diy/2584529.txt

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--- 2584529
I've spent 100 bucks over the last 3 months on traps and almost none none of them have worked. The best luck I've had is with glue traps but in the last 3 months I've only caught like 5 small mice and none of the big ones, especially after this ugly fat ass brown rat that's been raiding my cupboard. Not sure what to do, at a point where I'm worried they may be doing some structural damage.
Traps I've tried
>Steel cages
None
>Trap door buckets
I think 1 or 2 may fallen for these but they managed to climb there way out somehow
>Poison
I got these big yellow bricks, they've really been touching them even though I've dabs of peanut butter and other bait around them.
>Glue traps
I I've used both panels and mats, even though the panels are a decent size, the big fuckers seem to be able to snatch the bait without stepping on them. The mat catch the small ones, but the bigger ones seem to straight up ignore them even though there like 4 feet long and a foot wide and naturally smell like butter with out any bait.
--- 2584530
>>2584529 (OP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2Pyu-Cj0gg [Embed]
--- 2584532
>>2584529 (OP)
electric trap
--- 2584534
>>2584530
I actually do have a dog lol, he scares them away during the day, but he's kinda given up on trying to get them because he's big and they hide what ever little crevice they can find.
--- 2584536
>>2584532
I want to try these, but they're expensive, and if they aren't walking into the cages, i don't see how these will make a difference. These big fuckers are smart.
--- 2584541
>>2584536
Use gloves when baiting, leave unarmed trap for a few days so they get used to it.. There's an art to it
Poison works too, depends on what kind you get...
--- 2584547
>>2584541
I use this, was expensive. I spread a few chunks around(limited placement because of my dog) I've noticed a few tiny nibbles taken but it's been a month and haven't smelled any corpses.
--- 2584548
>>2584547
Shit, forgot pic
--- 2584555
>>2584529 (OP)
I had a problem with mice over this last winter. Had.
I also went through traps and bait and stuff, but none seemed to control the problem. 
Two things worked in the end:
>rodent sheriff
It's peppermint concentrate. I guess peppermint is like mace to mice and rats and shit. They avoid it at all costs.
>pic related
Tom Cat bait. It's like loose, poisoned granola. Oats and grains and shit.
I pepperminted my counters and the places where they go to & from my kitchen, and sprinkled barely a handful of that bait around the perimeter of my basement walls.
Problem gone within a week.
--- 2584556
>>2584529 (OP)
I can't help but notice that you haven't said anything about classic spring snap traps.
--- 2584559
>>2584556
My parents used those in the past, didn't really work. Back then they used steel cages with poison and they seemed to get rid of them one at a time. 
Also I have a dog, he's a nosy little bastard so he would probably get caught in them. That's probably why my poison blocks aren't working since I can't just throw them out in any random place.
--- 2584563
>>2584555
I'll look into this, there's a few spots I know they like to get into, so maybe I can just leave a mound of that shit there and let em feast
--- 2584564
>>2584559
>didn't really work.
Uhh huh.
You ever hear the phrase "build a betteroisetrap and the world will come beating at your door?"
You've tried all the "better" mousetraps. No one's beating at their doors.
Hey yourself a pack and some peanut butter.
--- 2584579
>>2584529 (OP)
IFind where they are getting in and plug it. Use all methods available. Get at least a dozen snap traps and pepper the place with them all at the same time. Get the biggest glue traps you can find and again, put out dozens of the damn things. When you bait, use a spec of peanut butter Make sure you have poison out consistently and plan on regularly refilling the poison for at least 2 months.
--- 2584588
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PDPVZBP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

>get a bucket thats way too big for the mice to jump out of
>catch them with the trap and then throw them in the bucket
>the smell of their pee attracts other mice to the room that will wander into the trap
>if one of the mice in the bucket dies, the other mice will just eat it because those fuckers are monsters

