Is this rat trapped under my floor? WTF do I do?!

[theothercatpurred]

I can hear squeaking and commotion under my floorboards.

It's not moving from one place and it sounds distressed.

My best guess is, it's a trapped rat. We did have rats last summer (and dealt with them, or so I thought).

I thought nest of baby rats at first, because rats don't usually announce their presence, do they? But it's just one of them, and when it moves it sounds big.

WTF do I do?! Do I pull my floorboards up? What then?

I have an audio recording if anyone wants to hear it to help identify it - is there somewhere online I could upload it?

Then maybe have an escape route for it to get outside ? Although is it possible there are two fighting ? They get v squeaky then.

OP definitely find a pest control person, even if its gone quiet.
We had one in our loft which tap danced above our bed at 2am for a couple of nights. Went up to have a look, no signs of anything..... and then it all went quiet.
About a week later, the smell coming from above into my office was unbearable. Seriously foul. Still couldn't find the damn thing though.
Can only assume it was trapped under the boarding in the loft and couldn't get to food/ picked up some poison somewhere before it got in/was really old.
3 weeks on and lots of smelly candles, the smell has finally gone but i am NOT looking forward to clearing out the loft in the next couple of months.
You will definitely know in the next week or so if it has expired under your floor boards 🤑

Rats can apparently squeeze through holes the size of a 10p in some cases so if it is a trapped animal it is unlikely to be a rat. I hope you can get someone from pest control out.

You do need a pest controller. As someone has already said they are not much more expensive than local council.

TBH I would just go out to your evening appointments and leave it - it might have died by the time you get back if it is in extremis. I am afraid that is nature red in tooth and claw. This world is based on animal suffering - and kill or be killed. If it does die then you will need to get the corpse out or it will stink - voice of experience here!

You need to get it out anyway as it may chew through your electrics - we had one electrocute itself that way.

Yeh you can.
Do you have any neighbours op? Because my I'd wager someone has put down bait and the rat has taken it. It's a horrible death, and unfortunately they do squeak when dying...sorry it's really grim.

Fingers crossed whatever it is has found an escape route and left. Once you’re satisfied it’s gone you’ll need to check all the exterior walls of your property for small gaps and get them filled to block any further unwelcome visitors.

What? 😂

I've owned over 30 rats. You certainly can.
Do you think they're little mimes? 😂

lol yes you can. We use our terrier to clear off rats on our sheep farm and 100% you can hear them. Not for long mind you

Rats mostly produce ultrasonic vocalisations that humans can’t hear, unlike mice. 🐭 It’s pretty well documented…..

Rats don't squeak?!

Try googling videos of rats squeaking, they certainly can squeak even if they don't do it all the time.

And this one was in distress. Lots of animals make noises you wouldn't expect when in pain.

Did you know frogs can scream? No, nor did I, till I caught my cat torturing one.

Yes, our house is semi-detached. I'll speak to our neighbour. Good point, thanks.

It was definitely stuck in one place, and thrashing about as if stuck. Does that sound like a poisoned rat?

What are you on about? I'm sat here with my rats now and they're rolling about playing and squeaking.

If you've ever thrown a single dried banana chip in a cage full of rats you'd know they make alot of noise!

Yup, we had a rat die in the house some time back. Took us a while to find it

*My cat is no longer with us, although to be fair she wasn't a very successful hunter anyway.

Now the cat I grew up with, he would have flushed out any rats in no time, he was a killer.

Any progress, op?

Rubbish I had a rat stuck in an outside drain last year who woke me in the middle of the night with its frantic squeeking and crying.

We went out for the evening, came back and no sounds since. It's either escaped or is decomposing under the floor.

Contacting pest control is on the to do list.

If it's decomposing under the floorboards, how long do you think we have before it becomes hazardous to health / starts stinking?

I'm about to go away for work, it's very inconvenient timing!

We had a bird die inside a cavity wall - we heard it scrabbling about but could not get at it without demolishing the wall. After all went silent it took about 3 weeks before the smell arrived - and a further few weeks for the flies to emerge - gross!

If it dies it will stink and take ages to decompose etc. I would call a pest control company (private) to remove / address the issue x

You most definitely can.

Yes, I know this, and am intending to call the pest people.

Just wondering how urgent it is, as it's happened at a very busy time.

Oh no, poor bird. Disgusting about the flies!

Useful info though, thanks :)

Wait a few days, until there is a faint odour of cooked broccoli or similar. The rat may have found its way out. The first signs of decomposition smell like cooked vegetable water, not too unpleasant. Obviously, it gets very much worse, but the odours go in stages.