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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Bloody hell, we DO have rats under the floor - experience anyone?

36 replies

LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 13:48

I have set traps under the floor again as activity has picked up.... loud squeaking, saw what I thought was a mouse scurry behind the fridge but in hindsight think it was probo a baby rat, they have tried to break into the cupboard in the lounge via a broken floorboard.

Have caught 3 in the traps over the last 10 days but only babies.

As I sit here now at the dining table I can hear one building a bloody nest with a carrier bag that's under the boards. Hmm

I put poison down but I can't get it down there quick enough - it's quite expensive and as long as I keep putting it down there, they keep eating it, then crawl into the walls and other places I can't get them to die. They stink to high heaven. Like roadkill in the summer mixed with dirty nappies.
Live in a terraced run so think I am probably feeding hundreds with the poison.

Worried about them chewing stuff they shouldn't and having a fire more than anything else. :(

OP posts:
SGertie · 20/05/2011 14:40

It sounds to me more like mice than rats for 2 reasons - you have only caught 'babies' and also because of the amount of poison you're getting g through. Rats won't eat new food for several days as they are suspicious of it, where mice will eat whatever is there and eat it until it's gone despite their size. Have you seen droppings? Mice droppings are very different to rats droppings which are the size of 2 rabbit poos stuck together.
Sorry I don't have any advice other than to keep setting traps instead of putting poison down so you know where the corpses are and can remove them to stop the stench.

Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 14:46

I can see droppings down there. They are about 15mm long.

Where they have tried to break into the house, the clearance to be able to reach up is too high for a mouse.

The babies I have caught have brown bodies, lighter undersides and black tails. They have huge back feet they haven't grown into yet, look a little like tiny kangaroos. Am pretty sure they are rats as I used to keep fancy rats.

They are squeaking and fighting again now.... Shock

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DamselInDisguise · 20/05/2011 14:48

Try contacting environmental health at your council. They'll send someone round to sort it out properly. The service is free for rats with my local authority.

Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 14:49

Googled some images. Deffo rats. :(

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Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 14:50

I tired them damsel - won't touch them if they are under the floor. Handy that. Hmm

I was hoping someone else had had success without calling in the pros.

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HazeltheMcWitch · 20/05/2011 14:56

Hmm, they DO sound like rats. Mice have pink feet and the droppings are too big to be from mice.

Poor you! Time to call the council? As you say you live in a terrace, they might need to bring out the big guns...

Are you on good terms with neighbours COuld you discuss it with them? You really need to be cutting off food supply, so bins need to be kept tidy, no litter, no food thrown out for birds etc.

HazeltheMcWitch · 20/05/2011 14:57

X-posted. They wont touch them??? Madness.

Can you lift up boards yourself? KNow any good ratting dogs?

DooinMeCleanin · 20/05/2011 15:00

I can send Devil Dog to dig them out for you. I will not be held reponsible for any damage to the floor or any mess that is made Grin

My sis had mice under her floor and the council came and put poison down there for her.

Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 15:06

More scratching, so got ever so quietly down on my hands and knees (have my torch with me and this is all going on at my feet, slightly to my right) and spied between two boards... a little sniffing nose and whiskers greeted me. Then he slowly ambled off to the side where I couldn't see him.
A bit bigger than the ones I caught, but the same colours again - brown on top, black tail.

My traps are not working anymore. THough one of them is missing some peanut butter - bloody thing hasn't gone off. Hmm

Would love to lift all the boards and borrow some terriers.

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Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 20/05/2011 15:08

Also, both my neighbours either side have cellars so do you think it's just me with the problem? Though they are getting in from underneath somewhere as we have thoroughly checked our perimeter and literally everything has been sealed.

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HazeltheMcWitch · 20/05/2011 15:12

Chances are it's NOT just you with the problem. Rat's are quite bright and 'colonise' places quickly. But you will only know if you ask them... NB rats can squeeze through a gap as small as the base of your thumb.

COuld you call a pest control service for a quote? It could be that the price is not so bad, that it is something you'd gladly pay. NB obv no idea of your personal circumstances.

Do you own your property? If rented, advise landlord ASAP and chase for immediate action.

HazeltheMcWitch · 20/05/2011 15:13

Hmm, no idea why I have apostrophised 'rats' ...

