What actually works to get rid of rats?

[Beautifulbeard]

We have a rat or rats in the attic and it is driving me crazy. We bought our house about 5 years ago and every 6 months or so we seem to get rats in the attic. We've tried everything to get rid of them, traps, peppermint oil, plug in electronic noise things, and poison. Usually the poison gets them after a week or two and we have a few months free before we hear noises again. The house is detached so not coming in through the attic. We have had the council pest control guys out and they can't see any obvious entry points. My assumption therefore is that they are somehow coming from the drains through our foundations and into the cavity wall up to the attic somewhere. Thankfully I've not seen any sign of them outside of the attic but even that is far too close for comfort.

This time they seem to be avoiding the poison and I don't know what else to do. Does anyone have any suggestions for things that actually work to get rid of rats?

Glue traps

Here's another one !

No, they are so cruel.

The rats struggle and struggle to get off them until they die from sheer exhaustion or starve to death.

I agree but when they are running around above your head in the attic it’s the only thing that worked for us . We shot them with an air gun . They were huge and I was terrified of them , they are vermin

If they are going thru cavity walls, can you fill the cavity with insulation ?

Have you put some kind of screen on your gutter downpipes to prevent entry that way?

I’m impressed with the photos of the 2 cats catching rats. My cat wouldn’t bother. Or is scared of them.

Not all pest control companies are equal. The first one we used put down poison. That didn't fix the problem. The next firm sorted the drains, and no more rats.

My cat is easily the best 'mouser' I've ever had and I've had about a dozen (rescue) cats so far. She has been known to be a bit over-enthusiastic and once caught a rat outside, brought it in via the catflap and let it go in the lounge. We had to get the pest controllers out for that one. (Glue trap + heavy wooden stick dealt with it.) The bill was about £50 but they did come a couple of hours after I phoned.
She's not interested in birds, fortunately.
Some cats aren't interested and work on the principle that if a mouse lives in a house then it's a family member and won't touch it.
There's no rhyme or reason to cat psychology !

Rats were chewing through our plastic air bricks, so they needed replacing with brick. Then climbing up vines and into the eaves. Up through the cavity walls from the back of a drain pipe, then into the loft. Our cat would go mad as he could hear them but not get to them. We have a canal at the bottom of the garden so he occasionally brings one in from there. Many old fashioned snap traps with peanut butter for bait eventually sorted the problem after repeated visits for years. DH counted 30+ rats that he had disposed of 🤮

We found pest control just put poison down and weren't much help beyond that. You can pop these in the drains to see if that stops them getting in https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=drain+rat+blocker&s=review-rank&crid=1INZB3LFTLOY4&qid=1774392856&sprefix=Drain+rat+%2Caps%2C313&ref=srstreview-rank&ds=v1%3AqsLSmM%2BRkaFVaY4hWytcJFrQNdLinH%2B7arxHs84Ja78

If they are getting in through drainage pipes then you need advice on how to rat proof them.

My husband used Woden traps, Victor, I think and then screwed them to a plank of wood. A guy on YouTube recommended screwing rock wall screws through the underside of the trap to skewer the rat - brutal but stopped them escaping the traps… just be careful when setting them…