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April 2, 2008 at 12:44 am #586669
JoBParticipantI just opened the door to the shed next to the drive to clean it out for spring and came face to face with two rats..
i jumped back.. they hid.. in the shed.
what do i do about this?
i live in a rental and have contacted the landlord but if he is as responsive about this as about everything else… i am going to be dealing with this myself:(
April 2, 2008 at 1:21 am #620728
JimmyGMemberGo to http://www.kingcounty.gov and put in “rats” in the search box.
They have a good outline of the hows, why, whats, and most important the getting rid of rats in/around your home.
April 2, 2008 at 1:25 am #620729
JenVMemberApril 2, 2008 at 1:47 am #620730
JoBParticipantJenV..
my shibas encountered the rats which have moved to the storage spaces under the deck already.
One is so excited she can’t stand it and is begging to be let out at them again.
something happened with the other one and i don’t know what. he finally came in with his tail between his legs.
I couldn’t find a bite mark and he may just have been exhausted with struggling with the pile of crap that the landlord keeps in there.. he may have only been stuck… but he is slow recovering.
i am not a happy camper just now.
April 2, 2008 at 2:31 am #620731
cruiserMemberJoB,
Nip up to Home Depot and a grab few rat traps. Place them perpendicular to a wall near where you saw your visitors but do NOT set them (yet!). This will make the rats feel comfy with having something ‘new’ around.
After two days set the traps with some peanut butter and put them back where you had them. The rats will see them and say “ah those things have been here for a couple of days” then slam ya got em:)
April 2, 2008 at 3:47 am #620732
cruiserMemberJoB,
Brain freeze in the above:) When you lay out the traps without setting them put some peanut butter on the traps. Your little friends will like this and will be drawn to the traps. Then when you do set them….well ya know
April 2, 2008 at 3:56 am #620733
JoBParticipantthanks cruiser…
i will be getting the traps tomorrow and hubby says he will lay them out.
i am NOT opening that shed again.
i told him to knock first:)
April 2, 2008 at 3:59 am #620734
JanSParticipantwow, JoB…do we have the same landlord?
hope the traps work….just one question…who gets to clean up the..umm…remains?
April 2, 2008 at 4:03 am #620735
JenVMemberJoB- i wasn’t being flip suggesting you sic your doggies on the rats…that is a cute video though.
I had a horrible rat problem last year. Make sure you get bird venting for any open areas where you think the rats might get in- like your dryer vent. Once we did that, there was nowhere for the rats to get in and I have not had any problems since. If they are big rats, do not get the sticky traps – the big rats just get away from those. you want to get a kill trap- one that, and I am sorry for being too graphic, will break their little necks. Good luck, and if you need some help, email me. I am not squeamish about these things any more after last year…
April 2, 2008 at 4:15 am #620736
JoBParticipantJenV…
i thought the dogs would keep any rats away from the house.. and i think mainly they have…
but this shed was out front where the dogs don’t go…
and when i frightened the little buggers they ran downhill and under the deck… where my dogs went crazy with their scent.
hubby will empty the traps… and i will be making sure we do a weekend cleanup of all the possible hiding places in a couple of weeks.
my dogs would love to get hold of a rat. i am the one who is not so much for that idea:(
April 2, 2008 at 3:14 pm #620737
beachdrivegirlParticipantThanks for the advice. A friend ours swore he saw a rat run in our garage the other night when he was coming over for dinner. We opened the garage door and switched, but couldnt find anything…
April 2, 2008 at 3:21 pm #620738
WSBKeymasterWe have used glue traps with peanut butter and snagged a couple. We were also advised that if we kept some slightly used cat litter in the basement, which is a popular rat hangout, the scent might keep them at bay. The other thing is to look for where they might be getting in – we found an obvious entry spot in the basement wall and covered it – one of these days we have to get “exclusion” work done on the attic vents, because some sort of four-footed posse is having a party up there …
April 2, 2008 at 3:25 pm #620739
JoBParticipantTR…
i don’t even want to go there:(
right now i have to decide what to do about the mess in the area next to the house… my dogs make a beeline for that area because of the scent and i can’t really let them out in the yard until i do something.. it isn’t a safe place for them..
my little boy shiba is ok this morning.. but we were very worried last night.
oh well.. ya gotta do what ya gotta do:(
April 2, 2008 at 3:39 pm #620740
kParticipantWe live near morgan junction and have seen a rat, two raccoons and a possum this week alone! Looks like critters are waking up for the spring.
