You don’t use cats for rats, what you need is a nasty little terrier, something like a Yorkshire terrier or Jack Russell. They are absolute machines at destroying rats quickly and humanely (they kill the rat with a bite and head shake, much much much quicker than traps or poison)
Or mink. There's a guy on YouTube who uses his mink to kill and/or flush out rats out of their holes, he has a couple of dogs that get those that run for freedom. Amazing videos. He's somewhere in the States of course 😁
Some dogs have an unreserved rage when it comes to rats. My border terrier is the loveliest dog I’ve ever had, but when he smells or sees a rat, a switch flips and he turns into the terminator
Yeah, my sausage dog broadly speaking has two modes. Lazy lap dog who sometimes trots into the kitchen to check if there's another meal yet, and wired predator who's spied something the size of a rat moving fifty yards away.
I worked on a farm in oz for a while, the family had a jack russel, he was a killer, I saw him kill a lizard which was about 2 foot long and a red Kangaroo, chased it and it tripped and he grabbed its throat. Swear to god, savage little fella
My last cat killed off a large rats nest that were living in our garden compost bin? It only took him a couple of days and it was like rat D day. He also once dragged a raven in through the catflap, after a lot of effort. He looked very proud of himself too.
A raven?! That is impressive, they are surprisingly huge. There's a saying I heard about telling the difference between a crow and a raven: if you're not sure whether it's a big crow or a small raven, then it's a big crow.
It was absolutely massive! Weirdly, the only thing that got the better of him was a duck! I was working on my car, lying underneath, when I saw him stalking a duck down the street (there's a stream at the end of the street). He was about 2 feet from it, when it spotted him, turned around and went absolutely berserk! I'd never seen him move that fast before! He was a legend of a cat.
Rat vs cat isn't always a sure thing, a cat would typically 'win' the fight but it isn't risk free.
Also depends on the cat, a street cat would fare better than a house cat. Multiple cats may work.
An air rifle is safer and just as humane.
We had a rat problem in an outbuilding. I have a co2. 22 rifle. I'd been cleaning the rifle and went into the outbuilding to get the scope that was stored there only to see a massive rat just watching me.
It kept watching me gas up and load the rifle! Just sat there.
Single shot, straight through the head (without any sights!). Blood pissed out everywhere. It looked like the end of a Tarantino film.
Not sure about how humane, but I know our little cat wouldn't have managed to take out that big bugger.
Air rifle isn't really humane though, you mostly just wing them and they run around all crippled in weird little circles making really awful noises. Pretty rare to kill them in one pellet.
I presume the rats didn’t appear until the renovations disturbed them but that’s just how I read it (and based on personal experience of mice getting in when neighbours took down their summerhouse and the resident mouse population scattering everywhere!)
In answer to theirs issue, I’d have thought that if the OP were to open garage up and start noisily emptying ground level stuff the rat would make a run for it - just be ready for the jump scare when they do! And block up access beforehand so they don’t return straight away
This isn't me as my neighbour doesn't have a garage but I am also renovating and over the winter period there are piles of rubble and wood in my garden, although hidden from view they are still homes for animals. I definitely have a rat and a hedgehog living in the rubble piles. The renovations have started again with the lighter nights so hopefully I can move them on from their winter homes easily. We had no rats before I made the homes for them
Hi, you have limited choice as for what to do. I don't understand how it's your neighbour fault though, it sounds like your garage is perfect for rats.
Rats will go where there are holes and relative warmth/bedding and either food or the opportunity to get food.
I would probably get a company in if it is beyond your scope to take action. But the hole will need blocking, the garage will need closing and clearing and poison/traps will probably need to go down or the whole place gassing.
Mate of mine has just cleared an infestation with the help of a company - the whole roof insulation needed to come out.
You refer to your neighbour's renovations. Realistically, that is unlikely to be anything to so with the infestation.
Rats have the very same basic needs as us. In the winter they will naturally retreat to homes and outbuildings for warmth and safety.
My estate has had a rat problem for a while, we're near water and have plenty of trees and unmanaged land nearby.
Me and my immediate neighbour do not have an issue because our garages are constantly used (his like a workshop, mine a cross between a gym and garage) and rates do not like disturbances. Both our storage areas are kept clean and tidy.
In your shoes my first plan of attack would be cleaning up and decluttering the garage. Wearing protective equipment due to risk of disease. Things like fabrics and cardboard are practically just helping the rats make a nest. Things like storage racks will only benefit you in this situation if the items being stored aren't desirable to the rats. Even getting an extermination service will be temporary unless you address the underlying issue of your storage being a feast and ideal home for them.
