Rats in the attic

[motion]

Grrrrrrrrr....... I live next to a hill and am always battling rats in my attic. They're finding a way to get up on the roof somehow and then into the attic. This time they've had a litter and I'm catching the little buggers in the rat traps left and right. Anyone with any experience with keeping them off of the house? I've trimmed the trees back so they can't walk onto the roof. Don't know how they do it.

Not good when I have a date over and they're making noise in the ceiling.

[vash]

dude, they are rats. they can get anywhere. i tried to help a coworker seal his house. same situation as you. the tenacious bastards, kept coming at us. we gave up and called an exterminator. it wasnt pretty.

[LeeH]

Save the roof rats!

http://members.cox.net/snewberry5/

[ronin]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
You need one of these!

wow. I didn't know kids ate rats!

[targa911S]

Just went through that myself. I had an exterminator come in and do an "exclusion". Meaning they went around the whole house and sealed it up with screen and foam. Then they set traps inside to get the buggers that were up there. After they were all gone I had to have all my insulation sucked out of the attic and replaced because of all the sheit up there. I then replaced all the soffiting around the outside of the house. Been 6 mos. now and no more late night parties in the attic. Cost me some$$ though. Got a cat? Put it up there every once in a while.

[Teutonics]

They don't need trees, bushes, or shrubs to climb up the house, they can climb up downspouts (seen and heard it myself!) and even climb straight up the side of the house.

Recent construction homes (last 10 years or so) are amazingly "open" to varmints and critters. Frequently there is a gap between the roof decking and the facia board around the entire perimeter of the house where the shingles drape over to keep water out, but not critters...

Like Vash and T-bird said, you have to seal up the house, and stay proactive in keeping them out. And yes, it can cost thousands.

[Moses]

Get one of these!

[targa911S]

I'm NOT gonna make any big pussy jokes here.

[RickM]

They can also climb up from the ground floor within the walls.

If they're like ants or squirrels then a suspended power/telephone/cable line is their tightrope access.

[KevinP73]

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
You need one of these!

Naw...thats a "rug rat" motion is talking about "ROOF rats", completly different rodent.

[motion]

I hear them in the walls, too. So maybe they are getting in somewhere on the ground and moving up to the 2nd floor attic. A cat seems like a good idea, but its really hot up there. Maybe in the winter or when it cools down it would work. Possibly, I should be more aggressive with rat traps on the perimeter of the house on the ground, but I seem to kill birds doing that, which I don't want to do. Anyone have any experience with the electronic devices that emit a high-pitched frequency?

I had one die in the attic back in Feb. It started to stink up the house. Couldn't use the heater so froze for a couple weeks. The smell got so bad, I had to leave the house for a week. When I came back there were flies everywhere. Thousands of them. The flies and the smell went away after another week or so. F$cking things.

[dad911]

Try spreading some mothballs around the attic. Works for squirrels. Also, a product called 'Mouse Away' is used to prevent mice from winterizing in pool heaters. Should work for rats.

[RickM]

Originally posted by motion
Possibly, I should be more aggressive with rat traps on the perimeter of the house on the ground, but I seem to kill birds doing that, which I don't want to do.

Then there'd the possiblity that you're attracting them with a baited trap.

Anyone have any experience with the electronic devices that emit a high-pitched frequency?

Don't waste your cash, they don't work.

[KevinP73]

I use those electronic devices in my home. I live in the foothills and have all kinds of critters and varmits running around outside but only the occasional insect inside. 'bout the only time I hear things crawling in my walls is just after a good two week drinking binge.

[Shuie]

Ive used the electronic pest control things. They work great but they dont last forever. Mine have lasted about a year.

No poison. They will die in the walls and stink up the place. If you set mousetraps in the attic make sure you nail them down. Really substantial rats can crawl away with the trap attached to die in an area you cant reach and stink up the place.

[Moses]

Originally posted by Shuie
No poison. They will die in the walls and stink up the place.

Thats the smell of victory!

[Hugh R]

Use unsalted peanuts in the 1/2 shell on the traps, they don't dry up like cheese or peanut butter.

[tabs]

Yep So CAL is Roof Rat aka Wire Rat, aka Fruit Rat heaven....It's completly infested with them...they brought some Palm trees from So CAl to Vegas and guess what the area had rats....

They love Palm Trees and Ivy.....I've seen them running along power lines straight up stucco walls and they can get through a 1/2 inch square hole.... They are vegetarians and love fruit and especially Avocados....at my Daddys house they would nibble around the stem of the Avocado to drop it unto the ground for it to ripen a bit...but in the mornining I'd go around picking them up...Ha Ha I had the last laugh on the Bast@RDS...

When they are in the attic they knaw on the wiring etc to keep their teeth from growing..you see their teeth never sto growing , so they can do alot of damage to the wiring of a home....

Another thing about rats they never eat cereal, soda pop, or fruit drinks...it's got sugar in it...and they don't go near sugar...but they love Beer, and will shred Alumimum cans to get at it.....

My Airdale...Misty used to get rats all the time...I actually saw my my dog and cat hunt them together....

"I've bin tossed around by evey she rat in this town."

[mattdavis11]

I've heard a pan of antifreeze in the attic works good. You can also get creative and build a baited ramp that leads to a bucket full of antifreeze that they will die in, and you won't have any fowl smell.

[targa911S]

Tabby I tried putting my Airdales in the attic. Couldn't lift them! Yeah don't use poison even outside the house. they will go back in your house to die and stink the place up. I learned a lot about the bastards in my episode. They are territorial and if you lock them out. the other rats in the hood will kill them for you and eat them. They will return year after year if they can. one big happy family. your first line of defense is to seal up everything bigger than 1/2 inch. they have no bones so they can get in anything bigger than a dime size hole. Once that is done, let the killing begin. if you don't seal the place up you are just hanging a for rent sign out every time you kill one. the ***** and piss up there will make your house sick too so check for piles up there before you say the job is done.