I caught 10 or 12 mice over the course of 2 weeks with only one trap like this
--- 2584593
>>2584588
mice and rats are completely different
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>>2584593
my bad
Set your house on fire OP its the only way
--- 2584598
Pancakes
--- 2584600
>>2584529 (OP)
Hungry rats go in traps. Stop feeding them by leaving your food out and they will go into the trap once they are starving (typically after 2 days of no other food sources)
--- 2584601
Yes, pancakes should work
--- 2584607
Mix 1 part flour with 1 part baking soda and then add few tablespoons of sugar or chicken stock. Supposedly rats can't fart too good and the baking soda reacts with their stomach acid bloating them till they pop internally. Also dog safe so you can leave it out without worry.
A less pet safe version involves plaster mixed with flour, supposed to clog up their digestive tract. 
Might be worth a try OP, I fucking despise rats
--- 2584609
>>2584529 (OP)
get a maltese dog. they were bred to hunt rats. they're better than cats at it.
--- 2584614
>>2584529 (OP)
Use the balloon and bucket trap
--- 2584622
Snap traps work but like any trap they need to be placed where the animals travel and in a way that makes them and/or their bait attractive, and not a conspicuous trap.

Rats travel alongside walls, cabinet toe kicks, etc. where their whiskers can make contact and keep them from wandering out in the open; they also mark those pathways with urine for themselves and others to follow.
Traps placed on those pathways are most effective, and can be kept from dogs and cats by placing g a heavy box or trash can or something blocking them from poking their noses into the area. This also makes the spot more inviting to rats as a kind of tunnel, especially next to a toe kick.
FWIW, the closer the trap is to whatever they are targeting, the more likely they are to just ignore it, be suspicious, jump over/past it, etc. to get to their goal. They know what they are doing and are smart enough to sense the heightened risk at that point, further back on their path they are less cautious and more likely to be distracted by a food opportunity placed in front of them.

Another trick with snap traps is to bait the bottom of the trigger with peanut butter, otherwise skilled rats and mice too light to set them off will just eat the bait and go. Underneath makes them get in there and yank on it.
--- 2584638
>>2584529 (OP)
are u from wrocław?
>https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/03/20/polish-city-battles-plague-of-rats/
--- 2584759
another word of advice regarding snap traps is to make sure they are configured properly, the trigger needs to be just barely hanging on or even the most clumsy rat will eat all your bait without even coming close to triggering it.
i've had the most success with using steel wire to tie a peanut to the trigger so that the rats will try to pull it off. peanut butter tends to just get licked off and unless your trigger is set up on a hair trigger you aren't going to catch the fucker.
--- 2584773
>>2584579
>tfw you drop a barrel bomb on your house to eliminate the vermin
--- 2584850
Go adopt a few cats(not kittens) and let them have run have the house. Let them piss everywhere too, the scent will act as a warning. One the population has been culled about, go all over your house and look for holes, stuff those holes with poison, then patch em with expanding foam. If you got a an attic, buy tomcat repellent and douse the whole attic, and do a perimeter dousing around your house if you have enough. When the problems gone, bag and dump the cats in a river somewhere, or you could just kick them outside and let them be feral, if you leave a a little dog house and some food for them every now again they'll probably hang around and keep future infestations from happening.
--- 2584858
>>2584529 (OP)
The black plastic rat traps work really well. Put kraft or skippy peanut butter in them. The kind with lots of sugar in it. Put the peanut butter underneath the little trigger plate so that the rat has to jostle things around.
I've never not caught one using this method.
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>>2584638
Not him but I am. Never seen a rrat on my hood
--- 2584993
>>2584529 (OP)
000 steel wool worked for the mice I had last month. Actually got that tip from a pest control guy.
Just stuff it in all the holes they use to travel through your house.
Not sure if rats are quite the same, but the steel wool will fucking shred their stomachs if/when they try and eat through it.
--- 2585019
>>2584559
Many people place spring traps incorrectly.
Put double-sided tape on the bottom and place them on a hard surface, preferably concrete.
Look up proper trap placement.

Ohh and wear gloves so they don't smell DANGER HUMAN on the traps.
--- 2585022
>>2584529 (OP)
You need to make sure your bait is the ONLY food around
--- 2585061
>>2584529 (OP)
i just place spring traps where they rats are spotted always works for me.

get a heavy duty boyo if u wish to go more.
--- 2585077
Make all home repairs out of hard metal or wood. Foam and steel mesh help as a deterrent but they are not permanent.
Mice can fit through anything just less the size of a dime; rats slightly smaller than a quarter.

