Mecklenburg County, Charlotte Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, great website and thanks for all the tips. I got a couple questions related to a rat trapped in my garage for the past 6 weeks. He got in because the garage door was left open and can't get out. I've place 4 snap traps baited with peanut butter in areas that he frequents as well as along walls. I've also placed glue traps in similar areas. This rat has avoided all these traps so far but he did trigger a bunch of smaller snap mouse traps that I placed weeks ago when I thought he was a mouse, and not a rat. Questions: 1.) how long do I wait for him to trigger a snap trap? I think he's pretty hungry since I took out any potential for food for him out of the garage. 2.) should I move my cars out of the garage for fear of him gnawing at the hoses/wires? 3.) do you think I can "flush" him out...remove all cars, boxes, stuff, places for him to hide and chase him out of the garage? 4.) can they gnaw through metal pipes? I still don't know where he is getting his water source? 5.) any other ideas/suggestions? Borrow my neighbors cat? Thanks for your help.
My response: That's very strange. If a rat wants to get out, it can get out. Why not leave the garage door open for a few minutes? How do you know it's still there?
Don't know if he wants to get out now that he has a warm place to live. I still see his poop and pee that he leaves every night. I actually saw him face to face as I was surveying the damage he is doing to stuff inside my garage. I am contemplating on trying to "flush" him out by moving all my boxes out so he has nowhere to hide. What do think about that option? Or should I just buy more snap traps? Or borrow a cat?
I guess you could try to borrow a cat, but that doesn't always work. Sounds like your current snap traps aren't working. Maybe a live cage trap?
Charlotte Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Are Some Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Rats And Keep Them Away?
The moment you stumble upon rats in your home, you automatically switch into panic mode, simply because you know the menace associated with having these rodents around you.
Apart from damaging your home, rats contaminate your environment and expose you to several diseases. If you want to get rid of the rats in your home, there are some home remedies that you can use to achieve what you want. Here are some home remedies that you can try:
1. Peppermint Oil
To humans, peppermint is refreshing. But to rats, nothing can be more nauseating than it. To take advantage of this, all you have to do is put droplets of peppermint oil along the routes of the rat in your home or dip cotton balls into peppermint oil and drop the soaked cotton around places the rats frequent the most. The smell of this will keep them away because they won't be able to stand it.
2. Plaster Of Paris And Cocoa Powder
This is one of the best natural ways to get rid of rats. In this case, all you need to do is to mix plaster of paris with one tablespoon of cocoa powder and then sprinkle the solution along their routes. This mixture will suffocate and dehydrate the rats and make them run outside your home.
3. Onions
The good part about the use of this particular home remedy is that it is readily available in every home. To use this as a rat repellent, all you have to do is to place an onion bulb around the holes of the rat. The smell coming from the onion will make the rat feel uncomfortable and this will make them leave in no time.
