it wouldn't affect larger animals. That dealt with it and we never saw a rat in the garden again. Years ago, we also once saw a rat inside coming out of our bathroom! It turned out there was a hole behind the bath panel. So we got a pest controller to put poison behind the panel and that dealt with it, we've never had a problem since. We re - did our bathroom and obviously got the hole filled. I think the best thing is to get in a professional quickly.
You're very sensible in not getting a cat to deal with it as that's not the answer. Some people get a cat solely to deal with a mouse problem when they've got no interest in having a cat for 18 years or even know how to look after a cat properly. It's the wrong reason to get a cat and it won't deal with the problem anyway.
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Breaking news: the rat is no more. Time and natural causes was the solution. In its place is a smell worse than my other half's sandals and a couple of flies (now also dead).
If only I could stop them getting in once and for all. If anyone can recommend a rat proofer (if such a person exists) please let me know!
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