Rats in the loft...

[oxfordshirestalker]

Hi All,

Noticed there were a few rat droppings up in the loft of my house (3 bed semi). Heard some scuttling up there too. I've had 4 traps up there for a week now, baited with peanut butter but haven't had any nibbles or caught any.
I've put a load of bait boxes out in the garden. I'm considering putting some bait up in the loft but a bit worried about them dying in the insulation, wall cavities etc and causing more of a problem a few months down the line.

Is this fair? Or should I just crack on and bait everywhere?
Thanks

 

[LuckyEddie]

Don't bait in or around the house.
The building where our hq is had a rat problem. The "Pest Contollers" put down bait all round the building.
Yup, you've guessed it the rats went back underneath the building to die.
We then had a fly plague with meant most of the ground floor was put out of action.

Crack on with the traps and maybe try different baits. Dry white bread is meant to be good and I think some kind off concoction using coffee either granules or from a caffeitre mixed with some other material to for, a paste are meant to be fairly effective.
I'm sure if you Google it yourself you should be able to find some pointers.

Good luck in getting rid of them.
Ed

 

[bullet chucker]

How about a ferret from a pal to have a sniff about up there on a line of course, I recon a whiff of him/her will put the, I'm not staying here idea if they are setting up home. Lift the traps first though.

BC.

 

[paul dillon]

Try baiting traps with chocolate spread had some good results

Paul D

 

[enfieldspares]

Look on You Tube or Google Mousetrap Monday. Lots of traps you can make yourself, live catch and humane kill, from bits, bobs bottles and buckets.

 

[Pedro]

I take it that it isn't bats? Bats' poo is different in that it's sort of crunchy, containing all the hard unpalatable bits from the flies they eat.

 

[enfieldspares]

Bats are bad news. All sorts of wildlife law implications. Nah..it's not bats. Fancy thinking such a silly thing as that.

 

[Gunner223]

I get mice in the loft and there very hard to trap, so I use Glue pads , you can get them for rats as well and they work very well.

 

[shakey jake]

i bait lofts alot i some times have to remove dead rats but not often, the rats are almost certainly come from your drains, either the guttering or up soil pipe or a damaged drain. drop me a pm with your number and ill put you in touch with a guy that cameras drains.
shakey

 

[Cottis]

I get mice in the loft and there very hard to trap, so I use Glue pads , you can get them for rats as well and they work very well.

Mice are a PITA. I live in a very old stone cottage which is part of an old row of old buildings. Lots of voids and areas where they can come in over the winter. I always used to trap them using the generic mousetraps but they are always a bit hit and miss and I would either get sprung traps and no mice or would get woken in the night to the noise of a very undead mouse dragging a trap round the skirting boards after being caught on a leg. I would get a few but suspected many were getting away with it. I did some research and watched Shawn on Mousetrap monday and made a copy of the 400yr old trap by Mascal. It is a bit excessive and a ballache to set but it has a 100% hit rate so far. If they stick their head in and chew that string, they are a goner.

It has had a couple of tweaks but is now in full swing. You will get the idea from the pictures. Yet to have a full house but it is nice to get up in the morning and see a couple of bums sticking out the end of it ha ha ha. Little beggars.

 

[oxfordshirestalker]

Thanks for all of your ideas, I’ll see what I can do!
Previous owner appears to have bagged up bits of insulation and left then right in the eves. All a bit odd, might warrant removal...

 

[FISH BOY]

My parents had the same issue and I thought it was rats at first - turned out to be squirrels.

 

[Uncle f]

There are baits we use now that have an additive that effectively dries out the carcass so no decomposition and it works well. Pm me and I’ll sort you some out

Also in traps depending on where abouts in the country you are (Oxford I presume) then there is a shyness to certain baits. For example south London area chocolate based baits are not effective as it’s be used to death and the clever rats become aware.
So I can also sort you some provoke paste which we use in our traps it’s a professional non toxin product and work well

Good luck

 

[Mickeydredd]

live trap and snap traps, both baited with dog food

 

[Woodsmoke]

I wouldn't use glue traps. I know mice & rats are vermin, but there are limits . . . .

Best thing I've found is Fenn Mk4s with chocolate smeared onto the trigger plate. As long as you can be certain non-target species won't be caught you can get away with not using them in a tunnel.

Rats are neophobic too, so it takes them a while to become accustomed to anything new in their immediate environment. Best of luck in getting them sorted!!!

 

[nun_hunter]

When I had a small rat issue around my chickens I was using a fenn trap but after observing them I realised that the adult rats were trap shy so avoided it but the young rats were all over it but not heavy enough to set it off. Something to consider if they're breeding as the size and weight of the rats can vary quite a bit.

 

[old keeper]

As Woodsmoke rightly said rats are neophobic, persist with the traps, bait them well and leave alone. With a bit of luck, you'll get them in the end.

 

[LuckyEddie]

Forgot to ask do you play this music in the house?



Hope you get rid of them.

Ed

 

[CarlW]

I picture you sitting in a rocking chair in the room below the loft with a 12-bore across your knees, a manic look in your eye, and blasting yet another hole in your roof every time you hear that scurrying noise...

 

[Woodsmoke]

Be careful. That approach can go very, very wrong, very, very quickly . . . . . .