fdrinca Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 We've been chasing this stupid rat around our house for a few days now, and this morning (lovely 3 a.m.!), I heard him chewing under my bed! (Aside: I might be moving to a hotel.) I turned on the lights and startled it into my closet. That's where it currently is, unless there is a hole in there I don't know about. I cleaned out the closet pretty thoroughly this summer, so I *think* it's hole-free. I've lined the closed closet door with traps, but what else can I do? I really just want this thing DEAD and GONE from my house. Sorry, PETA, but animal rights faded in the face of sleepless nights for this 35-week-pregnant mama. UPDATE: The combination of nesting/minor OCD had sent me into a real fever pitch this morning and early afternoon. I decided that I needed to clear out my bedroom, so as I was moving my DD2's toddler bed from our room, I startled the rat out of the closet again and he got caught the traps. I'd thought for sure he'd escaped away earlier, but nope! Unless there are two rats, both in my closet....shudder! (SHUT UP BRAIN, OR I'LL STAB YOU WITH A Q-TIP. Homer Simpson always knows the right things to say!) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Eeeeewww!!! Sorry, I have no suggestions... but sympathy. We had some in our garage this summer, and one made it in the house. So not OK with that! We just usedd traps and cheese and sooner or later all of them have fell for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 nm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Call an exterminator. Rats are social animals. You most certainly have more than one of them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Sadly, definitely a rat. We've spotted it a few times, chased it around our office with brooms (not a great idea, BTW), and it's poo gives it away. Last year we had another rat in our house. We caught it and called an exterminator. He helped us seal up some holes, but suggested that sometimes they get in a house and can't get out. We have a big rat population in the area, thanks to all of the backyard chickens in our neighborhood. Exterminator suggested a cat, but DS would never be able to breathe again :( I **KNOW** it's wishful thinking, but if I catch one and there's no more evidence, I can be in peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Also, this one snapped a trap yesterday, so I'm afraid I won't be able to lure it to a trap any longer :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 You must have a place where they are coming in. We had mice once in another place we lived, and we had to go through the place and systematically plug (with steel wool or a piece of plywood) every space where they could possibly gain access. They can squeeze through the tiniest openings, so you really need to plug every possible crack or opening. Then set a humane trap and escort the little bugger outside once you've got her. If your place is properly plugged, she won't get back in. An exterminator can be expensive and you will just have a repeating problem if you don't plug the holes, so I wouldn't bother with one. She'll still go for a humane trap that doesn't look like a snap trap; a trap and plugging will permanently solve your problem for cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Re: plugging holes The twofold problem is that we have an attached garage, and there are gaps around the garage door. (By this I mean the part where cars drive in, not to the house - that door is well sealed.) Also, we have kids who leave doors open. I'm sure more vigilance on our part would be helpful. We're all kind of bad about leaving doors open to the outside :( 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto3innc Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I had the same thing happen with a mouse in our closet. I finally told the kids I would pay them if they could trap it (husband out of town). I shut them in the closet and they checked each shoe (my big fear was putting my foot in and it being in there) and finally realized it was in a suitcase. We zipped it up, wheeled it down the road, and got rid of it. And actually never had any more. I know this doesn't really help...but that's what happened here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 This is my least favorite part of fall--all the critters trying to get in the house. Last week we had a mouse in the cat food--I took the whole bag out, threw it away, and went straight to the store to buy new cat food and a trash can with a lid to keep it in. I had a dream last night that we had possums in our house. I think I would cry if I had a rat in the house. I'm sorry. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Re: plugging holes The twofold problem is that we have an attached garage, and there are gaps around the garage door. (By this I mean the part where cars drive in, not to the house - that door is well sealed.) Also, we have kids who leave doors open. I'm sure more vigilance on our part would be helpful. We're all kind of bad about leaving doors open to the outside :( That is our problem too. I actually saw a mouse run into the house when I was taking out the trash once. You'd think I'd learn, but I still leave the door open when I take out the trash. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I know your rat is trapped, so this may not be helpful for this rat right now, but we have had great results getting rid of mice with a rat zapper. We had a mouse infestation; for over a week (2 weeks?) they ignored the traps (conventional spring traps and small electrocution traps) and the poison, no matter where we positioned any of it. (Please don't anyone scold me about poison; I know it's bad, but so is a having mice running all over the house at night.) A friend suggested the rat zapper, and we got 8 or 10 mice within 3 days. If we have another problem, I'll get a second zapper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 That is our problem too. I actually saw a mouse run into the house when I was taking out the trash once. You'd think I'd learn, but I still leave the door open when I take out the trash. :confused1: Think smarter, not harder. Go to Home Depot, get the little thingamabobs that cause doors to close automatically. Then you won't have to remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom25girls Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Wishing that I had suggestions but sending sympathy and a huge :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdrinca Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Well, the bugger set off a bunch of traps around the closet door, but didn't get caught in any. I had stuffed a towel under the bedroom door in the naive thought that it would keep him trapped in my bedroom, at least, but we spotted the towel moved away from the door. Unsure if it's the rodent or the two-year-old to blame. I think I'll try the zapper. They're expensive! But cheaper than a week at a hotel ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 I had a dream last night that we had possums in our house. Possums freak me out worse than anything. If I found one in my house I might have to move. Something about them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Possums freak me out worse than anything. If I found one in my house I might have to move. Something about them! Really? I've never seen one in real life, but this video was going around FB last week and it made me want one for a pet. It's about a dog and possum who are best friends: The possum looks pretty cute. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Really? I've never seen one in real life, but this video was going around FB last week and it made me want one for a pet. It's about a dog and possum who are best friends: The possum looks pretty cute. I accidentally cornered a possum once, and it hissed at me. Its mouth full of needle-like teeth really made an impression on me. Lol Our local zoo has a possum that is tame, and my kids have patted it, but I can't bring myself to touch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callapidder Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Ugh, so sorry you're dealing with this! We have dealt with our fair share of vermin, and I second the Rat Zapper recommendation. Last weekend, my 9-year-old went to play in the basement and found a 3-foot-long black snake. That was my limit. My husband was gone, my teenager was gone, and I was NOT happy. Hours later, we all caught it and got it outside, but I have gone a little crazy with sealing things. If it even looks like it could *become* a hole, it gets sealed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocomom63 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Not sure if this would be helpful in trapping a rat, but we've had lots of success with the mice that like to think our place is their place. Whenever we put traps out in the past, my husband would bait them with peanut butter or cheese and the darn critters would eat the food and never get trapped. So, and not sure where my husband got this idea, but he started super gluing peanuts to the traps where the bait would go and then set those out. They get the mice every time! Sometimes within minutes of setting the traps out. We had two mice a couple of months ago, put the traps out and the mice were caught within two days. I know rats are much bigger and you need the rat size traps, but wonder if it would work as well? Anyway - you have my sympathy and hope you can get rid of the thing! Chocomom63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) nm Edited December 16, 2015 by w11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Yay!!!!!! So glad it's gone!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Whee, rat is gone! :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I'm pretty sure my vet told me (and I confirmed with reading, although it has been awhile) that opposums can carry leptospirosis, so if anyone adopts one, their dogs probably need to be vaccinated. We vaxed our dogs because the possums that live in the creek bottom nearby use the backyard fences as their elevated superhighway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 We had one in our house when I was a kid. It kept coming in the kitchen but never took the bait in the trap so my dad sat up all night with a .22 rifle. He was a sharpshooter in the Army but it still took him 3 tries. My mom got new vinyl because of the 3 little holes in the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Poor little guy. :leaving: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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