To be scared to sleep because there’s a rat in my house?

[ScaredOfRat]

Watching the news this evening and a massive rat ran into the living room. I chased him out but not sure where he is now. I’m scared to sleep.

You need to get a ratrap asap

I'm not experienced with rats but just wanted to deeply sympathise before someone came along with good suggestions. Personally I would be in a hotel until the pest man arrived. Definitely a rat?

Chased it out to where?

I chased him out into the hallway. My bedroom is upstairs.

The only reasonable solution is to burn your house down.

Any neighbours got a cat you can bring in for an hour

My disabled mum also lives in this house.

Sod that, I'd be looking for the nearest travel lodge/other b&b/Hotel and staying there for the night!!

Call a pest control tomorrow!

YANBU. Make sure you shut your bedroom door tonight after checking it's a rat free zone. I'd do this with all the rooms.
Do you know where the rat is now ?

My mum is bedbound, we can’t move her. It’s also a council house. The council are aware of the problems but won’t help.

I had a rat in my house for two months until we found out where it was...it would chew away at the door and left a huge hole...the noise it made while doing it!

Its very hard to get rid of them but apparently chocolate and peanut butter is what attracts them.

I found that out when it had gone into my Halloween stash that I was building for the kids...would take whole bars of chocolate!!

We got rid eventually but it was hard work!

I don’t know where the rat is now. Mum sleeps in the living room and I sleep in the bedroom. The doors don’t close properly due to wood rot.

It won't harm you. It's pretty eager to avoid you too. I back onto a farm and the cats often bring a rat in during the night. Get a hu.ane trap and release it once it's in.

If you call your local council they should have pest control that will come out. It’s usually a chargeable service but I think it might be free/discounted in certain circumstances, so it’s probably worth mentioning to them that your mum is disabled. They’ll check obvious places for signs of entry etc and put poison down. It’s not nice but ultimately you cannot have rats in your home.

In the meantime make sure you’re wiping down services regularly especially in your kitchen. Don’t leave any food out at all (including pet bowls overnight).

God that's horrible OP. I'm not afraid of rats etc. but I couldn't be doing with that! I hope there's some sort of 24/7 pest control that can come out to you.

I'm terrified of them. Agree if you know anyone with a cat, that works. Our cats often leave dead rats around but thankfully in the garden not the house

Rentokil will sort it. They are ten times better than the LA. Our old house backed onto a river.

If it dies under the floorboards it will reek.

I think you will just have to grit your teeth if you can't close the doors.

Get a cat, we never had one in the house once we got a cat.

You want a Jack Russell rather than a cat. That’ll sort it out.

We can’t afford pest control. But thanks @Gettingbysomehow , that makes me feel better. There’s no food in the house. Not sure why the rat is here. There’s holes in the walls and floorboards so it’s probably coming through that way. Bloody Council. We pay them £200 a week rent and our house is a death trap. Broken floorboards, mouldy walls, front door that doesn’t fit letting vermin in… it’s awful 😞.

Oh no 😢 given that you can't move your mum and therefore can't decamp elsewhere, I would try a 24hr pest control?
Hopefully there is one in your area?

Put the traps in their rat run....they always go the same way so wherever there are droppings...put the trap with chocolate and peanut butter.

Rats are actually better than mice cause if you see one mouse...then you have an infestation. Rats tend to be more loners.

@Mehmeh22 thank you, it makes me feel better that there might be only one.

That's awful. I was brought up in a basement flat in London in the 1960s and we had lots of rats there. It was very run down. I can't remember ever being bothered by them.

Get in touch with a lawyer ASAP and see if you have grounds for a disrepair claim. There are firms that will take it on no win/no fee. If you have reported this and they haven’t fixed it, they can be made to. You should not be living like this, especially considering the health of your mother.

If you're sure the rat isn't in the lounge, I would grab some bedding and stay in the lounge with her. Close the door and block up any gaps with whatever you can. You need to contact the council ASAP about pest control. You will need to be persistent and not take no for an answer - you have a vulnerable person in your home.