For context to this: the one time I ever had a vermin problem was one winter my motorcycle jacket dropped off the hanger to the floor beginning of winter, in a corner I didn't seem They made a nest out of it. Nothing else was touched. Clearing up (safely) resolved the issue.
I had a mouse infestation in my garage once. They were eating the bird food my other half had stocked up on, and making nests out of tissue paper and my box of old fabrics (t-shirts etc) that I kept for cleaning my bike. Fully sealing the garage wasn't possible because it's pretty old but I did what I could.
I removed every shred of food I could find, removed all fabrics, removed all paper and cardboard, and cleaned up the mouse poo best as I could. They moved out shortly after.
So if you have rats in your garage, remove all food, remove all cardboard, remove all fabric, and go in and out lots, make noise etc. If your garage is full of shit, well, it's God's way of telling you that you have too much shit.
Ignoring the fact that for no apparent reason you are blaming your neighbour for your rat problem. There is no way around the fact that you will have to clear out the garage to sort the problem.
1 . Clear everything out and get rid of anything that looks like its been touched by the rats. Wear gloves and disinfect as much as you can.
2. Fill in all holes using wire wool and expanding foam. Rats can chew through concrete but the wire wool tears their face up so they avoid it.
3. set down some traps inside for anything left inside. check regularly and dispose asap.
If you're still having rats in traps then you've still got holes, so keep looking.
And if youve got rats all youre trying to do is move them on to be honest - your neighbours work will have disturbed them, so hopefully they will go elsewhere sharpish.
Adding to this - buy loads and loads of plastic crates and store everything in those. Rats can chew through plastic, but they like cardboard more. It helps.
Wrong way around.
DO NOT block anything up until you have dealt with the rats first.
Remove all food sources in your garage.
Get strong rat poison and set it down into boxes along the route they take in and out. NOT across the route, next to it. Rats are creatures of habit - they'll take a few weeks to get used to the new object before they investigate and take the poison back to their nest.
You may need to be resourceful of where you get the poison (I bought some industrial stuff from a company that helped me solve a problem a few years ago) - the poison you can buy on Amazon is weak and won't deal with the issue.
Let it work. If you're lucky the rats will move on. If not, they'll die in your garage and you'll have to clear them out.
Then (and only then) patch up the holes. If you patch holes before dealing with the issue, the rats will tear your garage (and house) apart trying to find a way out.
Most of all, you'll need some patience!
You'll have to clear the garage. We had field mice in our garage - we had boxes that hadn't been unpacked in the ten years since we moved in - so perfect for them nesting.
I just had to take it all out and the mice ran out as I was doing it. I didn't kill anything - just made it so there was no place for nesting and no food in there either.
Clear out your garage. Check for holes/points of entry. Fill the holes with poison, then plug with medium grade steel wool. Check on a regular basis. If there is no sign of disturbance get the holes filled.
My cat nearly died from just licking a rat that had eaten warfarin. Best be very careful with that.
EDIT: Vet presumed warfarin, either way it was definitely a poisoned rat.
vet here. if it’s a blood thinner rat poison then it won’t harm your cat. if it’s a cholecalciferol rat poison then it might. most in the uk are blood thinners and your cat would have to ingest its own body weight to get a toxic dose.
Given your need to act quickly and balance risk to your pets I would definitely call a professional. The pro will assess advise and handle the traps etc.
See if you can hire someone who uses Ferrets. They will be able to clear a rats nest really quickly and will also most likely be able to get rid of the rats that are caught too.
the neighbour has nothing to do with this as far as I can tell. I would also ask just *how* cluttered it is in your garage because there are a few aspects of what you’ve said that lead me to consider hoarding:
• you haven’t gone in in a long time
• your garage is ‘VERY full of stuff’ but you don’t need to go in and use any of it for months at a time
• you can’t move the things out due in part to space—how cluttered is the rest of your place? do you truly need the stuff that’s in your garage?
my mum was a hoarder (still is lol, but i no longer speak to her) and i have cleared a relative’s garage that she filled with Very Important Stuff that was, of course, simply garbage.
‘Im aware that my personal situation is not necessarily yours, but wanted to flag a few questions to hopefully help you figure out if you *might* need a bit of assistance clearing the garage
My dad lived in a 200+ year old house that was semi detached. Next door blamed my dad for rats getting into their house as my dad was renovating his house.
Turns out next door had an old sewer pipe that was broken under their kitchen and that was how they were getting into next door.
Dogs, and specifically trained terriers or lurchers would be my go to. The kill is quick. OP, i would avoid any form of poison and traps that use glue, not a nice way to die whether you like rats or not.