Zoonose · 21/05/2011 07:33

What a horrible problem. We had rats in our house when we moved in, fortunately the council would deal with them (they were in the cavity walls) and put poison down, they did go and they haven't come back. We had the same issue as you, however, in that we are in a terrace and apparently they have been a problem from time to time - can be hard to control in that sort of environment. What the rat man said (which is pretty obvious) is that rats go where there is a food source, can you try and identify what it is that is attracting them? He said eg not to have piles of stuff in the garden, don't have a compost heap. Do any of your neighbours leave rubbish out, compost, anything? It sounds like you have a reasonably big problem. If I were you, I would call out a private pest control firm and pay for it, get some expert advice. Our council charged anyway for rats (£50, this included putting three lots of poison down, and coming back to check a couple of times). I would also be talking to neighbours, it sounds like something you need to deal with together.
We also got one of those plug-in ultra sonic rat repellers but there is no evidence whatsoever that they do anything and I am a complete cynic - but did it anyway! Smile

follyfoot · 21/05/2011 07:51

We've had the buggers in our loft. I'd recommend you buy the wax blocks of poison as thats what the council used for us the first time. We just do it ourselves now. You can get the stuff from a farm supplier or online.

Then get some thick wire and thread five or six blocks onto it like a necklace. Lift the floorboard and fix the 'necklace' to something under the floor. That should sort it.

whoops · 21/05/2011 08:02

Can you get one of these?
We discovered we had rats in our loft, I got one of these, put poison down and then caught one in a trap, haven't seen or heard any sign since I even bought one of those traps that electrocute the things but never caught anything in that!
Our loft is still open with next doors and I think they ate my poison and went and died on their side as we never had any bad smells but did have a load of flies appear out of the loft one day Hmm

NorksAreMessy · 21/05/2011 08:07

Yorkshire Terriers.
When we moved into our house, there was a rat nest in the hedge outside the kitchen window...a bit too close for comfort.
The Yorkies patrolled that area and hassled and harried until all the rats packed their bags and I haven't sen one since (apart from dead 'present' from killer kitty)

They would be happy to be popped down a hole in the floor to help you

follyfoot · 21/05/2011 08:13

My neighbour had one of those and it didnt work. I think tests have showed that they have no effect after a week anyway.

Missingfriendsandsad · 21/05/2011 08:13

Well I have to confess now - I saw a rat in my kitchen last night who dashed straight for the stairs - I investigated and there was a hole chewed through the plasterboard under the stairs. I blocked it up and took the bin out and had a good clean everywhere. All my dried food is in plastic containers (including cereals, flour, spices.. everything) so think it is the bin that was attracting them.

I did notice a smell like wet cats last night when I came in, so it may be that there is a nest somewhere or more activity than I thoughts. Trouble is under the floor is the shop below me and there is a lot of possible entry points as it is an old building. Neighbours have been putting bins out every day (with only one collection a week). which is probably attracting them. The next door flat have now got a bins area on the roof behind me, and this will add to the rats' 'route' :(

I am reluctant to poison because of the dead bodies thing, fine in farms etc when they might nest outdoors, but not so sure I want rat bodies under my floorboards! I am similarly nervous about live rats in traps (or do you have the kill ones??).

follyfoot · 21/05/2011 08:16

The bodies dry out apparently, so even if it is a bit niffy (we didnt notice anything) then it will stop. Have to say, I prefer that to rats in the house. There's the issue of them getting at the electric cables too.

Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 21/05/2011 12:30

Folly - I had heard a certain type of poison makes the bodies dehydrate so they don't reek - could this be the wax ones you speak of?
I was reluctant as I know one brand, though I don't know which, can cause the corpse to swell up and eventually burst and I really don't fancy that.

Yes Missing, I do have the lethal type, and thank goodness they have been lethal every time so far, and suprisingly un-gory. No mess, no blood.

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Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 21/05/2011 12:32

Also, the wet cat smell you describe sounds terribly familiar to the smell that greets me when I lift a board.
We have rat holes all over the shop under the floor so I know we have a big problem.
If you can smell them I am pretty sure you have more than one. Hmm

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sharbie · 21/05/2011 12:35

if i was you op i would just make that call to get the experts out
we had mice and wasps this year and we tried lots of diff ways to get rid of wasps especially but once the experts came and did their stuff it was problem sorted.
i rang around a few places and got a few quotes - it wasn't as expensive as i'd thought either.
do it - you won't regret it.

Jajas · 21/05/2011 12:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

gettingeasier · 21/05/2011 15:41

Am shivering as I read this I am terrified of rats and I would have to get the professionals in asap

Only been living here a month so I pray I dont get them , love birds but I wont feed them for that reason

Original poster
LadyOfTheFlowers · 21/05/2011 18:54

Am going to soldier on with the traps until Friday due to lack of funds, then look for the wax type poison online.

If that fails I will call council out for £50 and see what they say - but, reason I am holding fire on that one is that they don't 'do' under floors Hmm , will lay poison and won't collect any dead rats and take them, so to be honest, I can think of better things to spend 50 hard earned notes on. :o

Have been out for an hour and the ham I rolled into a little ratty sized snack and tied to the pressure pad has been schnaffled without tripping the trap.

I have re-laid with Co-Co Pops Choc n' Roll..... If nothing else, I can find out what wild rats' favourite snacks are! :o

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