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Original poster

There’s a rat in my kitchen cupboard- help!

50 replies

Zoflorabore · 17/02/2023 13:35

Yes I keep singing that stupid song about there being a rat in the kitchen ( what am I gonna do? ) but there really is one in mine.

it started off a week or so ago and i was up in the night on my kindle in the kitchen, I have severe insomnia. Heard rustling sounds/scuttling noises coming from under the sink and was too scared to open it. Told dp and dd (12) in the morning and they both didn’t believe me.

fast forward a week and it’s happened a few more times and when I’ve called dp down in the middle of the night he looked and there was nothing there.
ive since checked under the sink and there’s a hole from the cupboard to the one next to it where I keep plates/dishes etc. I found droppings in there last night completely by accident when looking for an egg cup.

what do I do? I have severe anxiety and cannot settle. Dp said we need to empty the cupboards and disinfect and clean everything. Surely that won’t stop it/them.

kitchen is in the front with a side door to the garden which is open loads to let our husky in and out. I can only presume it’s come in this way.
house is rented via HA. I want to move.

thanks for reading.

OP posts:
OrangeToothbrush · 17/02/2023 13:39

Can your HA arrange for council pest control to come out?

Original poster
Zoflorabore · 17/02/2023 13:54

They don’t want to know. Said to ring the council. I’m skint but will borrow if I have to pay for pest control. Never had any issues before in 18 years. Just so scared of rats!

OP posts:
mummymeister · 17/02/2023 13:58

it might be a mouse rather than a rat as rats are desperately shy animals and tend not to live inside peoples houses whereas mice rarely live in the wild .but you can put your own traps out to kill it. they arent expensive and if bait them with something very high in fat and sugar like a fruitcake then if the trap works you can shovel both trap and dead rodent up and put it in the bin. place the trap where you saw the droppings but against a wall as rodents prefer to run around touching the walls rather than across the middle of rooms.

Choconut · 17/02/2023 13:58

It might not be a rat, we had house mice, they're surprisingly big and I thought it was rats. Phone the council and get them to come out, they'll certainly be cheaper than private pest control, we had them out and they were really good and very helpful. I think they could tell from the droppings that it was mice not rats.

romdowa · 17/02/2023 14:03

Buy a trap? Then fill the access hole so no more can get in

StaceySolomonSwash · 17/02/2023 14:04

As pp have said it's more likely to be mice - you'll never just have one mouse.

Sunbird24 · 17/02/2023 14:06

I thought I had a rat in my kitchen but it turned out to be a single quite cute mouse, probably squeezed in through an air brick behind the kitchen sink. Got rid of him with a trap and then blocked up the holes in the air brick with wire wool.

As PP have said you can get your own traps, the main advantage of using a pest control company is that they can usually help you work out how they got in and advise you how to stop it happening again.

Twawmyarse2 · 17/02/2023 14:08

How big are the droppings? Mouse droppings are quite tiny, about the thickness of a grain of rice but not as long - I would think rats droppings would be much bigger,

You need to get pest control out - when we had them the guy put down poison that lasts for 6 months and said they would go back to their nests to die - we never saw anything after that.

In the meantime sal the hole you think they're coming from and disinfect everything. Also keep all food covered, cereals etc in Tupperware, don't leave food out on the surfaces and empty your bin every evening. The food they can access is what attracts them.

Sunbird24 · 17/02/2023 14:09

@StaceySolomonSwash i genuinely just had one mouse - most likely an adventurous male!

Chrispackhamspoodle · 17/02/2023 14:09

It will be mice.Get traps and
put them under the sink.Use expandable foam to fill any holes once you have found where they are coming in.Do disinfect .Rats would be in the cavities and are very clean...they wouldn't leave droppings everywhere.We had mice last year after a door was badly fitted and they were coming in under it and into our utility room cupboard.

viques · 17/02/2023 14:11

Choconut · 17/02/2023 13:58

It might not be a rat, we had house mice, they're surprisingly big and I thought it was rats. Phone the council and get them to come out, they'll certainly be cheaper than private pest control, we had them out and they were really good and very helpful. I think they could tell from the droppings that it was mice not rats.

You can tell by the droppings. Mice poo indiscriminately so poo will be everywhere, whereas rats like to poo in the same place. Also rat poo is a lot bigger than mouse poo.

I had the same problem. A cat solved it.

