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Omg what to do - massive RAT!

221 replies

Amimissingsomethinghere · 17/10/2019 21:32

Sorry didn't know where to post. I kept hearing squealing noises all evening (thought it was a trapped kitten - live in central London ground floor flat). Look outside, RIGHT outside my back door I look down to the drain and there's a mothetfucking huge ass rat there obviously stuck.
I've tried calling pest control no luck. Husband is away and I'm alone with a baby and freaked out.
Please help!

OP posts:
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7
mrssoap · 18/10/2019 06:46

Well you don't want it to die in there, I've had rats in my loft and one died in there and the smell 🤢🤢🤢🤢.

Poor thing though it's not something to fear it's a bloody rat it's terrified of you!

Phimma · 18/10/2019 06:52

Rats are vermin, the only good rat is a dead one. Don't touch the grate!!

Sarcelle · 18/10/2019 08:00

I used to live in central London in a block of flats with huge (several storeys) basement that was a car park on one level, and a fancy gym with swimming pool below that.

I lived on the penultimate floor, with one flat above me. The flats were on different levels so I had neighbours, but the woman above was only attached to the floor below, but had nobody next to her. There were several flats like this, a few sticking up above others. They were the highest levels.

Unbeknownst to us the gym undertook some refurbishment work, and left a drainage pipe cover off. We only found out because rats started travelling up through the pipes and tried to get out via the top flats. One neighbour had a breeze block on her loo because she saw one in there. And moved out while people came and sorted it.

I could hear them through a wall but they bypassed me to travel up to my neighbour above. She had recently moved in and had refurbed the bathroom. She was an actress in a soap so was only there when she was not filming. Her rats, when they could not get out the toilet, had begun gnawing through the cast iron pipes!

It was sorted in the end, and the flats cats were on high alert for a while, but it was an anxious time. London sewer rats are huge, and determined.

DarkLikeVader · 18/10/2019 08:01

Mumsnet is ridiculous sometimes

OP: I saw a [perfectly harmless uk] spider in my house
Everyone: burn the house down and move

OP: there’s a dirty germ ridden rat stuck my my door
Everyone: go out a rescue it - poor ratty, it has the hurt feelings now. Why not rescue it and let it live with you

Confused OP I’m on your side. I grew up in the country and we were taught to detest the disgusting things. Make friends with a terrier owning family and let it come and play in your garden often is my advice!

Sarcelle · 18/10/2019 08:02

Forgot to mention, I always check the loo before I go. I now live elsewhere, on the top floor, and even if I disturb somebody else if I get up in the middle of the night the light goes on in the loo to check that all is clear.

OP was brave.

FizzyGreenWater · 18/10/2019 09:39

My dog has never eaten shit thanks.

Grin they all do!!!

Pigs do too.

Your lovely doggy who gives you all those sloppy kisses - when he's out on his walk, if he comes across a lump of ananoymous shit he's going to use his tongue to check it out. Or rotten food, or a bit of baby bird entrails - you name it.

That's what they do!!!!!

But - sloppy woppy kisses.

Cognitive dogonnance Grin

FizzyGreenWater · 18/10/2019 09:39

anonymous*

Happinessforever · 18/10/2019 10:11

You get non anonymous shit? Does it have a name on it? Should it be sent to the Shit Lost & Found Confused.

Mumsnet poses more questions than answers.

WE MUST BE TOLD

MillfredTheGreat · 18/10/2019 10:28

God some of you people are fucking pathetic! I feel so sorry for rats. All animals do gross things and carry diseases....newsflash, so do humans. There’s really no need for these smear campaigns against certain creatures. I live in London and do all I can to help local wildlife, how awful to think that someone wouldn’t help an animal in distress even if it is a rat, fox or pigeon. Your pets are no different from these animals except they get baths and flea treatments.

Ihateedmundelephant · 18/10/2019 11:22

‘We consider rats vermin in London’ as opposed to the rest of the country where we all feed wild rats and keep them as pets 😑 Not really a big deal, even if you don’t like rats you have two choices - lift the grate (fashion some kind of device to hook in and lift it up if you don’t want to get too close? Unfold a coat hanger and make a hook maybe, lower it down from the window?) or just leave it there. But killing it would be really awful and I’d hope you’d get some terrible karma if you did.

DogAndCatPerson · 18/10/2019 11:34

If anyone bothers to read the thread, she lifted the grate last night and the rat escaped. No harm done.

yellowallpaper · 18/10/2019 11:39

If it's stuck it will hopefully die. I really can't feel any empathy for a rat and I'm someone who puts spiders outside rather than kill them.

puppyconfetti · 18/10/2019 11:55

The rat didn't escape because the grate was lifted. It went back into the drain it came out of. The rat wasn't stuck, it couldn't possibly have fallen through the gaps in that grate so obviously came through the drain. That's where rats live.

Disgusting the people that would happily let it suffer a slow death though Hmm

virginpinkmartini · 18/10/2019 13:32

Lol at the pro rat crusaders 🤣 Mumsnetters will be on the other side of the fence when it comes to anything. You can't even hate on rats now, and you're branded 'pathetic' if you feel tentative about lifting a grate with a bit nasty rat underneath it 🤣🤣🤣

Breathlessness · 18/10/2019 13:35

I’d rescue my exMIL if she were trapped in a grid. It’s not about liking rats. The OP was brave and did the right thing even though she was frightened.

puppyconfetti · 18/10/2019 13:36

I do t think anyone is pro rat so much as anti long and painful death.

Drabarni · 18/10/2019 13:38

All those saying it's nothing to fear, just try cornering one, it will go for the jugular.

Looobyloo · 18/10/2019 13:42

I'm not pro rat but I really cannot abide to think of any living thing (rat, mouse, pigeon, Boris Johnson etc) dying a slow and painful death. So pleased to hear it got out alive and the OP has some compassion.

@yellowpaper every time you put a house spider outside you're condemning it to a slow death.

Looobyloo · 18/10/2019 13:43

@drabarni if someone cornered me I'd go for the jugular.

puppyconfetti · 18/10/2019 13:47

All those saying it's nothing to fear, just try cornering one, it will go for the jugular.

There is no need to try and corner a rat though.

Drabarni · 18/10/2019 13:48

Looby

Grin It was the pest control bloke who told me, we had a loft full it was awful.
They poisoned them and the bodies exploding sounded awful, we slept downstairs for a week.
letting a rat out from somewhere, they could go for you.

AlpacaGoodnight · 18/10/2019 14:18

All I can think of is the geordie saying 'get your rat oot' although that is nothing to do with real rats! Glad you were brave and helped it!

Barbie222 · 18/10/2019 14:41

Still traumatised by the 23 rats stuck to the sticky paper and gnawing off their own limbs. Good grief!!!!!

AloeVeraLynn · 18/10/2019 14:47

As if someone advised calling the fire brigade 😂

Amimissingsomethinghere · 18/10/2019 14:59

That sticky paper is illegal now no?
My Filipino cleaner brought me some to use when we had mice ages ago. I just said it didn't work and threw it away. Apparently they get stuck and then pull their legs off etc. All sounded horrific! Shock
She said they all use it in the Philippines and then drown them...

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