Rat in my kitchen

[Dilraj68]

It has really creeped me out and now I can't sleep! No matter how many times the kitchen and dining room is deep cleaned, they'll always come back.
Kids made a movie and we know where they're coming from. It's made our skin crawl thinking there's more than one and now today we're going to get advice from the council. We don't want to trap them as that'll mean getting rid of them. We want to deter them by using natural products and sealing off any open gaps.

Bloody hate this! What have you guys done?

Never mind natural products, I'd have as much poison down there as I could. Get yourself to B&Q and buy pellets. Put them everywhere.

Lol, thank you. Good idea!

I have cats. In my last house I had a rodent stuck in the wall - probably a mouse, but it freaked me out so much that when I moved I got a cat. Before I moved, I had my poor father on his hands and knees scouring for signs of the break in. He filled in any holes he found, but I couldn't be sure we got them all. I moved more rurally about 10 years ago, got the cats and haven't seen a rodent since.

I would move out until it is sorted!!
Sorry not v helpful!

Do not use rat poison. If the rats can get into inaccessible places (like under the floorboards) and end up dying there, the stink will be horrendous and you won't be able to get rid out it without ripping half your house up.

Councils provide free pest control services for rat infestations so definitely contact them. You obviously need to block all the access points very thoroughly. This might resolve the problem but if there are any rats trapped inside once you've blocked their access, you will need to lay traps (which are in fact much more humane than poison, as long as they're good traps and set properly so they kill the rat instantly rather than injuring it. You obviously have to check the traps regularly.

Do not feel bad about killing rats. They are vermin, they carry diseases, they cause damage to properties and can even cause house fires (if they chew through electric cables), and they reproduce at an alarming rate.

(I've had a rat infestation, can you tell?!)

What are you gonna do?

(sorry, couldn’t resist).

I don’t agree with killing rats or mice. Death by poison is a horrible way to die. They also often die while inside your walls, do you want their dead bodies stinking up your house for days? Also do you have any pets? Rat poison can kill pets too. If you put any down in your garden and say a neighbours cat eats it and dies, you are liable.

You need to call pest control to start having them humanely trapped both inside and outside the property.
You know where they are coming in, so you need to seal the gaps with medium steel wool embedded in gap filler foam or other sealant. Rats can and will chew through anything except steel wool.
They breed fast so you cannot put this off.

Get an expert round asap, they will help. My friend had a terrible rat situation but it was resolved.

Humanely trapped 🙄
Live traps are not humane either as they're terrified.
And then you want to release them so they can continue reproducing and getting into people's houses...
No thank you.
If you'd ever had a serious rat infestation you wouldn't be going on about humane traps.

Pest control will put down poison, call them and they will give good advice about entry points etc as well as getting rid of them.

Similar issue here. I've trapped 2 in 2 days, in my bathroom cupboard. The only way into that bathroom cupboard would be inside the boxing for the pipework, I think. We are in a terrace and one neighbour also has them. I guess they are moving between the properties. Not sure what to do.

"Trapped animals must be dealt with humanely. Release of an animal elsewhere is not necessarily a humane thing to do – translocated animals may fail to adapt to or integrate into new territory and may suffer and die as a result (Mason and Littin, 2003). Killing is much less likely to carry a risk of causing suffering than release in an unfamiliar area, and release of some species may be illegal."

and

"Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) (available at www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/about_legislation.htm) prohibits the release into the wild any animal which is 1) of a kind that is not ordinarily resident in and is not a regular visitor to GB in a wild state or 2) is included in Part 1 of Schedule 9. Currently (June 2008), the black rat (Rattus rattus), the fat/edible dormouse (Glis glis), the grey squirrel (Sciureus carolinensis) and the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus) are listed on Part 1 of Schedule 9 and therefore cannot be released, except under licence.

Under the WCA there is no prohibition on the release of other species of rats or mice which are ordinarily resident in GB. For example, the view of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is that the release of brown/common rats (Rattus norvegicus) into the wild is not unlawful under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 because, despite their non-native origins, they could be classed as 'ordinarily resident' in Great Britain as they are now well-established. However, this is not to say that it is acceptable or permissible to release them on other people’s property.

Bearing in mind the exceptions above, although the law does not prevent the release of captured target animals (brown rats or mice), it is often likely to be an unwise thing to do either because it is counterproductive to control and/or because it may have adverse welfare consequences for the animal (see text). Release near the point of capture is unlikely to solve the problem as the animals are likely to return unless the premises have been effectively proofed. Release in an unfamiliar environment may have adverse welfare consequences as animals may have trouble finding food and shelter. Also if the area contains suitable habitat it is likely to already be occupied by other members of their species and may not support additional animals."

from www.ufaw.org.uk/downloads/welfare-downloads/guidance-on-humane-control-of-rodents-feb2509v19.pdf

@ShirleyJackson , I'm gonna get that rat, that's what I'm gonna do

Image from www.ufaw.org.uk/rodent-control/rodent-control

They’re more humane than killing them! Besides rats are intelligent, kill traps don’t keep on working because they can smell the death on them and see the dead bodies of their family members before you come and collect them up. But rats DO keep falling for the humane live traps.

I don’t let it get to the point of a serious infestation. Last time a rat invasion was attempted we had two rats. I knew they were there within 24hrs (I keep my house very clean and check for signs everyday as we live rurally). We’d put down the traps and caught both of them within 4 days. That was this past October. They tend to try to move in every Autumn as the warmth attracts them.

Do not recommend poison as a dead rat decomposing in your home is not fun.

Get a pest control expert in to take a look.

Beat me to it!!! 😂

Snap traps are the only way to go - quick death.

@AnotherEmma
We get field rats and mice. So per the WCA perfectly legal to release them back into the fields from which they came. They’re fed before release and always in a spot with shelter, water and food.

Our kill traps did indeed keep working. We caught about 8 in the same location. Just removed immediately (when we heard it) and checked regularly, then cleaned the trap and area thoroughly.

The guidance I've shared clearly states that killing can be more humane than other methods which can cause prolonged suffering.

Get a professional in. Sometimes the council charges sometimes it's free. Depending on where you are. Professional pest control use stronger poison than you can buy online or in store and will do a follow up visit to check your bait has stopped being taken.

Well how lovely for you and them.
Dont advise people with rat infestations - which could be black rats and illegal to release btw - to do the same without getting PROFESSIONAL advice.

Councils provide free pest control services for rat infestations

Not where I live, unless you are on benefits.

Ah sorry.

To be fair our council's pest control guy could only give limited help and (unofficially) directed us to someone we paid to do a more thorough investigation. The council guy did a basic inspection and gave advice - he said all they can do is put poison down (which we didn't want) and they don't lay traps themselves as they don't have the resources to check them as regularly as the law/guidance requires. He said that infestations are a massive problem so his team is very busy just doing the basics.

The guy we paid was worth every penny as he did a drain survey with special equipment, was very thorough and identified the access point, gave detailed advice about how to block it.