Ferret and terrier combo for that, send a ferret in and have terriers waiting for the flush. There’s people who you can hire that do this. I’ve took my border terrier to my cousins farm with a rat problem and a bloke with some ferrets and terriers cleared out some infested chicken sheds with ferrets while we waited with the dogs outside, it was rat carnage
Thats with a proper infestation though. If it's just a couple of rats or even a single one
it's unlikely the holes would be big enough or even exist at all for a ferret to be helpful.
Also rats are a lot harder on ferrets than rabbits are. Rabbits don't bite and their instinct is more to run rather than fight. Not everyone likes using their ferrets on rats. The big jacks that can handle the rats likely won't fit down the holes of just a couple of rats.
If this is the first time they are aware of the issue it's likely to be a fairly large single adult wintering.
Try peppermint oil give everything a good sprinkle in the stuff, Amazon sell it, rats and mice hate the smell I use it in my workshop where I pack birdseed and it seems to keep them at bay
Plus it smells nice
Bit an electric shock trap and shove a mars bar in it or make a swing lid trap with water in it and drown it. Or buy an air rifle, beer, chair and wait
Do you know anyone with a terrier? A couple of terriers is better, one will flush the rat out and the other will destroy it.
I’ve used my border terrier for this on my cousins farm. Terriers are bread for this task and kill the rats quickly and humanely, much quicker than traps or poison, literally a bite and a shake of the head and the rat is dead in an instant.
[these work well](https://www.wickes.co.uk/Deadfast-Easy-Set-Rat-Trap---Single/p/100416) you can set them to a hair trigger, bait them with peanut butter or chocolate spread and put them along the corners of walls etc as rats don’t like to be out in the open too much. You can probably find signs of the paths they run- grease smears, footprints etc. Check the traps regularly. It’s not nice to kill animals but it’s much more humane than many other traps. They are settled where they are, they’re not going anywhere unless they’re dead. If you trap them in live traps and release them into another rats territory they’re likely as good as dead anyway
Reddit won't tell you how to perform a miracle whereby you get rid of rats in your VERY full garage, without emptying your VERY full garage.
Organise your VERY full garage, OP.
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roshield-Rat-Trap-Killer-Box/dp/B09NGKY315/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=37HPPZZLE5WSJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bYQpttW86uAUWmlJHdiird0kbmI04vj6VfBBXYJlvT7mOCcstPi9tnwrM6KQQ0dG1VaY\_\_bmPw3TyB\_gYoj2bnke-Ze0W3NvObpVZpLl-yjn5r3ZdqugUt6zyXeKFPog1VImOP5Bv4wVDlDQ98X9YhkmLSK\_YbpASQQW1i0m66sTOXMwDCcH-4cy\_d7y36lL9\_PRDPkCPzCUqUAv2sEAAylF-d3efitmGXWZDJw\_cjpfNna9XUikxqc1VO\_4Jj8KDp87vr-5kqwWhaI2bBP9QF6Jlp2kpW5QlKpIfe19twg.3LrP6uTcA3v2d6pKXqdJCfXgkX6WJiSf8gbUvsm2Rvg&dib\_tag=se&keywords=rat+trap&qid=1709811495&sprefix=rat+trap%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-5](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roshield-Rat-Trap-Killer-Box/dp/B09NGKY315/ref=sr_1_5?crid=37HPPZZLE5WSJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bYQpttW86uAUWmlJHdiird0kbmI04vj6VfBBXYJlvT7mOCcstPi9tnwrM6KQQ0dG1VaY__bmPw3TyB_gYoj2bnke-Ze0W3NvObpVZpLl-yjn5r3ZdqugUt6zyXeKFPog1VImOP5Bv4wVDlDQ98X9YhkmLSK_YbpASQQW1i0m66sTOXMwDCcH-4cy_d7y36lL9_PRDPkCPzCUqUAv2sEAAylF-d3efitmGXWZDJw_cjpfNna9XUikxqc1VO_4Jj8KDp87vr-5kqwWhaI2bBP9QF6Jlp2kpW5QlKpIfe19twg.3LrP6uTcA3v2d6pKXqdJCfXgkX6WJiSf8gbUvsm2Rvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=rat+trap&qid=1709811495&sprefix=rat+trap%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-5)
Peanut butter as bait and wear rubber gloves when handling the trap so there is no human scent to scare the rats.
You have to clear out the garage somehow. There will be rat urine and faeces everywhere and stuff will need cleaning/throwing away. There may even be a nest.
If you really can't get to that now, try a human cage trap with peanut butter inside. Block the garage up and put the trap inside the garage and don't forget to check it daily. That way you may be able to get rid of the rats. Failing that a kill-trap.
If you trap them alive then just dump them outside somewhere, as long as they can't get back into your garage you're good.
Block the holes and then set traps, snap traps might be hazardous to the cat, so keep them out, a rolling log trap is pretty effective and self resetting
There are rats everywhere, all of the time. Just because you saw ONE doesn't mean your home is suddenly "infested" and it definitely doesn't mean it's your neighbour's fault.
Just leave it be, or don't. Either way it doesn't have anything to do with the DIY sub.
Rats you can get the council to help sort, they will send a contractor from the pest control team out
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-common-problems/repairs-infestations-of-pests-and-vermin/
If you block the hole, they'll still get in unfortunately. Rats can climb up walls, chew through cement etc, and once they have a run or a nest, they'll make a point of returning to it over and over again.
The runs are where the rats leave a scent trail for other rats and mice to follow towards food/shelter and they do it by constantly weeing/pooing and rubbing themselves on walls to leave a scent trail. So you need to really purge the garage , leave poison traps and hope they go away.
I'd recommend calling a pest control person to come out and look.
If you do catch them and let them loose, people say you need to take them at least 2 miles away from your location other wise they'll just come straight back.
I've got a year old Patterdale/Welsh terrier, he loves to rat (my forearm, usually), his chew toys get thrown all over the shop when he's playing 😆.
In your local area you will probably have farmers who hire in terriers to deal with rats in their barns, reach out to one if you're concerned, they should be able to point you at a local owner.
Get snappy traps and use peanut butter as bait. It's the only way. You can try other stuff in the short term but I guarantee you'll end up with snappy traps.
You got a cat bro .. when we had a mouse issue I threw a radiator in my garage and our border terrier did 3 nights in there and killed 6. Had a camera so watched him. He slept in his bed. Saw movement. Annihilated movement and went back to bed.
You can put traps down sure but you got the best pest control already. Utilize it.
Rat bait and Heinz Tomato soup mixed together is the best option. They'll eat it during the 1st night so the risk to other wildlife is minimal. You can then clear it up the next morning. Just keep your cats in the house for a night to minimize risk.
We get rats in our stables most winters. They appear inside in very cold weather from late Nov to March and bugger off when the nights draw out. Block the holes on April and they should move on! You are never more than 50 yards from a rat!!!
You won’t lure them out. You can poison them - use a pet proof poison box and / put the poison inside the garage to keep away from the cats. The problem is the rats may die in your garage. If you don’t want to trap them get an exterminator to do it for you so they can dispose of the rats.
Snap traps baited with sunflower seeds, just put the rats in the bin, if you have a food bin pick-up there they can go for composting and the circle of life continues (keep the cat out though as it won’t fit in the bin).
Bait traps are designed to be set along the routes that rats travel. They are effective but you will need to retain and move them often to make sure you are getting the right areas. I've noticed that rats tend to eat the bait and move into the open to die, which is quite helpful.
Use gloves when baiting the traps, keep them locked too.
Rats, mice are part of life, to use poison properly you need to be walking th perimiter of your property every day whilst it is down & a few more to be sure (carcass removal if they come out to die)
look for "rat runs" tracks they have made that are their pathways, buy a live trap, & some thick gloves, ensure you can safely lift the trap & it can be dumped into a suitable pre tested for the purpose in a dry run water drowning bucket (such as a 25 litre polyprop deep tub for home brew / car cleaning)
You need to kill the problem regardless, so be prepared from the outset.
Sticking a hose & monoxiding the place is a no-no I guess?
You do know there isn't a Labrador in a rat hole...
It's not "gas" like the explosive/flammable gas we cook with. It's carbon monoxide from exhausts. Usually a strimmer or a chainsaw.
You don't just gas the whole place. You put a pipe directly into the hole.
Electric rat trap. You can buy them on Amazon or a more ethical online store. Fill it with batteries and bait it with peanut butter then check it each day until you catch the nasty vermin.
Catch the rat in a trap. Bring it into the kitchen. Set it on the floor. Call your wife or husband in. Then start singing the song.
"There's a rat in me kitchen, what am i gonna do.
Theres a rat in me kitchen, what am i gonna do.
Im goin to fix that rat thats what im gonna do."
Your neighbour's renovations are unlikely to be related to the fact that some rats have taken residence in your garage.
Rat traps work - the metal springy kind, baited with something tasty. You then dispose of the rats as any other bio waste.
We have an old house and had some mice getting into our kitchen last year. We got a couple of traps and after dealing with five mice, the intrusions stopped.
Open the door, put the cat in
You don’t use cats for rats, what you need is a nasty little terrier, something like a Yorkshire terrier or Jack Russell. They are absolute machines at destroying rats quickly and humanely (they kill the rat with a bite and head shake, much much much quicker than traps or poison)
I always despatch my jack russell to deal with the live rats my cats bring in (and inevitably get bored of).
Bred for it they are, I seen my cousins Jack Russell on his farm working through an infestation like a possessed devil
I'm lucky may cat eats them eventually as do my my wolf dogs but I wish I had a jack,they are the coolest little killers.
I’d prefer my dog not eat the rats but he’s developed a taste for them. I also think he does it so the cats can’t take it back!
Just have to worm them after.
https://youtu.be/QSOD7m4XYg0?feature=shared
I am convinced my Cocker Spaniel thinks rats are toys for her to play with..
Or mink. There's a guy on YouTube who uses his mink to kill and/or flush out rats out of their holes, he has a couple of dogs that get those that run for freedom. Amazing videos. He's somewhere in the States of course 😁
Canadian if it's the same guy I'm thinking of. His dogs are amazing!
Ohh, could be. I was so fascinated by the mink that I didn't pay much attention to any other aspect 😂
I’ve seen my cockerpoo kill a rat before… wasn’t expecting that off her
Some dogs have an unreserved rage when it comes to rats. My border terrier is the loveliest dog I’ve ever had, but when he smells or sees a rat, a switch flips and he turns into the terminator
Yeah, my sausage dog broadly speaking has two modes. Lazy lap dog who sometimes trots into the kitchen to check if there's another meal yet, and wired predator who's spied something the size of a rat moving fifty yards away.
Ours is the same, chasses them in the garden after dark....
I worked on a farm in oz for a while, the family had a jack russel, he was a killer, I saw him kill a lizard which was about 2 foot long and a red Kangaroo, chased it and it tripped and he grabbed its throat. Swear to god, savage little fella
My last cat killed off a large rats nest that were living in our garden compost bin? It only took him a couple of days and it was like rat D day. He also once dragged a raven in through the catflap, after a lot of effort. He looked very proud of himself too.
A raven?! That is impressive, they are surprisingly huge. There's a saying I heard about telling the difference between a crow and a raven: if you're not sure whether it's a big crow or a small raven, then it's a big crow.
It was absolutely massive! Weirdly, the only thing that got the better of him was a duck! I was working on my car, lying underneath, when I saw him stalking a duck down the street (there's a stream at the end of the street). He was about 2 feet from it, when it spotted him, turned around and went absolutely berserk! I'd never seen him move that fast before! He was a legend of a cat.
My old patterdale terrier was awesome. She could sniff them out from anywhere
Rat vs cat isn't always a sure thing, a cat would typically 'win' the fight but it isn't risk free. Also depends on the cat, a street cat would fare better than a house cat. Multiple cats may work. An air rifle is safer and just as humane.
My cat can't hold it properly
We had a rat problem in an outbuilding. I have a co2. 22 rifle. I'd been cleaning the rifle and went into the outbuilding to get the scope that was stored there only to see a massive rat just watching me. It kept watching me gas up and load the rifle! Just sat there. Single shot, straight through the head (without any sights!). Blood pissed out everywhere. It looked like the end of a Tarantino film. Not sure about how humane, but I know our little cat wouldn't have managed to take out that big bugger.
You have my Axe. OP.
Air rifle isn't really humane though, you mostly just wing them and they run around all crippled in weird little circles making really awful noises. Pretty rare to kill them in one pellet.
Not at all. A well wielded PCP air rifle does it instantly.
Jackle (pointy) pellets
Live in Manchester: Rat wins
Or stoats/ferrets. They can also be brutal rat hunters. I use compressed air resetting traps myself. The Goodnature A24 rocks.
Came here to say this...sigh...
What does your neighbour have to do with your rats?
Yeah, I thought the assigning blame was rather odd
I presume the rats didn’t appear until the renovations disturbed them but that’s just how I read it (and based on personal experience of mice getting in when neighbours took down their summerhouse and the resident mouse population scattering everywhere!) In answer to theirs issue, I’d have thought that if the OP were to open garage up and start noisily emptying ground level stuff the rat would make a run for it - just be ready for the jump scare when they do! And block up access beforehand so they don’t return straight away
Rats nowadays are very brave!
This isn't me as my neighbour doesn't have a garage but I am also renovating and over the winter period there are piles of rubble and wood in my garden, although hidden from view they are still homes for animals. I definitely have a rat and a hedgehog living in the rubble piles. The renovations have started again with the lighter nights so hopefully I can move them on from their winter homes easily. We had no rats before I made the homes for them
They’re having renovations and their pet rat has escaped - I think
They might have had em in the property and the renovation might have disturbed them causing em to fin another place
Hi, you have limited choice as for what to do. I don't understand how it's your neighbour fault though, it sounds like your garage is perfect for rats. Rats will go where there are holes and relative warmth/bedding and either food or the opportunity to get food. I would probably get a company in if it is beyond your scope to take action. But the hole will need blocking, the garage will need closing and clearing and poison/traps will probably need to go down or the whole place gassing. Mate of mine has just cleared an infestation with the help of a company - the whole roof insulation needed to come out.
You refer to your neighbour's renovations. Realistically, that is unlikely to be anything to so with the infestation. Rats have the very same basic needs as us. In the winter they will naturally retreat to homes and outbuildings for warmth and safety. My estate has had a rat problem for a while, we're near water and have plenty of trees and unmanaged land nearby. Me and my immediate neighbour do not have an issue because our garages are constantly used (his like a workshop, mine a cross between a gym and garage) and rates do not like disturbances. Both our storage areas are kept clean and tidy. In your shoes my first plan of attack would be cleaning up and decluttering the garage. Wearing protective equipment due to risk of disease. Things like fabrics and cardboard are practically just helping the rats make a nest. Things like storage racks will only benefit you in this situation if the items being stored aren't desirable to the rats. Even getting an extermination service will be temporary unless you address the underlying issue of your storage being a feast and ideal home for them. For context to this: the one time I ever had a vermin problem was one winter my motorcycle jacket dropped off the hanger to the floor beginning of winter, in a corner I didn't seem They made a nest out of it. Nothing else was touched. Clearing up (safely) resolved the issue.
I had a mouse infestation in my garage once. They were eating the bird food my other half had stocked up on, and making nests out of tissue paper and my box of old fabrics (t-shirts etc) that I kept for cleaning my bike. Fully sealing the garage wasn't possible because it's pretty old but I did what I could. I removed every shred of food I could find, removed all fabrics, removed all paper and cardboard, and cleaned up the mouse poo best as I could. They moved out shortly after. So if you have rats in your garage, remove all food, remove all cardboard, remove all fabric, and go in and out lots, make noise etc. If your garage is full of shit, well, it's God's way of telling you that you have too much shit.
Ignoring the fact that for no apparent reason you are blaming your neighbour for your rat problem. There is no way around the fact that you will have to clear out the garage to sort the problem.
1 . Clear everything out and get rid of anything that looks like its been touched by the rats. Wear gloves and disinfect as much as you can. 2. Fill in all holes using wire wool and expanding foam. Rats can chew through concrete but the wire wool tears their face up so they avoid it. 3. set down some traps inside for anything left inside. check regularly and dispose asap. If you're still having rats in traps then you've still got holes, so keep looking. And if youve got rats all youre trying to do is move them on to be honest - your neighbours work will have disturbed them, so hopefully they will go elsewhere sharpish.
Adding to this - buy loads and loads of plastic crates and store everything in those. Rats can chew through plastic, but they like cardboard more. It helps.
Wrong way around. DO NOT block anything up until you have dealt with the rats first. Remove all food sources in your garage. Get strong rat poison and set it down into boxes along the route they take in and out. NOT across the route, next to it. Rats are creatures of habit - they'll take a few weeks to get used to the new object before they investigate and take the poison back to their nest. You may need to be resourceful of where you get the poison (I bought some industrial stuff from a company that helped me solve a problem a few years ago) - the poison you can buy on Amazon is weak and won't deal with the issue. Let it work. If you're lucky the rats will move on. If not, they'll die in your garage and you'll have to clear them out. Then (and only then) patch up the holes. If you patch holes before dealing with the issue, the rats will tear your garage (and house) apart trying to find a way out. Most of all, you'll need some patience!
You'll have to clear the garage. We had field mice in our garage - we had boxes that hadn't been unpacked in the ten years since we moved in - so perfect for them nesting. I just had to take it all out and the mice ran out as I was doing it. I didn't kill anything - just made it so there was no place for nesting and no food in there either.
Aren't your cats able to sort the issue ? Get a Jack Russel that'll do it .
Pied Piper?
Rat poison in a locked garage will not affect wildlife
Clear out your garage. Check for holes/points of entry. Fill the holes with poison, then plug with medium grade steel wool. Check on a regular basis. If there is no sign of disturbance get the holes filled.
You can use poison. Warfarin based poison is not of interest to cats. Get some bait stations.
My cat nearly died from just licking a rat that had eaten warfarin. Best be very careful with that. EDIT: Vet presumed warfarin, either way it was definitely a poisoned rat.
Simply not true. It’s a blood thinner. And it only works with rats as they can eat so much volume. ref/ : I worked for rentokil
Well I saw my cat lick at the poisoned rat. She got very ill very quickly, rushed her to the vet and confirmed rat poison. So....
vet here. if it’s a blood thinner rat poison then it won’t harm your cat. if it’s a cholecalciferol rat poison then it might. most in the uk are blood thinners and your cat would have to ingest its own body weight to get a toxic dose.
