Okay, up until this point there were no rats in my cabinets. Now that I have seen rat scat in the cabinets, I have no more mercy for anything. "ME" That is what this is all about now.
The cannot get into food cabinets unless they chew their way in. That has not happened. Can they open doors? However, they are in lower cabinets with no food. That means I must wash each item I remove to use.
They have probably come into the house around the water wipes or drain. That means I must take everything out from under the sink to see if they have breached the barriers I put in. That is going to be a chore with my limitations. ugh This is going to hurt.
I heard something crashing in the basement a few minutes ago. So, going down there to view the underside of the sink is going to be an adventure and maybe hazardous.
Rat poison will be in place within minutes of posting this!
This is just so disgusting. I actually think this is the most disgusting thing in my life, EVER. Okay, rats are not on the counters yet, and if that happens, I may have to abandon the place...lol. It's all out war here!
The rats did come across a bag of rice NOT in a cabinet or a secure place and were eating it. I figured if I left it, they would not get into other food. So, I am still sticking with that thought.
That rice will go to Charlie for him to use to remove moisture from electronics. See? We don't waste anything.
Your turn
Any more advice?
Linda, this is terrible. What sort of place do you live in ? Do you rent ? won't the landlord do anything to help ? this is a danger to your health.
ReplyDeleteI once read of a lady that lived in a rat infested place, and to keep them from eating her food, she hung baskets from the ceiling because they couldn't get to those.
I hate so much killing things, but when it's so bad as you say you have no choice but to put poison down.
I really am speachless --
I own the place, shabby and rundown! But, it is mine.
DeleteThe thought has occurred to me--where can I put this? How high?
The only thing I do not want to kill is pets, and that includes my chickens. I had a rat on a glue trap in a plastic bag. To kill it quickly, I just held the bag and whacked in on the outside of the house. Killing things does not bother me, even if it is a pet dog trying to get my chickens. I just don't have a gun.
I, too, am speechless.
Actually, it is illegal to fire a gun in the city and also illegal to let a dog run loose, uncontrolled. I would not hunt down a pet, just stop it if it were after a chicken. I mean, why should my chicken die if I can stop it, even if I have to kill a dog?
DeleteI wish I had advice. I feel terrible for you.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Janie,
DeleteThanks.
Don't chicken bring rats? You may need professional, serious help. Rats are way different than field mice.
ReplyDeleteYou let the rats eat rice? Not a good idea. You do know rats can bite and attack?
Call someone in to help you pronto.o
mylife,
DeleteChicken food left down is said to bring rats. I am not capable of cleaning all the food they kick around or getting it out of the straw in their pen.
I left the rice so they would not move on to other food and a different location. Yes, I do know they are dangerous. You should see their teeth when they try to bite me as I get them and the sticky trap. There is no one to call. It is a problem, one I have never faced.
I live a block from what was a hospital and now an assisted living facility. I had one rat when it was a hospital and these now.
Maybe the health dept would help for free? Especially if you point out that you didn't have a problem when the hospital was close by and now you do. Maybe the assisted living facility doesn't handle garbage properly.
DeleteLove,
Janie
Janie,
DeleteI think Jess was correct in saying that our early freezing temps caused a larger rat population to seek shelter. I had thought of the health dept. Another neighbor was having a rat problem. This makes me want to go dose the garbage containers near the hospital.
Aaaargh. The cats in our house keep the rats (I hope) doing their gymnastics in the roof. I still want them gone - but if they were in the house that want would be a NEED.
ReplyDeleteGood luck (to you, not the rats).
EC,
DeleteHave you ever thought of putting the cats I the attic for 24 hours with a water bowl?
The rats are going to need luck to get out alive.
Thanks!
No attic. And the insulation is not good for the cats - though it doesn't seem to bother the rodents.
DeleteEC,
DeleteI guess I mean the space between ceiling and the roof, whatever that space is called in your house. I did not think about insulation. People probably don't keep up with mortality rates for rats exposed to insulation. Rats breed so quickly, they can stay ahead of death and population extinction. It was a good idea when I thought of it.
Just keep the poison where they can get to it. It will take a few days, but they'll all eventually eat enough to die.
ReplyDeletePeople think of rats, and mice, as a sign of uncleanliness. It's rarely that and usually the result of outside pets, or feeding stations for wild birds, or squirrels.
Jess,
DeleteThanks for the encouragement in saying it is not a sign of uncleanliness. Someone said that Dcon will draw rats. That's scary to me. I think I want to put the rat poison in the room two and three, not four which is the kitchen. This is freaking me out. I just told Charlie that he can have food in boxes on the floor in the kitchen if he will help me get everything else off the floor and clean it.
He said he cleans like he wants to and I cannot micromanage. So, he will destroy the table and chairs because it is not his. That is how he works! Now, I don't know what to do. If exbf comes here to help me, even if it is Christmas Eve, I suppose we will move stuff and try to clean. He is not really in great shape for this kind of work since he needs two hip replacements and just shuffles along. Bending is something neither of us can do without great pain.
I cannot afford help and know no one that I want in my house that would really help me for food without stealing me blind...lol. There is a crazy lady who would do it, but she talks and tells tales out of school. Soooo.
Well, thanks.
Okay, exbf will not be here until next Friday, so this will be a long process cleaning out stuff from kitchen floor, mostly under the table boxes. I have a large kitchen, so this is a large table and job with still as much walking room as most kitchens. grrr. I probably will not be able to walk in a few days, at least hobble more than I do now.
DeleteRodents are fierce competitors, when it comes to survival. If they can't find a way in, they'll gnaw, until they make an opening.