>Trapping
You need to use the right bait. Are they nesting? Are they looking for water? Are they hungry? 
If they have no access to food then food will be the best bait. Protein, oils, fatty work for rats best. Sometimes even fruit. 
If they are thirsty and chewing on your pipes then water can work for bait as well.
In desperate situations, nesting material like insulation or cotton can work too.

>Trap placement
Rats are neophobic, they need to get used to new things in their environment. They travel by muscle memory and navigate by scent, sound and touch. Place traps with bait unarmed and then set and replace bait after a couple days. Trap in places where they are active, place two next to each other with triggers facing the wall, pier post, etc. ("Why?" They are thigmotactic, they like being snug against surfaces.)

>Further exclusion
Attic and crawl space can allow access. Burrow holes, roof damage (or improper construction), and plumbing/utility line voids (including low point drains). These are somewhat common on my visits and need to be secured. Aluminum works best for areas that will see lots of water like the drains, fill burrows with gravel or sand. Old homes are difficult in some aspects for this.

>Poison
Many rats can become/are easily resistant to 1st gen rodenticide (OTC Walmart shit). RatX can work well enough though because it acts on a fault in their biology which doesn't allow them to pass gas. I.e. it causes internal bleeding from stomach/intestines.

>Safety
Gloves #1 not only prevents human scent on traps but also you from getting diseases. Wear a mask too. And sweep droppings to clean, don't vacuum.

There's a lot of other minor shit that can turn into big shit prolonging the issue but that's the QRD.
t. pest control
--- 2585083
>>2585077
Also I just remembered you mentioned glue boards.
DO NOT PUT BAIT ON GLUE BOARDS
they are blunder traps, rats are literally not even supposed to notice them. They just walk in them and then realize "oh shit I'm stuck"

If you MUST sate your urge to bait glue boards use dry, non-oily bait. If you use anything wet or with oils it will RUIN THE GLUE. Stuart little can literally walk all over it if you do.
--- 2585088
>>2585077
And again to add to this further because I suck at collecting my thoughts before posting, you are not catching mice. 
Rats and mice do not live by each other because rats eat the mice as they are competitors. 

If you are, in fact, catching mice then that means you have an absolute abundance of food sources. (Bird seed and compost piles, even dog poop count). Clean and lock that shit up.

Otherwise, again you are not catching mice. Those are juvenile rats and you have a small colony in or near your home. Could maybe just be one breeding couple but I don't know the exact timeline of your trapping results so I can't say.
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>>2585083
This, people will do stupid stuff like put peanut butter on glue traps, peanut butter is half oil...
--- 2585665
Protip, if bite blocks aren't working and you think you have an infestation, buy some Plaster of Paris, pour into a bowl and mix it with a cup of flour and sugar, maybe even some chocolate powder. Mix it thoroughly, then pour mix in little mounds all around your house, if you can find their holes, stuff them full of the powder. The sugar will attract them, the Plaster will calcify their insides as their eating. Pretty brutal.
--- 2585688
>>2585077
Good post. Do you have any opinion on live capture vs kill traps? What kind of traps do you think are most effective?
--- 2586122
>>2585688
simple snap traps do the trick well enough. 
live or kill, using traps with large triggers and not those tiny ones like the little copper triggers are preferred. more trigger room = more space to cover in order to reach bait = more room to fuck up.

also i would shy away from stuff where they have to "enter" the trap. "t-rex" traps do work but given they are plastic and seemingly enclosed, rodents may be more inclined to avoid it.
i know i said they like tight spaces but for some reason rats have this weird avoidance around these sometimes.

for live capture, the bucket traps work well enough on mice but for rats you need one where the whole lid is covered since they can jump 2-3ft. i believe shawn woods recently showed one on his youtube channel.
i don't care for the metal wire type ones like the pic you posted but only because of consumer error. depending on the manufacturer they can be faulty not only mechanically but if youre buying from chinese bootleg company #25284 on amazon chances are you're getting a trap meant for squirrels or some shit. think back on how little of space they need to be able to get into stuff, anything smaller can just walk through those traps typically.
i mean, just by counting the squares on your image it's easy to see thats a 1" wide screen. too big.
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>>2585019
Where does this myth that rats avoid human smells come from? They will literally eat my shit when I leave it outside in a bag. My rubbish bin is full of my smell and they can't get enough of it.
--- 2586303
>>2585077
>In desperate situations, nesting material like insulation or cotton can work too.


