Don't know, but I worked in a bar a decade ago that had a rat problem. Do NOT buy poison. It'll take you forever to find the dead rat, and the stench will be nauseating.
It is because the rat has burrows inside the walls. It is not worth it. Best bet is to buy the tape with cheese/goodies on it. And then buy a military boot. Do NOT let it go free. Rats have a sense of smell that will lead it right back to where it was in the first place. IMO, the most humane thing is to sell it as food at a pet store.
Somehow, this thread reminds me of getting rid of NewYorker/Desert_Rocket in Clutch's home. We need a cat.
im allergic to cats so thats out of the question. What i want is something that will keep them out forever. What other "pets" could I have besides a snake?
A mountain lion? I know if I were a rat and I saw a mountain lion, I'd get the hell out of there ASAP... Well, if you're not allergic to mountain lions, that is...
You need a pro to come out and look at your house. Rats need about as much room as the tip of your thumb to get into an opening, and it's a lot harder to find than you think. Being proactive is the way to get it done right. After you have a professional do an inspection on the house and put out traps, baitstations, whatever...ideally they come back in a couple of weeks and they can at that point seal up whatever access points have been found. This way you can be somewhat confident (not always, but most of the time) that you're not trapping something on the inside of the walls. At any rate, if you have rat or mice problems, it's probably best to have a regular pest control service at your home (on a quarterly basis, ideally). Rats are particularly adept at picking up on scent trails from previous rodent activity, and if they like a place well enough, they'll do their damnedest to get back in--especially during the cooler months. Trimming away vegetation and trees from the roofline is also a good idea.
