rats!

 

I seem to have a family of rats living under my shed, and this is
freaking out my dearest wife!

Is it legal to buy and use rat poison, or do you have to call in a
pest control expert?

Any advice appreciated, thanks.

Steve J

 

On 6/10/2010 5:04 AM, Steve J wrote:

Legal in US.  Go to store.  If they sell rat poison, buy it.

 

Frank wrote:

   He's not in the US. Your advice is good otherwise.

   The rat poison in the little plastic bags (rats eat through the bag)
is not only very cheap, it's highly effective. Rats never seem to learn
that trick. Funny, as they seem intelligent otherwise.

   Jeff

 

wrote:


Killing a few rats won't help, other than giving you a purpose in
life.  So long as the food supply remains more will come.

 

x-no-archive: yes

On 6/10/2010 12:40 PM, brooklyn1 wrote:


It's not just food; it's shelter, water and food, any one of those can
be the attractant, one more than the others depending upon the season.

Rats love to live under wood piles, brush piles, rock piles, etc.

Tossing poison around without one of those boxes to limit squirrels,
dogs, cats, kids from accidentally getting into it is just wrong, as are
indiscriminate snap traps out of doors.

Get rid of all sources of water, bird baths, puddles, etc... rats need
to drink a lot and a source of water is equally as attractive as food.

Find a way to keep them out of the space they're in and to clear up any
other potential shelters for them.

I've got the bait boxes around my property (wooded, near town, had rats
near the house, never in it) for 5 years, and we haven't seen a rat
since, though they're eating the baits pretty solidly.

We rat proofed our house top to bottom with wire mesh (hardware cloth),
dryer vent cage, copper mesh and mortar where all the pipes and wires
(gas, electric, water, cable) enter our house, attic vents, chimney cap.

Susan