This. Don't bait with food, bait with a loose, fluffy cotton ball.
--- 2586312
Shooting them works best. Put some bait out in the middle of your kitchen for a couple nights. Then stake em out and blow their heads off. They don't have good eyesight. Just have to sit pretty quietly and they'll come out. Peanut butter works good for me when I'm hunting the rats by my chicken feeders.
--- 2586315
>>2584530
lol love the guy on YT that uses the dogs and the minks. 

>>2584529 (OP)
OP, maybe research how to train dogs for rat killing? Could be a nice side project, should make the nosy neighbors keey their distance, and any project that involves spending time with a dog is always a huge plus.
--- 2586397
>>2584555
>>2584563
it's cheaper to buy peppermint essential oil and cotton balls and leave peppermint oil soaked cotton balls in every crevice; not only cheaper but also more concentrated than Rodent Sherriff

also for future reference, squirrels hate clove oil, so if you ever have a problem with squirrels getting into your attic, do the same thing that you did for rats but using clove oil instead of peppermint oil
--- 2586592
>>2586262
its not a myth. "Cryptobiotic" is the actual term thats used meaning "they do it sometimes and we don't know why."
They will happily chew into new plastic totes containing your pantry food but put a brand new plastic rodent poison box down and they wont touch it for 2-8 weeks even if it has only actual food in it and no poison. If the local population doesn't enter that box by week 8 then theres a 90% chance they never will. They will walk all over it but won't go inside.

>>2586397
do not do this. if you get lucky then yes you will keep them out but if they are hiding in the house somewhere while you apply these then you will push them into inhabiting your living space rather than your sub area or attic.
--- 2586757
>>2584529 (OP)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHC1cshUZ_c [Embed]
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>>2584534
Get a schipperke. They're little rat catching demons.
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>>2584596
Not enough, nuke from orbit.
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>>2586833
What are other ratting breeds developed around the world, I know chihuahuas were bred for it.
--- 2586891
>>2584529 (OP)
First, make sure you buy rat traps, not mouse traps to catch rats. Second, the best way to get rid of rats and mice is to buy a cat, the smell alone will make them flee. Third, if that's not an option, use poison and seal all food in air tight containers that they cannot chew through.
--- 2587204
>>2586861
Almost any terrier
--- 2588987
any DIY recipe for mouse x? seems to work well.
--- 2589023
My best luck with mice (not rats, but I imagine it scales up) has been with putting a big pile of food (oats work for mine) under a cabinet, and then completely surrounding it with snap traps, so that it's not physically possible to reach the food without touching the pressure plates. It'll be loud as fuck when it goes off, and you'll have to reset the other traps that will inevitably go off in a chain reaction, but it works.
--- 2589229
>>2584529 (OP)
Get a fucking cat or better yet find a stray. Tabbys tend to be the big killers. They kill for fun.
--- 2590726
good thread
--- 2590754
Build a rolling bar trap Op, smear some peanut butter on the middle and reap the benefits

https://youtu.be/Dp9QPh-CMIY [Embed]
--- 2590969
>>2584529 (OP)
outsmarted by rats huh?
its nothing to be ashamed of they are intelligent creatures
here is the best tip i can give you to get rid of rats
close up the holes they use to get in
no holes, no rats. 
its as simple as that
now you dont have to kill or worry about them ever again.
simple.
--- 2590973
>>2584563
Do not use poison if you have a dog unless you're trying to get rid of your dog.
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>>2590726
Terrible thread, mods aren't doing their fucking jobs, this shit should of been in the stupid questions thread
--- 2592892
>>2590973
that depends on the type of poison and the LD50 and the size of the dog
RatX won't do much to a dog 
Bromadiolone/Warfarin will if they actually eat enough of it (just less than a handful or more)
Poisoning of dogs only happens when its a) deliberate b) user left the bag out

