Omg We Have Rat(s)...

[got2havespunk]

In our backyard....E just beat one with a shovel. It jumped outta nowhere and he instinctually hit! It's not dead...we don't think, but it's trapped in the garbage can. I pray to GOD there aren't anymore.
We've had a sneaking suspicion that there was something in our woodpile for the last week and a half. The dogs FLIP out and try hunting in the woodpile..so it's GOTTA be living in there. I pray there aren't many more....and we have no signs of them in our house.
We had a compost bag tear open and that's when it all started. We had plans of getting a start on tomorrow...but now we're serious.
Tomorrow we get 2 new trash cans with TIGHT fitting lids, and a seperate one for the dog feces. We'll clean up the compost and get rid of it for good. Then we'll get everylast piece of wood off the ground. It had been there for over a year (when we moved in actually) just on the ground. We didn't think it'd be a problem. WRONG!
So if we get rid of their habitat and food supply they should just go away right??!?!??!
If not how else can we get rid of them? We have dogs that play in the back, and it's a small yard to begin with!

[G-Real]

well, you could try to soak some rags in amonia and leave it in/near the wood pile to drive them off, could also use mothballs (I've had varying results)....granted your dog may not like it either, but, a couple of days should drive it/them away.

[got2havespunk]

Moth balls can kill a dog if their ingested...so I don't want to take that chance
I'll look into the ammonia thing though. Thanks!

[VegasPrincess]

^^^

Wait wait wait, don't do it. amonia is flammable right? Girl don't be putting that shit by a pile of wood lol!!

[got2havespunk]

^^^

Wait wait wait, don't do it. amonia is flammable right? Girl don't be putting that shit by a pile of wood lol!!

LOL.Yeah, probably not a good idea heh? Esp. since the wood is right next to the house. Plus, my one dog eats things like it's his job. So he would easily pick up a cloth soaked in ammonia and eat it. He's a moron...but I love him.
Free doberman if you want...grrr he stole a pair of panties yesterday then had the audacity to puke them up at 530am this morning. Jerk.

[AlexxaHex]

Wait...so your boyfriend or husband injured an animal and then left it in a garbage can still alive and possibly in pain?
Don't you think he should maybe put it out of it's misery?
I don't understand the problem with the rats as long as they aren't in your home.

[ExoticEngineer]

They can be very destructive, not to mention carry a variety of diseases. Chewing wires, aggressively damaging.

Yikes. And chances are, if you saw one, there are more. Stick to your plan, remove the habitat, food supply, etc. Then call your local exterminator and see what else you can do. Maybe ask the neighbors in the area if they are having any problems. Rats rarely stick to just one spot.

When I was younger our neighborhood had a problem with them for a summer. They moved into the palm trees! And our area had tons of palm trees lining the streets, so they had to have them all cut back at the tops.

Also, I don't know if you have citrus trees in your area, but look around for fruit that has fallen, if you see big holes in just one side of the fallen fruit, the rats are eating that too. Make sure the dropped fruit gets picked up right away.

Good luck with that!

[got2havespunk]

Wait...so your boyfriend or husband injured an animal and then left it in a garbage can still alive and possibly in pain?
Don't you think he should maybe put it out of it's misery?
I don't understand the problem with the rats as long as they aren't in your home.

He left it there until he called me to ask what to do with it. It's dead now. They are destructive and can make it into your home. Not only that but we have dogs that are very curious. If they were to get too close Rats can be very aggresive, I could end up with either a hurt dog, or a dog that has eaten a disease ridden rat. I don't want either. Also rats can lead to snakes around here. I am NOT OK with snakes in my backyard. It'd be OK if it was large ..but my backyard is the size of a large bedroom.

[got2havespunk]

They can be very destructive, not to mention carry a variety of diseases. Chewing wires, aggressively damaging.

Yikes. And chances are, if you saw one, there are more. Stick to your plan, remove the habitat, food supply, etc. Then call your local exterminator and see what else you can do. Maybe ask the neighbors in the area if they are having any problems. Rats rarely stick to just one spot.

When I was younger our neighborhood had a problem with them for a summer. They moved into the palm trees! And our area had tons of palm trees lining the streets, so they had to have them all cut back at the tops.

Also, I don't know if you have citrus trees in your area, but look around for fruit that has fallen, if you see big holes in just one side of the fallen fruit, the rats are eating that too. Make sure the dropped fruit gets picked up right away.

Good luck with that!

On a good note the dogs are all of a sudden no longer interested in the woodpile. I'm hoping that means there was a small colony.
There have been signs about rats around lately. So yes, they're in the neighborhood, so I'm going to do the best to keep them out.

[VegasPrincess]

Channeling Charleton Heston

"Damn Dirty Rats!"

Lol, end thread jack.

[glambman]

I don't see where you are at, but around these parts, our county animal control gives out free stuff to get rats. May be worth checking into.

[AlexxaHex]

He left it there until he called me to ask what to do with it. It's dead now. They are destructive and can make it into your home. Not only that but we have dogs that are very curious. If they were to get too close Rats can be very aggresive, I could end up with either a hurt dog, or a dog that has eaten a disease ridden rat. I don't want either. Also rats can lead to snakes around here. I am NOT OK with snakes in my backyard. It'd be OK if it was large ..but my backyard is the size of a large bedroom.

I see.

[LoveComesFromWithin]

Wait...so your boyfriend or husband injured an animal and then left it in a garbage can still alive and possibly in pain?
Don't you think he should maybe put it out of it's misery?
I don't understand the problem with the rats as long as they aren't in your home.

the problem for me is there creepy, they are too little to be running so fast. there quick little sneaky creatures that might hide in your covers and bite your toes... im so scared of rats, mice,....

[kitana]

I don't understand the problem with the rats as long as they aren't in your home.

BLACK PLAGUE.

Nuff said.

[justtobenaked]

Where there is one rodent there is many more...something I have learned the hard way. I have trapped 22 mice in my home this summer alone. After the tenth I finally researched them and found out that they can reproduce in 3 weeks and have 10 babies!! I know that I have a few more and that is only the ones that I hear...I know I have them in my walls too. I found out that they can cause fires when eating at the wires...when nesting.

Sorry for the jack thread...but rodent suck! I hat rats at one time in a place I loved at I moved out quick...they ate at my computer wires...and to think I did not even know what a roach was until I lived in my first home at 17....As a kid our biggest pest problem was ants or hair lice.

[StrawberrySwitchblade]

^^^ Actually the Black Death was spread by fleas.

[kitana]

^^^ Actually the Black Death was spread by fleas.

That were living on the rats.

[got2havespunk]

I don't see where you are at, but around these parts, our county animal control gives out free stuff to get rats. May be worth checking into.

That'll be the day when our county provides stuff for free. They charge double! I'm sure.

[StrawberrySwitchblade]

That were living on the rats.

They were also living on the humans. Black death killed off two-thirds of the population of Iceland, but Iceland has no rats. On top of that Black Death is incredibly rare now, and very treatable.

[i.breathe.in]

wow some serious ignroance about rats....lord.

[got2havespunk]

Bubonic plague is a REAL threat right now. It's numbers are increasing, and rats carry a lot of things that carry lots of diseases. There's also some mexican something or other disease that is no prevalent amongst the rat population. I'm not going to keep rats around my house because it's eco-friendly. Bullshit. Go live in the woods and take your nasty fleas with you.

OH BTW, we thought the rat was dead. Around here you can't shoot anything. He was in the trash and chewed his way out. He's gone...but today we got better trash cans and got rid of the wood pile. Bye bye.

[Laylalust]

Wait wait wait...the bubonic plague is BACK?!?!

[ExoticEngineer]

Nope, if I lived where squirrels chewed my wires, presented a very real health problem to my animals and family, and were destructive I'd have a problem with them too!

But the issue at hand here is rats in her backyard, not squirrels.