@Linkat,
I hate that even rats have newer cars than me.
OMG I can't look, I'm getting light headed.
No visible sign of activity last night. I guess that lash across the back has it wondering.
@edgarblythe,
This is probably not very nice, but I'm going to miss the rat stories.
There is a run that the rat frequents as has every rodent that got in. I dumped a good quantity of the baking soda mix there. To walk over it is to perhaps coat a few toes. Licking that tasty stuff off might cause him to develop a taste for it.
@edgarblythe,
Well, make sure you don't get any on your toes....you will not like it one bit.
@glitterbag,
What worries me the most out of this, they have begun clearing off all the final remnants of the forest for business concerns. That means four or more possible influxes of wildlife.
@edgarblythe,
Oh gosh, yes, all those poor animals will be scrambling for shelter. Some years back after clearing land for business building, I saw 5 deer run across the road (safely) but they wound up on a small strip of grass next to the sprawling Annapolis Mall looking confused and wondering where to go next...everything was asphalt...they break my heart.
@glitterbag,
We still have deer hiding all around our area. How they survive I couldn't guess.
@edgarblythe,
Well, the deer near my house have been munching on the Hostas, the day Lillies, and a ton of other plants around my house. But....I don't really care, they are hungry.
@glitterbag,
They don't get in my neighborhood, but I have seen them no more than half a mile away. Oddly, I have never seen a live armadillo around here, but I see them as roadkill numerous times each year.
I received the Pest Offence device today and it seems to be working properly. I don't know what else to do but watch for signs of new activity.
@edgarblythe,
you basically set it and forget it.
hope it does the trick...
@Region Philbis,
After checking on it online, I think it has a shot.
I don't know what the rat is up to. I am not certain if it left after getting whacked by the trap or if it is just being extra careful. Rocky hasn't barked at the portion of the kitchen it hides inside or under, for two or three days. Then there is the electronic thing. I'm playing a waiting game for now.
@edgarblythe,
we use warfarin (Coumaden) on our barn rats. We mix some coumaden with chocolate and ppnut butter. They eat it and die. Im not sure Id do it in a house caue i they die between your walls you will be smelling rotting rat for months.
The dog always knows when a varmint has arrived. Long before I see or hear anything, he is barking, sniffing, stalking. After I killed the one in the trap, and after I smelled the dead young, I hoped they were gone. Rocky knew better. Sure enough, at least one more was here. It got injured and I put in the electronic device; I put the poison down the hole. For about four days or more, Rocky has not been on alert. I haven't detected activity. Today I concentrated on the storage shed. I took a Home Depot bucket, one of the five-gallon orange ones, a PVC pipe and a 14 oz. coffee can. I used the pipe to support the coffee can over the bucket. The can spins but not the pipe. I put two boards on the sides, runners for the rats. Then I put peanut butter in a strip around the center of the coffee can. When the rats attempt to step out for the peanut butter, they will slip into the bucket. It has been out there most of the afternoon. I can't wait to have a look tomorrow.
@edgarblythe,
It just occurred to me that a squirrel might be able to get in there.
@edgarblythe,
edgarblythe wrote:
The dog always knows when a varmint has arrived. Long before I see or hear anything, he is barking, sniffing, stalking. After I killed the one in the trap, and after I smelled the dead young, I hoped they were gone. Rocky knew better. Sure enough, at least one more was here. It got injured and I put in the electronic device; I put the poison down the hole. For about four days or more, Rocky has not been on alert. I haven't detected activity. Today I concentrated on the storage shed. I took a Home Depot bucket, one of the five-gallon orange ones, a PVC pipe and a 14 oz. coffee can. I used the pipe to support the coffee can over the bucket. The can spins but not the pipe. I put two boards on the sides, runners for the rats. Then I put peanut butter in a strip around the center of the coffee can. When the rats attempt to step out for the peanut butter, they will slip into the bucket. It has been out there most of the afternoon. I can't wait to have a look tomorrow.
It sounds like fun experimenting with buckets, etc. but if you want to get a commercially-made live trap, do a google search for "live rat trap," "havahart rat trap," etc. and take a look at how those work. They are not perfect, but if the rat is big enough, it won't be able to get out after the trap has sprung and you can do whatever your conscience will allow with it.
