Rats under decking

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Weve got rats living under the decking of our garden cabin - seen them in our garden and spotted holes they've tunneled as access points and seen them go in

We have a big apple tree and they must have been feasting on these when they dropped and sheltering under the decking offering perfect living conditions

I hired an exterminator who visited, set up bait boxes and returned 2 weeks after to tell me none of the bait had been taken due to rats being cautious around new objects. Cost me £250 for that and he wanted another £150 per visit just to keep the bait topped up

Ive bought 2 bait boxes myself and considering getting rodenticide to put in there and trying to bait and poison - my plan this time is to cover with leaves to blend them in, put some peanut butter inside the box to make it more irresistible for the rats

As I understand the nest needs to be completely cleared before any mesh etc is used to block entry points or the rats will start chewing and damaging the cabin

Id rather not use poison for humane reasons and risk to other wildlife - we also have a medium sized dog but the rat guy said if he does get into the bait or a poisoned rat he shouldn't be too bad

I see spring loaded traps are so an option. Would these be mire effective and humane?

Also considering investing in an endoscopic camera to check the extent of the nest but the thoight does make me squirm a bit
Has anyone got any experience or can offer any advice?

 

[jj4091]

Can you blast a pressure washer underneath to drive them out.

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Can you blast a pressure washer underneath to drive them out.

Thats a good idea I suppose - but im afraid that would that cause them to panic and burrow further in or chew into the cabin?

 

[Koolpc]

Pour petrol down there and make a bonfire out of your shed!

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

Pour petrol down there and make a bonfire out of your shed!

But I might singe the grass and hurt the false widow that live on the cabin

 

[Dunnomate]

On a farm I used to frequent, we ran a little strimmer 2-stroke engine with plenty of oil in the mix with a pipe into ditch rat holes. The ones that didn`t succumb to the carbon monoxide, ran out, and registered 12-bores were there ready to dispatch them. Obvs not for urban/suburban settings.
I`ve followed Shawn Woods over in Oregon for years on ewetoob. Mousetrap Monday. He covers every rodent, keeping some as pets too. I remember one of his vids where he added something to the rat feed he put out. The rats went underground & died in their sleep. He also covers many traps, including this one....

 

[Old Salt]

I had rats coming from neighbours compost heap. Bait boxes were being visited and I still check on them now and again but I found traps to be the best with visible results. Originally I caught about 5 last year and then only 1 so far this year.

You need to remove all sources of food apart from your bait including bird tables, fat balls, dropped apples etc.

 

[ree]

OP,
The problems with various poisons is that they often, maybe always, cause suffering to the rat - there's also the problem of other creatures eating or feeding their young ones with flesh from the dead rat.

 

[Fender Stratoplaster]

OP,
The problems with various poisons is that they often, maybe always, cause suffering to the rat - there's also the problem of other creatures eating or feeding their young ones with flesh from the dead rat.

Thanks, ive just ordered some spring loaded traps so hopefully this will be a more humane and less painful way to dispatch them

 

[Tigercubrider]

The issue with poison is that while mice die and don’t smell, rats have a lot more body mass. They can stink when dead and take ages to decompose into nothing.
I saw a YouTube video where a canadian(?) pest controller uses a vacuum cleaner with sensor to suck inquisitive rats into a baited pipe and they fall into an intermediate collector to drown. A bit like a cyclone collector but with water in the bottom.

You won’t have just one rat, and need to get them all before sealing. I believe that you can close off exits/entries but leave one?

 

[Dunnomate]

With ancient cottages like mine, they often added shards of glass from old windowpanes, around the building to discourage burrowing. Even later, when pouring concrete for paths.
Everyone`s heard of the form of leptospirosis, Weil`s Disease, spread by incontinent rats. A local died from it c 30yrs ago after sliding into a ditch on his motorbike & ending up with grazes.
We swam in creeks, jumped off waterfalls, skied on extinct volcano craters in the Atherton Tablelands & my epidemiologist father told us to keep our mouths shut & not drink the water. He treated a woman with the disease after she contracted it that way, & she recovered ok.

 

[Stuart981]

We use snap traps in the attic and they are pretty effective at controlling mice but not rats. We do get the occasional rat up there from time to time but they just ignore the traps. A deck chair, air rifle with laser sight and a lot of patience is often the only way.

 

[ree]

After a brief effectiveness it appears that no method will work for long with rats - they are smart & quickly learn from experience. Laser dots included.