DeleteMore than likely, you suffered an early winter, which allowed what is usually a dwindling population of rodents to aggressively seek new shelter. Otherwise, the population wasn't decimated and more than a usual amount found your home as a potential sanctuary.
I know the poison is dangerous, but it's not like cyanide which causes a quick death. The poison is a blood thinner and takes more than a few meals to cause enough internal damage for death. I know this from having a panic attack, when a dog ate some rat bait. After a trip to the vet, they gave vitamin K, told me to keep an eye on the dog and the dog never seemed to be affected.
Another thing: I've noticed rodents killed by poison are avoided by other animals. There's something different about the smell.
Jess,
DeleteExactly! We had January/February weather in Nov and Dec.
I am going to thin the population right now, starting tonight. Maybe I will get a supply of vitamin K right now.
My hens won't eat a tomato that is a little beyond best, so maybe they will spot a poisoned rat. My hens weigh less than a dog, so it might take less to kill them.
I have three little packets of rat poison, little paper packets. I have store cards where I took things back at TSC, a hardware store, and Lowe's. What poison would you suggest. Some will go in the house, and some will go in the house.
What brand would anyone suggest?
I don't know the brand, but Walmart, and Lowe's sell bait blocks. Most feed stores sell some type of bait.
DeleteJess,
DeleteLowe's suggested the blocks. So, that is what I will get.
We quite often catch rats in our house...we use a trap that catches them live then drop them in a bin of water to drown. It's not about being clean it's about the rat wanting somewhere to live and it likes your/my house. We don't use poison or snap traps as we also get lizards/skinks inside. Have caught a few of those too but they don't get the bin of water treatment...
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the cleaning but you know that you have probably already used something that a rat has walked over, he was there before you knew so who knows how many times he pee'd on that plate you use...just saying...lol.
Barb.
Someone 9n the comments raked me over the coals in comments because I drowned a rat in the back yard. What is the brand of that rat trap?
DeleteI do know they have not been on a plate because I go there often and never see feces. Plus, plates are on the top cabinets. Nothing ever goes there--rat, mice, ants, roaches...just nothing. Thankfully, they are getting into the cabinet where colanders, serving dishes I never use, baking pans are kept. Otherwise, I would keep one plate, bowl, fork, knife, and spoon in a sealed container in the car. Yuck! You did remind me of a nasty truth.
To amuse everyone: I keep a banana on the counter to judge if a rat has been up there. I keep bread, chips, crackers, any boxes I might leave on the counter, all up in a top cabinet. I check around the wall on the counter for rat poop.
linda,
ReplyDeleteI went to the co-op here and asked what was the best and what they reccomended...i think i paid like $13 but it was a good sized box with the packets and i just put them under the house in cabinets and where i had seen "signs" of them...didnt open the packets just put them out....and its been 3 yrs and still no more rats-mice or whatever...they are all creepy crawly critters to me. wish i lived closer i would help out with what i could. good luck!!
Lowe's recommended the blocks. I will get something where I have store credit on a gift card. I would certainly take you up on help right now. It is not hard what I need, just hurts my back and both knees.
DeleteAny offers from anyone close?
your tractor supply would probably be the best bet its most like a co-op
DeleteCindy,
DeleteI have lots of credit on the TSC card, so that will work!
Last summer, my mom kept noticing her tomatoes going missing from the vines. RATS were taking them at night!! Dad started setting traps every day and they killed several. I never would have imagined rats stealing the tomatoes. They live on 20 acres in Southern California.
ReplyDeletePatti,
ReplyDeleteI think all animals like tomatoes. Is a snake a foe of rats? I think so. Buy a toy snake or make one from a piece of garden hose, tennis balls, and eyes painted on. Put it in the garden if birds get tomatoes. It will probably work for rats, too.
I found tomatoes on the ground with one bite gone. It was heartbreaking since I only had two vines. I caught a ground hog over there picking a tomato! I put pepper on the tomatoes, I think, something stinky to them but not to me. You would think on 20 acres the rats could find something. My friend allowed two real black snakes (or something) to exist because they left his huge tomato garden (about 100 plants) alone and kept the birds out. He did not have one bird peck or insect bite on his tomatoes that summer. He and his friend ONLY planted tomatoes.
We had rats at one time. Feeding wild birds is what drew them to our yard. I quit the bird food and now only feed hummingbirds. I have also had mice in the attic. I keep rat bait up there and I do have to replace the bait traps each year. We have had more than our share of opossums. Horrid animals!
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned food stacked in the kitchen. Perhaps you could store things in big totes. The stack easily and I believe that as long as you keep the lids they should be rodent proof.
My Daughter has had rats in her yard, They climb her trees and eat oranges and pomegranates. Fortunately her area also has coyotes and owls and she has an exterminator service,
have you ever considered adopting cat?
Janet,
ReplyDeleteIt appears lots of people have had rats. Possums are dangerous if approached. Be careful. I cannot afford totes. No, the rats or even mice can chew right through them.
I never thought about rats eating fruit right from the trees!
Someone caught me two male barn cats after I caught two mice. That is a long story, but after a while, my crazy neighbor poisoned them. I cannot have cats in the house because I am allergic to cats. So, it is hard to get a kitten and make it stay outside. I did that twice and each time one disappeared when crazy neighbors in one rent house moved. One cat was blue. The other was perfectly white. Thankfully, those rent houses mostly have really nice people or they are now houses with present owners. I really cannot afford a cat because of food, vaccines, and such. I got one last year and gave it away. Its adorable little face enchanted me.
I'm so concerned about you. I wish Favorite Young Man and I lived close enough to help you. He's so young and strong.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie