Is this a dead rat or mouse...photo of dead thing warning

[JacobReesMogadishu]

I'm worried its a small rat

Watch your cats for unusual behaviour. Ours took a very keen interest in underneath the fridge-took me a couple of days to twig there was a mouse under there! They must have brought it in alive and it escaped.

No such thing as one rat.

Ring pest control. You might have to pay for the service now. From memory it’s about £50, but they keep returning until there are no more rats. It’s a fantastic service.

We had an awful rat experience. Dying ratty on our doorstep. Couldn’t go in the house as ratty was there it’s his yellow teeth. It was hideous. Defo call the rat man.

Cats aren’t much use. It might have brought one in, but I wouldn’t be complacent.

You need bait boxes around the property. Big cheese do some. You can see what bait has been eaten and replenish as needed. Unbeaten bait is reassuring.

Absolutely clear all food or potential foodstuffs from outhouses and sheds. Bulk dog food etc in metal bins. Clear windfall apples and other fruit off the ground. Grow your vegetables away from the house.
Sort cupboards to ensure no looses foodstuffs. Things like flour in strong containers not bags.

Block potential entry points. Bait loft areas. Bait outhouses and under sheds. Seal damaged walls.

There will be lots more. They reproduce very quickly.

I bet your husband let the cat in with the rat. You'd notice droppings and your cats acting weirdly if you had rats in your house

Yup get in Pest Controller, that's a young rat. Where are it's siblings and parents??

Why wouldn't you get Pest Control in? Just for reassurance!

Yep it's a pesky rat. It's highly likely there will be more. The chewed up stuff in your utility room is evidence.
You need pest control!!

It is a mouse in my opinion. Would need to see it's ears to be 100%.
Not a rat.

I do think the tail looks ratty... but you can call the council’s pest control service. They only kill them though, they don’t block the holes - you really need the holes blocked but you can do that yourself with steel wool and expanding foam etc.

Blocking the entry holes the only way to stop them from ever coming back!

@OnlyHappyWhenEating

It is a mouse in my opinion. Would need to see it's ears to be 100%. Not a rat.

I think perhaps it is a Siberian hamster?

It’s tail is too big to be a mouse. In your circumstances I’d ring pest control. I wouldn’t care if DH was blasé, I’d just do it myself.

Why do you need permission from your husband? Tell him you're doing it anyway.

Why does be get the last say?

Its a young rat

Ok, so DD has told me we've had "mice" since Xmas. She's seen them quite regularly in the utility room late at night. She told dh who said they weren't harming anyone and not to tell me. He's done nothing about it. I've found a humane trap and set it.

And no, I don't need permission from dh to call rentokil. But I was just wondering if I was over reacting as he's so laid back about it.

Pic not great.
Whatever that is I think I fling them off my patio fairly regularly.

Legs are wrong proportions to be a rat. Body is too skinny to be rat.
Tail (imho) is not so different rat vs. mouse.

Only the small ears make me hesitate about calling it not-rat, but can't see the ears (did they get torn off?)

Field or house mouse is my guess (I would have to find a pict to remember the difference, one is a pretty orange so not that one).

Clearly I’m a lone voice but that is a mouse as far as I’m concerned!

DH is a douche. Sorry OP x

Rat. Tail gives it away

Your DH made your dd keep it from you for over six months?! How old is dd? That’s awful op and id never be able to look at my dh in the same way if I found out that he’d done that.

Mice are a health hazard and can cause a lot of damage and shouldn’t be ignored.

I think Rentokil are quite expensive. Is there a local pest controller you could ring ? We had a mouse issue 6 months ago, it cost £85 for a 2 visit service. The pest controller should inspect your house for entry points, advise you how to sort that out and, lay strategic bait.
Unfortunately, your picture does look like a rat. The creature I saw (mouse) had much bigger ears.
You can also get poison boxes from B and Q which are under £10 which the cats shouldn’t be able to get into.
It made me feel ill tbh so I know how you feel; I wanted to move house.

Have a look outside your house at where the Utility room drain pipe exits. There could be gaps around that pipe where they are crawling into your Utility room.

Not sure OP, but whatever it is you'll need to rodent-proof your house. Go around all the perimeter and look for any holes, even small ones (if they can fit their head through they can get their body through apparently), and fit rodent mesh so stop any more getting in.

We have a vented tumble dryer in the utility room, one of those with a flexible pipe coming out the front of it and then to a hole in the wall.....but it looks a snug fit. Yes they could get in the tube but the tube doesn't have holes and only goes to the front of the tumble dryer, so they'd have a dead end there, or possibly squeeze through an air hole into the tumble dryer?

Close up ear shots

It's a rat. Don't put poison down as if one of your cats eats the poisoned rat, it could also die. Contact a pest control and get some expert advice.

Obviously kill husband!