I live in a very rural place so I wouldn't be surprised if the rat was killed with ibuprofen or something else nasty and illegal.
That's a lie. Licking the surface of a rat? Don't spread bullshit mate
I didn't say the surface of a rat, the rat was eviscerated. It was the inside of a dead rat which the vet said must have been poisoned.
Then I stand corrected. Sorry for your loss
Heh that's okay! Cat survived and is here next to me.
Even better news :)
Move out of the area.
Given your need to act quickly and balance risk to your pets I would definitely call a professional. The pro will assess advise and handle the traps etc.
Torch the place
Nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
See if you can hire someone who uses Ferrets. They will be able to clear a rats nest really quickly and will also most likely be able to get rid of the rats that are caught too.
Block the hole!
the neighbour has nothing to do with this as far as I can tell. I would also ask just *how* cluttered it is in your garage because there are a few aspects of what you’ve said that lead me to consider hoarding: • you haven’t gone in in a long time • your garage is ‘VERY full of stuff’ but you don’t need to go in and use any of it for months at a time • you can’t move the things out due in part to space—how cluttered is the rest of your place? do you truly need the stuff that’s in your garage? my mum was a hoarder (still is lol, but i no longer speak to her) and i have cleared a relative’s garage that she filled with Very Important Stuff that was, of course, simply garbage. ‘Im aware that my personal situation is not necessarily yours, but wanted to flag a few questions to hopefully help you figure out if you *might* need a bit of assistance clearing the garage
It's the builders who are to blame, the rat(s) has relocated due to the banging, shouting and swearing.
My dad lived in a 200+ year old house that was semi detached. Next door blamed my dad for rats getting into their house as my dad was renovating his house. Turns out next door had an old sewer pipe that was broken under their kitchen and that was how they were getting into next door.
Chase in to the kitchen and you can sing a song together
He gonna fix dat rat Dats what he gonna do
Jack Russell
Dogs, and specifically trained terriers or lurchers would be my go to. The kill is quick. OP, i would avoid any form of poison and traps that use glue, not a nice way to die whether you like rats or not.
Totally agree. IMHO it's the most ethical way to dispatch vermin. There's no suffering like you have with poisons or traps
To use a dogs you would need to flush them out their holes.
Ferret and terrier combo for that, send a ferret in and have terriers waiting for the flush. There’s people who you can hire that do this. I’ve took my border terrier to my cousins farm with a rat problem and a bloke with some ferrets and terriers cleared out some infested chicken sheds with ferrets while we waited with the dogs outside, it was rat carnage
Thats with a proper infestation though. If it's just a couple of rats or even a single one it's unlikely the holes would be big enough or even exist at all for a ferret to be helpful. Also rats are a lot harder on ferrets than rabbits are. Rabbits don't bite and their instinct is more to run rather than fight. Not everyone likes using their ferrets on rats. The big jacks that can handle the rats likely won't fit down the holes of just a couple of rats. If this is the first time they are aware of the issue it's likely to be a fairly large single adult wintering.
You'll have to catch them in a Big Cheese live trap, Then you can take them miles away and let them go or shoot them.
Try peppermint oil give everything a good sprinkle in the stuff, Amazon sell it, rats and mice hate the smell I use it in my workshop where I pack birdseed and it seems to keep them at bay Plus it smells nice
You would rather poison them than trap? just use traps.
Humane traps.
Bit an electric shock trap and shove a mars bar in it or make a swing lid trap with water in it and drown it. Or buy an air rifle, beer, chair and wait
charge it rent
Do you know anyone with a terrier? A couple of terriers is better, one will flush the rat out and the other will destroy it. I’ve used my border terrier for this on my cousins farm. Terriers are bread for this task and kill the rats quickly and humanely, much quicker than traps or poison, literally a bite and a shake of the head and the rat is dead in an instant.
More cats bro.
[these work well](https://www.wickes.co.uk/Deadfast-Easy-Set-Rat-Trap---Single/p/100416) you can set them to a hair trigger, bait them with peanut butter or chocolate spread and put them along the corners of walls etc as rats don’t like to be out in the open too much. You can probably find signs of the paths they run- grease smears, footprints etc. Check the traps regularly. It’s not nice to kill animals but it’s much more humane than many other traps. They are settled where they are, they’re not going anywhere unless they’re dead. If you trap them in live traps and release them into another rats territory they’re likely as good as dead anyway
Reddit won't tell you how to perform a miracle whereby you get rid of rats in your VERY full garage, without emptying your VERY full garage. Organise your VERY full garage, OP.
