So I have a rat living in the drop-ceiling of my weird old house. This place has a whole warren of tunnels running through it for an old AC system. It’s also open to the outside in various places that I can’t do anything about.
Anyway, here’s my rat, and his ocean of droppings:
Now honestly I find rats pretty cute, and I wouldn’t mind him being up there if he didn’t keep freaking out in the middle of the night and pattering around over my head.
I’ve been trying to get him with the humane trap for weeks, but he’s too smart. I don’t really want to poison him if I can avoid it. And obviously I can’t get in there to chase him around. How can I persuade him to move out?
Sticky board. If you happen to be home when he gets stuck there’s a chance you could rescue him. If you’re using a live trap then try peanut butter or, better yet, bacon grease as a lure. Note that once he goes another one is likely to move into the vacated territory.
He comes out and roams around at night. There’s no accessible food. He was eating soap in the downstairs bathroom until I put a trap down there, so I guess he’s hungry. But he’s still here.
Ugh no, those seem crueller than poison. I’ve been able to get rats off them sometimes with olive oil (when I find them dumped in the street), but half the time they’ve broken themselves trying to escape.
Good advice on lures. Maybe the right bait will overcome his caution.
This place is packed full of dogs, that would be a debacle. I’d probably just end up with a ceiling cat.
Seriously, cats are the only thing that does against against rats. Even if the cat doesn’t go hunting them, the rat senses the cat and stays away from you. Otherwise you can try whatever, traps, poison, or just stomping on them when you see them, but as long as you got food, and no cats to hunt them, rats will come, often while you’re away.
