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So, we started feeding the birds the last two years and this Winter I notice spore that could be rat or squirrel spore on my deck and just a couple of days ago in my garage. I suspected a rat, but wasn't sure until this afternoon when I went into the garage to get into my safe and saw the furry brown vermin scurrying thru the garage.

We are part of the problem as we have left some bird seed out on the patio and in the garage unprotected and the rat has taken advantage of our carelessness. We intended to remedy that and remove the food sources immediately.

My question is this, I have been told that once they find a comfy place to live (near my furnace in the garage where the pilot light keeps it warm) they are very hard to eradicate. I am considering using poison, but am hesitant to do so.

Any suggestions, or is poison my best route?
 
Poison is faster but you may not like the smell of the dead rat/rats after it works if they crawl into areas not readily acessable. I would maybe buy a small live trap and dispatch them as they are caught or get old fashioned rat traps and bait either kind with peanut butter and maybe some of the bird seed youve been feeding them. Also you can put NEW drier sheets (Bounce) around especially in areas they are bedding to help keep them away, they dont like the smell, just ball em up and throw into areas. I learned about the drier sheets from a neighbor that was getting them in his shop and they were chewing at the wiring on his motorhome.
 
You got rats? We got ammo! Try traps now, and those include sticky rat tape. You may have to swap to poison sooner than you wish as they breed like,, well rats. Peanut Butter is very affective as a bait. Move your traps frequently as their smart and adapt. They are heck on elec. wiring and can create a real hazard! Get serious about getting rid of them now while you can. You may want to call in a exterminator,, they can be expensive, both them and the rats.
 
Sticky traps, yep, place it where they would have to travel.

Then a 5 gallon bucket of water to finish it off.

Trust me the sticky traps work, get the large size 4"x8".

IMHO poison is for insects, any thing with a heart should be hunted or trapped
 
Don't use poison, you will regret it. Rats and mice stink like the devil when they decay in your walls

I have a few of these, likely you have the same, Norway rats.. dark brown/grey and kinda cute actually, but not so cute in what they can do. They can be pretty bold, too
 
I have been told that once they find a comfy place to live (near my furnace in the garage where the pilot light keeps it warm) they are very hard to eradicate.

The concept of eradication is the problem. Truth is, rats are everywhere. They just are never seen. Once you take care of the main population you should keep a constant vigil of a few traps or bait piles to make sure anything wandering by doesn't take up residence. They do love bird feed.
 
The concept of eradication is the problem. Truth is, rats are everywhere. They just are never seen. Once you take care of the main population you should keep a constant vigil of a few traps or bait piles to make sure anything wandering by doesn't take up residence. They do love bird feed.

That along with my wood piles are probably what attracted them to my yard, we feed the birds year around with seed and suet. I've found their nests in my firewood piles
 
You don't have just one rat - if you see one, you've got lots. Use traps, and follow that up with OUTSIDE bait stations. Use several of the professional kind - you can find them on line. I had a huge rodent issue and traps and bait stations worked like a charm.

I don't think you can eliminate them, but you sure can control them.
 
Can anyone tell me a good caliber for hunting rats? I need penetration, but not overpenetration.. :s0114:

I use a .177 pellet gun that shoots about 600 fps. Since I shoot them at less than 10 yards it works well. Also, we use One Bite and buy it at Coastal. It's in blocks that have a hole in the middle to allow them to be screwed to a board. Put them where your pets won't get to them. I also use them on a small wooden stake pounded into the ground next to a rat hole, then cover everything with a weighted bucket.

West Linn has a rat problem. I've been told it's cuz we're near the river, but them little ratstards are a real pain. I can make them go away for a while, but they always come back.
 
Home Depot/Lowe's poisons are perfect for making rats and mice die a horrible, painful death of dehydration. They're just filthy and hideous enough that I'm fine with it, and I hope they can somehow warn their beady eyed little buddies, too. Just remember if you have pets that dead/dying rodents are easy prey in the food chain.
 
I've been down this road a time or two. Get a 22, get a night scope, get a bunch of boxes of Aguilas, get a lawnchair, prepare for good times.

Also, the sticky traps. If you hunt coyotes, a screaming rat on a sticky trap is the best attractant I've found yet.
 
get a bunch of traps and use peanut butter as bait, put poison in you out buildings and watch your pets so they cant get to it. I use a 22 rifle with bird shot got a few that way as they were sneaking off with the dog and chicken food. keep doing for atleast a year. they breed like crazy and I have to keep putting out traps and poison. I think they are coming from the dumpsters in the apartments behind me. so its been a continueing thing for me.
 
The best mouse trap is a 5 gallon bucket filled 1/2 full of water. Take a metal soup can and empty contents without removing the ends. Punch a small hole in the center of each end.
Run a wire through the holes, crimp a bend in the wire on each side of the can. String the can across the top of the bucket with the wire, (centered).
Smear peanut butter on the can. Place the bucket next to a wall where the mice are evident. Take a 2" wide board about 3' long and place it so it makes a ramp up to the lip of the bucket.
Works like this, Mouse smells peanut butter, runs up ramp, judges the distance to be acceptable, leaps for the can, lands on top and it rolls over. mouse goes swimming for a while.
Trap resets itself. Use some rv antifreeze during the winter to protect pets.
A larger version for rats would use a bigger container.
 
Just some info on rats from the Cisco Morrison radio show.He had an exterminator on one day.

If you see 1 rat at night you probably have at least 100 rats in the immediate area.

If you see a rat during the day,he has no place to sleep and you have around 1000 rats in your immediate area.

Rats,like other animals need food,water and good housing to live and breed.

Dog food makes very good rat food.BUT...but dog FECES makes almost as good of food

A rat can live and breed very well off of dog feces

Just a couple thing to think about.Throw this in with the rest.

And I can attest to the fact that rats and mice stink bad,just after a few days of being dead.

The moral of the story is kill as many as possible and then you have made a little start on the problem.
 

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