Big massive fuck off rat - please keep me sane

[BrianGlue]

(name changed because I imagine my husband is searching every corner of the internet for advice)

Heard scurrying Christmas Eve - pest control over, poison out. Came back Boxing Day to no noise at night and breathed a sigh of relief.

But turns out this little (huge) bastard is a trickster. Every night since it’s been out and about at night. It was spotted yesterday behind the oven. Last night it chewed through skirting and a bit of door.

This evening it had the audacity to bound up the kitchen steps when I went to get wine. It’s HUGE.

Seriously, what do we do now? Just put my baby to bed and currently sat outside his door ready to spear it if it dares to come close.

Questions:

1. why isn’t the dog putting him off coming in the house?
2. is it likely it’s poisoned if it’s acting weirdly like coming out when the lights are on?
3. should we get traps too?

I want to leave but I also am terrified of how much it could destroy if it’s not poisoned. This is fucking awful.

Be careful you don't poison the dog by accident!
Get a cat. Our neighbour's cat is an excellent ratter.

You're so brave. I'd be in the Premier Inn or indeed a bus shelter right now. The poison will work but it might give grim results, sorry.

The dog barely eats her own food - we have kept a very close eye on both baby and dog though!

Already considered a cat - there are some lovely ones which hang around our garden, might entice one in.

I don’t care, I’ll take a dead rat any day of the week! It’s been down nearly a week, I don’t think it’s fooled by it at all.

Are you sure it's only 1 rat? To what I've learnt is if theirs one Their several. Make sure your dog is kept away from the area as poison is dangerous to all animals. Yes get a trap also and anything else you can

I’ll also add:

4. is it safe to sleep? If the baby wakes up he’s coming straight in our bed.

No I’m not but that’s what we’ve seen. It’s probably likely to be loads. Fuck.

Is it safe to sleep? Of course it is? Seriously, what do you think is going to happen.

Don’t rats jump at you?

Poison with a dog and baby?

That is not recommend

@bumtrumpet the rat might plan to eat us, Samuel Whiskers-style?

More worried about how much destruction it might cause in the house if we’re not up with lights on making noise.

Get some glue traps and lay them beside walls somewhere where your dog can’t step on or sniff them (like behind the oven 😉). People are always outraged because they’re inhumane —until they have rats or mice in their own homes. Cats are no guarantee of success.

Firstly you have rats. There is never just one.
You need lots of traps and poison.
The wet weather will be driving them inside.
Move all food out of cupboards into the fridge or something sealed.
Keep the dog food covered.

Poison won't solve the problem you need to block up where they're getting in with steel wool. They can get through quite small spaces if their head gets through they get through (experience with escapee pets) All food needs to go in plastic containers so there's nothing for them in coming in and they'll find somewhere else with an easier source of food.

Probably is just one, you'd know if it was more, you either get 1 or several.

We used a glue board (they are cruel and a defo last resort) in the end when poison and traps didn't work, then rat proofed the house by making sure there was zero means of entry.

Touch wood, 3 years later never had a reoccurrence.

Just to add, if you use the glue trap (no idea where you would get one straight away) You have to fix them to something that a rat cannot move or the thing will rip it aprt, leaving bits of the rats inside everywhere, don't ask how i know this.

You need to borrow the cat (ask the neighbours some are shit ratters). Put the poison away get kitty litter and lock the cat in the house. Even better find someone with a terrier. I wouldn’t leave a baby sleeping alone with rats in the house. If you haven’t found his piss/poo spot he hasn’t lived there long. The rat man should have looked for it.

Please don't use glue traps they're unnecessary and cruel to boot no matter what you think of mice and rats they're still living beings who don't deserve to be so stressed out they chew off their own limbs. Honestly all that's needed is the steel wool and removal of food sources. They're clever and won't waste time where there isn't a food source.

Odd its ignoring the pest control poison. Try an electric cat (amazon) put some peanut butter inside to entice the rat in and leave it in the same place for a few days.

There clever it’ll avoid poison if there’s something better on offer

I’d sooner have a big rat than a little one you can see it

have you found entry point

You need to work out how it's getting in and block it up, pest control figured that out and blocked it up and put poison down when we had one.

Seen absolutely no evidence at all - no droppings, no food gnawing etc. All we heard was the scurrying about at night.

Called the pest control today and they just said we have to wait and they will be back next week. Google’s telling me varying things about whether or not it can take this long to die if they’ve had the poison.

I do agree, esp on food sources, but wire wool and expanding foam work to keep them out, once they are in the house and poison/traps don't work, what then?

Terriers are useless in a house the rat can simply go places the dog can't.

Get another pest control man out! yours sounds useless.

Poisons usually work within 3 or 4 days of constant feeding, which means initially, the poison has to be topped up regularly, they work like this to avoid the rat associating the poison with death and to protect pets/humans that eat the stuff.

All food sealed in plastic boxes inc dog food, all cupboards have been cleaned and disinfected, floor mopped and swept after every crumb.

They piss in one place and it smells so bad your eyes water. They need water more than food so it’s getting that somewhere.

It can yes - up to five days sometimes especially if it’s a big rat.

Please do not use glue boards unless you are prepared to end the suffering of a screaming and panicked rat stuck on the board.

Did the pest control company even look for possible entry points? That’s bare minimum considering they’re not cheap!

Also you absolutely can have just one rat.