Title says it all really...

a bit of meat will usually do the trick - however: they will learn that it is a trap! you may catch one the first time you set the trap, but as soon as the other rats see a squished rat, they learn not to repeat his mistake. i was very surprised how quickly this happended when our yard was infested with the bl**dy things. poison is the only solution.

Where are you locating the traps, i.e. are they in reach of other non-target species? If so then you need to try and choose a bait that won't attract hedgehogs etc. Do you know what they are feeding on currently?

Generally, like mice, they will take sweeter things like mars bar or peanut butter.

Edited to say: Agree with above about poison. The poison is effectively bait ready laced and they will stuff themselves with it. It will kill them away from the poison tray so they won't have any opportunity to learn its bad for them!

Good point. Traps will be set inside the shed - AFAIK only rats (and perhaps mice) can get in there.

They're currently feeding on the bread that my neighbours insist on leaving out for the birds... but then come round to complain about "your rat" pinching it!!!

Hadn't occurred to them that it was the daily supply of food that might have attracted the rats! But to be fair, they have agreed to stop for now.

I have a problem with rats in my loft. Pest control geezer from the council has been out and laid two trays of poison in the loft. Things went quiet for a week, but now they are back noisier than ever, so poison has not been effective in my case. Council coming out again tomorrow, presumably to lay traps I hope.

T

Rats gain imunity to poisons. They also just lurve those kind people who throw bread to the ground for the birds.

Cornflakes If B2Z's rats are anything to go by

Then squish them with a mouse trap thing

Some rats have developed resistance against anticoagulant poisons like warfarin, though I don't believe any would fare so well against the newer neurotoxin based poisons like bromethalin!

Of course, there is always the good old air rifle!

I'm told that rats go mad for 'soap' - something to do with the fat that binds it or something...

any special tips for getting rid of mice? just seen another one of the b*stards in the kitchen. i put down some poison a couple of weeks ago, and it disappeared so i thought i'd nailed them. it seems not. time to get thermonuclear on their asses.

.....MURDERERS !

Poor little *******, leave them alone.

If you must, try a blast from your Remington 332.
Watch out for the glassware though.

A Cat

**** cheese

some of you lot are sooooo helpful

It's not BuRR's is it? Best to check first........

Mice are very hard to get rid of in my experience. We tried to poison them once but seeing them staggering around in agony before they died was very upsetting for me and the GF.

Then it got worse - the cat ate a poisoned one and it died a horrible painful death too.

The whole episode was just awful. Try to deter them by other means, like finding out where they get in and block the holes. Or find where they are nesting and evict the little buggers. A cat is the best deterent by far. They will soon leave if a cat turns up.

UB

i have two pet rats, and all i can say is there clever little buggers! get yourself an air rifle mate!

jamo

I used CHOCOLATE. seem to do the trick for mice anyway.

Jon

fat from the grill on a bit of bread you wont go wrong i set 5 traps in the shed next day 5 mice and this went on until none left

We had a similar problem. Its a right pain.
There are some ideas on this thread....
Do mice like stilton!?
Hope that helps
cath

right - i'm gonna try fatty bread in some traps. so i take it mice don't learn like rats do? whatever the case, i'll give traps a go. i don't think there's too many of them at the moment - only ever see one at a time. the missus is going mentalist about it. get phone calls when i'm at work:
"hello?"
"aahhyeeee moouuuse eeeeeeeee ieeayyyyyyahhhhhhh keeeeeeetcheeeeeeen!"
"wtf?"

According to "A Life of Grime" last night, pieces of apples or something juicy is ideal, as rats have to drink a lot of water.

indeed

http://www.country-breeze.co.uk

There's always the Pied Piper.... but whatever you do remember to pay him!

I have success against mice with raisins and / or chocolate (although I've never tried chocoloate raisins - theres and idea )

I'd second the cat as a deterent too - I got one of those "aahhyeeee moouuuse eeeeeeeee ieeayyyyyyahhhhhhh keeeeeeetcheeeeeeen!" but this time it was in the conservatory.

I just told my wife to chuck one of the cats in there for a couple of hours - bingo !

Job done

Thanks for all your input guys.

As far as the traps are concerned, I think I'll give him/them a choice - chocolate, soap, and apple! Hope they appreciate it

Our cat has done an excellent job of keeping the mouse population down, but when she encountered the rat the other day she just turned tail and ran away!! To be fair, she's exceptionally small and the rat is particularly big at about two thirds of her size (why the hell am I making excuses for a cat?).

If I get a chance over the weekend, I'll get the trusty .177 on the case as well!

always found rolo's to be the best bait for the little bast...critters. just the right size and u get to eat the rest of the packet!

John Peel Narrating seems to do the trick.

If I used Rolo's all I would catch would be my wife.

We had a rat a couple of weeks ago, pest control came out and laid the stuff. It turned up dead in next doors kitchen cupboard under their sink. Haven't heard anything else since.

would it still work if *i* used rolos?