Itgoesalittlesomethinglikethis · 17/02/2023 14:11

We rented a house and had luck with the traps which snap (don't know proper name), used a dab of peanut butter.
We had lots of mice (mine shaft nearby I was told).

ladycarlotta · 17/02/2023 14:15

rat dropping are big like jelly beans! Were they like that? I think it's more likely you have a mouse - this is the time of year they are most likely to want to come inside where it's warm and they can find lots of food. Last time I had them in my house it was when next door was doing a lot of renovation work in the winter and we had some of our skirting off too.
Block up the hole with wire wool - they can't chew through that - and board it off if you can. Clean everything and reconsider how/where you store food - moving dry goods to glass jars on high shelves is a good idea. Don't give them any incentive to come again, and clean up well because they wee everywhere so they can scent their way back (gross). If you feel you need it, poison bait works well I'm afraid, better than traps, but blocking off entry points and removing food sources may be enough if it's just one visitor.

It's a bit harder to get rid of rats. They are canny little buggers and able to chew through nearly anything, so exterminator would probably be best. Good luck!

Campervangirl · 17/02/2023 14:16

Isn't that a song by UB40, There's a rat in my kitchen, what am I gonna do . . . . 😂
Unless you've seen it and it's definitely a rat, it's probably a mouse, get a mouse trap, if it's a rat get a rat trap, you can get humane traps that don't kill them.
Good luck

purser25 · 17/02/2023 14:20

Get a cat

Original poster
Zoflorabore · 17/02/2023 14:39

Thank you everyone I feel better now! From what pp have said about the droppings it sounds like a mouse. About the same size as a grain of rice. I’m scared of mice too but they don’t seem as scary as rats.

will call the council first for advice re pest control. Cupboards getting emptied and cleaned later on when do is home from work.

OP posts:
Sagittariusrising · 17/02/2023 14:43

Wilko sell pre-baited traps and they worked really well for me when I had mice a few years ago. I added some peanut butter as well, which they love. You can also re-use them as you don't have to touch the 'kill' and can just release into a bin. I also plugged in their sonic alarms which are supposed to deter them.

I also blocked where they were coming in with wire wool which has worked really well too.

mrswhiplington · 17/02/2023 14:46

Sagittariusrising · 17/02/2023 14:43

Wilko sell pre-baited traps and they worked really well for me when I had mice a few years ago. I added some peanut butter as well, which they love. You can also re-use them as you don't have to touch the 'kill' and can just release into a bin. I also plugged in their sonic alarms which are supposed to deter them.

I also blocked where they were coming in with wire wool which has worked really well too.

That's exactly what we did. Put traps down. Block any holes with wire wool. You can buy it from Wilko's or big rolls of it from B&Q.

Sunbird24 · 17/02/2023 14:54

Remember to pull out the microwave etc and clean behind those too, mine had not just been wandering at floor level…

Valhalla17 · 17/02/2023 15:01

Could be a mouse to be honest. Can you try and fill in the holes, even using plastic bags and tape or similar? Spray the cupboard with some essential oils as they don't like the smell. Then look at getting a trap or pest control out

whatever1980 · 17/02/2023 15:24

I got those plug in things which deter mice, filled holes with steel wire and foam and also got traps and pasta sachets things.

I was surprised where they had been in clothes drawers and under drawers which went down to the floor - their poo was everywhere they must be able to squeeze through tiny gaps

Also got plastic tubs with lids for cereal and bread and biscuits and left no food lying around

Brokendaughter · 17/02/2023 15:46

I kept getting a mouse from time to time, I can't figure out how they get in.
I'll be mouse free then suddenly a year or so on, one more.

Peppermint essential oil cleared them out & I haven't seen a sign since.

I just stuck some on cotton wool balls around the place & they hate it.

I understand that they work on scent, following trails which the mint smell messes up so they avoid it.

My kitchen has stayed completely mouse free since I started to do that, but it does smell like a Polo.

sealon82 · 17/02/2023 16:02

I had a rat coming into my airing cupboard a few years ago, I called the council (not a council property) and they sent a guy from pest control, pretty sure I wasn't charged.
He said the best way to get rid of them (apparently rare that they'd only be one) is to find out how there getting in. We emptied the cupboard and there was a tiny hole (they can squeeze through really small gaps) plastered over the hole and problem solved. If that doesn't work you'll have to go down the poison/trap route. Good luck!

isthismylifenow · 17/02/2023 16:02

I second the peppermint oil as a way to get them to clear off elsewhere.

And mothballs.

Many people keep mint plants near doors, windows to deter them.

WehIstMir · 17/02/2023 16:05

I third the suggestion to use Peppermint essential oil - a close friend had mice under the sink - they never came back.

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