April 2, 2008 at 4:08 pm #620741
JoBParticipantWoo Hoo!
i just went to the backyard and found hubby had blocked the dogs from getting into the area area i was worried about.
i don’t have to do anything except stop by home depot today and get traps!
while i am at home depot i will have to check out what has come in for the garden:) oh shucks:)
maybe i can even squeeze in a trip to Swansons:)
isn’t life grand:)
April 2, 2008 at 4:57 pm #620742
BeasleyMemberI don’t think it’s just the spring that’s bringing all these critters out.
I mean — what with all the construction going on, whenever a lot is cleared or a building dozed there are going to be critters displaced. It’s not just your human neighbors that are looking for new homes!
April 2, 2008 at 5:00 pm #620743
JenVMemberCRISIS IN THE RAT HOUSING MARKET! News at 11.
April 2, 2008 at 6:11 pm #620744
WSBKeymasterActually this is one of those rare times I slightly miss my old job. Things that REALLY matter to people — like pest problems — always made GREAT tv stories. One of my last decent story ideas was something about spiders several months back, after we were not only besieged here at WSB HQ, but also in the Q13 newsroom — one of my ex-co-workers actually trapped and killed a MASSIVE spider and taped the remains to a piece of paper to get bosses’ attention (as in, me among others). I tried to explain that in most cases, spiders are absolutely harmless and actually beneficial – they eat lots of smaller bugs that might overrun us otherwise — but my spiderphobic co-workers would have none of it! — TR
April 2, 2008 at 10:43 pm #620745
KenParticipantJust a note: I heard separately this week of a lot of Rat traps appearing at several business directly east across the Duwamish. There might be a season related re-location or it might indicate a population boom year in the canal or Norway populations.
For the bookmark file if you need to get someone to deal with wildlife who might be cohabiting with you without permission.
http://www.aaanimalcontrol.com/Professional-Trapper/wildlife/WA-Seattle-Wildlife.htm
April 2, 2008 at 10:46 pm #620746
JoBParticipantthanks ken.
July 22, 2008 at 4:18 am #620747
beachdrivegirlParticipantJoB,
Did you ever find something that worked well for you? I just watched rats (two) play chase on our fence and want to take every preventative measure possible.
July 22, 2008 at 4:32 pm #620748
JoBParticipantbeachdrivegirl..
sadly.. i didn’t.. but maybe your rats aren’t as smart as mine…
they ate the peanutbutter off the big rat traps without tripping them…
July 22, 2008 at 4:53 pm #620749
RonMParticipantSome years ago rats began showing up in our neighborhood. I’ve forgotten the department we called, something about rat control. Their first question was what had changed in the neighborhood that would attract them (food). After some investigation one of our neighbors had moved her dog food from her kitchen to the back porch. A few weeks later the rats began showing up. Removed the dog food and the rats soon dissapeared.
Warfin — rat poison! I’ve used it too and it works almost too well. Not in West Seattle, I was renting a room temporarily in the summer. I soon discovered that at night, rats were passing through on a regular route. I tried traps and caught a few, but with no effect on their traffic. I next tried Warfin. They ate every speck I put out for 2 or 3 days…then dissapeared. I felt proud of myself for a little while until the odor began! We found some dead rats under a lumber pile, but the odor persisted. We had a flash flood on the street from a summer thunderstorm and discovered that the drains weren’t working. They were plugged with dead rats! I think I’d try to live with them in harmony before trying that again! Though the poison did work at the time and we were rid of them for the rest of the summer.
July 22, 2008 at 4:57 pm #620750
JoBParticipantRonM…
i have two rat catcher dogs.. i don’t think second hand poison is a good idea for them:(
the rat problem here is long term.. we live above a wooded area and there is vegetation from the woods to our shed on the neighbor’s side of the fence..
i would try to battle with the neighbors.. but i rent and don’t know if i will be staying long enough to make it worth my effort.
i notified the landlord and don’t use the shed.
July 22, 2008 at 5:06 pm #620751
RonMParticipantAs I said, I’d seriously try to live with them in harmony than to try poison again!
Then you’ve made your choice and may you find some peace among the neighborhood fawna…
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