To think there's a rat somewhere in our house?

[alfie22]

Someone please tell me I'm being utterly fucking U! Because I'm freaking out and I'm terrified of rats.

Back story - DP is a nightmare for Leaving carrier bags of rubbish on the kitchen floor.

Last week I was downstairs online at night and heard a bag rustling in the kitchen. Thought nothing of it but it carried on, really sounded as though somebody was rifling through it.

Shouted DP to investigate but couldn't find the reason for this noise.

Fast forward to tonight I've just done downstairs to get a bottle for DS and the binbag is opened (it wasn't before we went up to bed).

AIBU to think we must have a rat!? I can't think of anything else that could be causing this.

I'm terrified of them and my DP is being useless because he doesn't like them either!

Argh

I'm assuming the bags contain food? Have they been left outside and brought back into the house? That's how I got a rat once. It had got into the bag then the bag was brought back in for some reason I can't remember.

Next time you and everyone else in the house is going out or you're going up to bed leave a bit of bread on the kitchen floor. A piece big enough that you'll know for certain it's been moved/eaten once you next go in there. Leave it a few hours and if there's no sign of it when you go back then get the council down.

Also, it might just be mice! Which of course still isn't nice but somewhat less horrifying.

@dobrovnikdreams yes they contain food I'm sick of him doing this. I keep telling him we will get rats and now I think we have

The bag hadn't been outside so I don't know how the rat would have got in

I'm so scared now

Well it certainly sounds like you have rodents of some sort. There isn't much reason to be scared but, given your and DH's aversion, it's best to get a professional in. Also thoroughly clean your kitchen counters before use.

Honestly I'd sooner have rats than mice though. At least rats are timid little things; mice are ridiculously bold sods!

Buy some mice and rat traps off amazon and see what you catch (just mind your fingers).. the rustling would indicate mice or rats.

I was hoping people would tell me I was being U 😭

Don't know what I'll do if I see a rat in my house during the day. I'm on my own all day with DS as I'm on mat leave atm

If you do have a rat, there's honestly no need to panic. If you come into a room when it's out in the open, it will be just as scared as you are.

We thought we had a rat once. We had our suspicions confirmed one morning when we came down and saw a little pink tail hanging down behind the kitchen radiator!

put a trail of talcolm powder, see the footprints

@Aspieteach how did you get rid of it?

For goodness sake. Clean the kitchen and never, ever leave bags of rubbish inside. Why would your partner do that? I’m imagining a full bin bag on the floor. You absolutely will get rodents if you do this. Much more likely to be mice than rats though.

Just had an awful realisation

Last week DP took the rubbish bags out of the garden through the house into the car to take them to the tip.

I bet that's how the rat got in

@SplashingAroundTown he does not listen I keep telling him this

Could be a mouse. Your dh needs to stop being lazy and put the bags out as soon as they need changing. Leaving them in the house is like advertising a free buffet for any local rodents.

@KatherineJaneway our bins are constantly being stolen so our garden quickly mounts up with rubbish. I'm sick of going to the tip because our CF neighbours can't just take their own bin in and leave ours alone.

I'm not surprised we have rodents

We had rats years ago, we knew because it half eaten some fruit left on the kitchen table. Leave something out and if it's eaten you probably have. We had a broken drain which is how it got in. I found naming the rat creeped me out less,
We got a firm in to sort the drainpipe and rat. We also got a cat.

If you have lots of rubbish in the garden you most certainly have rodents. Rats are actually much more bold than mice, they’ll jump at you to run away whereas mice will just try to hide.
Today, pull away all your baseboards, fridge etc and look for droppings. Google how different they look and once you find some you’ll know what you are dealing with. They mostly roam towards the night (think dusk/dawn) so daytime and lots of noise is your best bet to have a snoop about. Get some traps and google how to set them up properly. You can also get a small WiFi cMera that send live video to your phone and alerts you to motion. I used one when I had mice coming in, it showed exactly where they came from and where they used to walk/hide which helped me with where to put the traps. You need to find the hole and block it up with steel wool (and cement if they keep pulling it out). Knowledge is key here. Pest control are wxpensive, sometimes don’t come out just based on a suspicion and don’t do anything apart from putting down traps and poison. It’s freaky as hell but you’ll be ok. It’s helped me a lot having a look at EVERYTHING and knowing that I blocked up every tiny little hole in the whole house!

And your partner has got to stop being such a lazy pig.

Your local Council May offer free pest control for rats.

Unfortunately councils no longer have any budget to deal with peat control.

We had roof rats. Advice was to put poison down. You need enough that it will actually kill them/the nest. You need to keep checking it and replacing it if it goes. The poison is dangerous to pets and kids so be careful.

Chain your wheelie bins up if they are being stolen. Buy an extra one now. It sounds as if you have more rubbish than you can handle. Put loud stickers on them to identify them if they get moved down.
Sounds like you need to get someone in to explore and set traps. Friend/relative?

I second that you should get professionals in. But even though you are on mat leave, arrange for them to come when your DP is there so they can chat to him.

I have had as similar problem with my DP leaving food out (when we got mice I was at the end of my tether and had a silly thread on here thinking about putting a fake dead mouse in the food he left out to give him a fright). When I got pest control in they were kind but also completely honest about food left out and clutter attracting rodents. Maybe your DP will listen if it is someone else telling him?

Some councils still offer rat catchers.

No sign of a rat yet..

@alfie22 That's so annoying re the bins. I agree with PP about a chain!

@KatherineJaneway oooh chains.. hadn't thought of them!

It's so ridiculous round here then someone actually broke into our garden, emptied the contents of our bin over the floor and stole it