just be smart with placement and dont use a ton of it.
--- 2592988
>>2584529 (OP)
Dehydrated potato flakes used for instant mashed potatoes will expand in their stomach when they drink water and kill them. They can't vomit.
--- 2593005
>>2584529 (OP)
The easiest one is this bucket rat trap with a spinny thing in the middle. You can put some water in the bottom too. This guy on youtube has caught a ton of rats with this inexpensive setup. Dump the rat carcasses into a field for the raptors to eat, and then repeat for the following night.
--- 2593207
>>2586833
Das Rite ! Schipperke are so good. Only better are the German Jagdterrier, they are really tough and crazy works like a einzatsgruppe against rats. So based you would not believe.
--- 2593224
>>2586861
Jack Russel Terriers are mean little bastards that will chase rats anywhere and are designed to be dragged out by their cropped tails if they get themselves stuck trying.

If you ABSOLUTELY must kill these rats, get a stoat and let them loose. They'll fucking annihilate anything smaller than a small dog.
--- 2594382
Enjoy the rabbithole
https://www.youtube.com/@ShawnWoodsprimitive-archer/search?query=rat
--- 2596510
Don't use poison if you don't want to hunt down rotting rat corpses in sewer pipes and all sorts of hard to find nasty corners behind stacks of whatever.
Bought traps mostly suck, a random design from youtube will outperform them.
The key to getting rid of rats is removing the food source that attracted them in the first place.
If you don't remove the food, they'll always come back.
--- 2596532
>>2585077
>And sweep droppings to clean, don't vacuum.
Even with a HEPA filter?
--- 2596873
Buy a cage. Like this one >>2585688


Put bacon in it (the fatty bit especially)
The bacon will start smelling bad - aka irresistible to the big rat.
Catch rat.


When it catches a big rat you have to get to the cage within a few hours like >>2596510 said they aren't well made and the rat may escape given enough time. 

>>2592988
>They can't vomit.

WRONG.
--- 2597117
>>2596532
when you empty the bag into the garbage all those particles with the zoonotic disease go poofing up into your face
which is why you sweep instead, with a mask on (forgot to mention mask)
--- 2597120
leave food around the house for them until they get comfortable with you
then you can pet them
--- 2597145
You fucking retards even you manage to kill them they will just keep coming. The only real way to truly get rid of mice/rats is quite simply to seal off all their entrance points. Do you fuckers live in cardboard houses?
--- 2598434
>>2597145
Yes, most post 60s American houses are literally made out of paper and Jewish magic, even if they get an old house made with decent material they'll gut the innards to add new appliances and stitch it up with papermache
--- 2599468
>>2584529 (OP)
You hunt rats and have to think like them. 
Find the routes the rat is using, they almost always run along walls. 
Place normal snap style rat trap, unbaited, along route with trigger paddle facing wall. 
Rat is going to your known source of food, bumps trap, it's ogre. 
>t. killed dozens this way in country and city
--- 2600002
>>2584529 (OP)
we use spring traps with peanut butter because it lasts forever but have caught a tiny mouse on a glue trap.
--- 2600185
OP, here finally got rid of them. It's been 2 weeks since I've seen or heard them, I've even left food out overnight to see if I get any bites and nothing.
So far what worked for me was a mixture of pasture of Paris with chocolate powder and baking. Also found the main hole they were coming in through and stuffed with bite blocks before sealing it.
All you snap trap boomers can eat my ass, had them set out for month and they didn't catch shit.

Also brought home a stray cat for good measure, I let hang out in a little storage shed and it's been leaving bodies in my yard, so that should help keep them from back
--- 2600199
>>2584555
>Rats run across your countertop
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>>2584529 (OP)
i live in a shed and am unable to fully seal the door from the inside, so i have to live with these fucks appx 4 months of the year. i have just been using ratsak and snap traps, but i end up being unable to sleep when they are fucking around in here. lots of useful info in this thread which i will try. gl OP, i know how fucked this shit is
--- 2600280
Opinion on cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) as a rat poison? We use it on our farm and seems to work quite well but there are other options available as well. Requires a license to buy