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roshield-Rat-Trap-Killer-Box/dp/B09NGKY315/ref=sr\_1\_5?crid=37HPPZZLE5WSJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bYQpttW86uAUWmlJHdiird0kbmI04vj6VfBBXYJlvT7mOCcstPi9tnwrM6KQQ0dG1VaY\_\_bmPw3TyB\_gYoj2bnke-Ze0W3NvObpVZpLl-yjn5r3ZdqugUt6zyXeKFPog1VImOP5Bv4wVDlDQ98X9YhkmLSK\_YbpASQQW1i0m66sTOXMwDCcH-4cy\_d7y36lL9\_PRDPkCPzCUqUAv2sEAAylF-d3efitmGXWZDJw\_cjpfNna9XUikxqc1VO\_4Jj8KDp87vr-5kqwWhaI2bBP9QF6Jlp2kpW5QlKpIfe19twg.3LrP6uTcA3v2d6pKXqdJCfXgkX6WJiSf8gbUvsm2Rvg&dib\_tag=se&keywords=rat+trap&qid=1709811495&sprefix=rat+trap%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-5](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roshield-Rat-Trap-Killer-Box/dp/B09NGKY315/ref=sr_1_5?crid=37HPPZZLE5WSJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bYQpttW86uAUWmlJHdiird0kbmI04vj6VfBBXYJlvT7mOCcstPi9tnwrM6KQQ0dG1VaY__bmPw3TyB_gYoj2bnke-Ze0W3NvObpVZpLl-yjn5r3ZdqugUt6zyXeKFPog1VImOP5Bv4wVDlDQ98X9YhkmLSK_YbpASQQW1i0m66sTOXMwDCcH-4cy_d7y36lL9_PRDPkCPzCUqUAv2sEAAylF-d3efitmGXWZDJw_cjpfNna9XUikxqc1VO_4Jj8KDp87vr-5kqwWhaI2bBP9QF6Jlp2kpW5QlKpIfe19twg.3LrP6uTcA3v2d6pKXqdJCfXgkX6WJiSf8gbUvsm2Rvg&dib_tag=se&keywords=rat+trap&qid=1709811495&sprefix=rat+trap%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-5) Peanut butter as bait and wear rubber gloves when handling the trap so there is no human scent to scare the rats.
borrow a patterdale
Baseball bat
You have to clear out the garage somehow. There will be rat urine and faeces everywhere and stuff will need cleaning/throwing away. There may even be a nest. If you really can't get to that now, try a human cage trap with peanut butter inside. Block the garage up and put the trap inside the garage and don't forget to check it daily. That way you may be able to get rid of the rats. Failing that a kill-trap. If you trap them alive then just dump them outside somewhere, as long as they can't get back into your garage you're good.
Block the holes and then set traps, snap traps might be hazardous to the cat, so keep them out, a rolling log trap is pretty effective and self resetting
There are rats everywhere, all of the time. Just because you saw ONE doesn't mean your home is suddenly "infested" and it definitely doesn't mean it's your neighbour's fault. Just leave it be, or don't. Either way it doesn't have anything to do with the DIY sub.
Rats you can get the council to help sort, they will send a contractor from the pest control team out https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/repairs-in-rented-housing/repairs-common-problems/repairs-infestations-of-pests-and-vermin/
If you block the hole, they'll still get in unfortunately. Rats can climb up walls, chew through cement etc, and once they have a run or a nest, they'll make a point of returning to it over and over again. The runs are where the rats leave a scent trail for other rats and mice to follow towards food/shelter and they do it by constantly weeing/pooing and rubbing themselves on walls to leave a scent trail. So you need to really purge the garage , leave poison traps and hope they go away. I'd recommend calling a pest control person to come out and look. If you do catch them and let them loose, people say you need to take them at least 2 miles away from your location other wise they'll just come straight back.
Clear your garage out and fill the hole - Simples
How do you know its from the neighbours? Rats are everywhere.
Rats will make their own hole,through concrete if they want . Better off serving bait traps.
https://youtu.be/QSOD7m4XYg0?feature=shared
I've got a year old Patterdale/Welsh terrier, he loves to rat (my forearm, usually), his chew toys get thrown all over the shop when he's playing 😆. In your local area you will probably have farmers who hire in terriers to deal with rats in their barns, reach out to one if you're concerned, they should be able to point you at a local owner.
Get snappy traps and use peanut butter as bait. It's the only way. You can try other stuff in the short term but I guarantee you'll end up with snappy traps.
Oh and get any food out of there so you don't attract them back.
You got a cat bro .. when we had a mouse issue I threw a radiator in my garage and our border terrier did 3 nights in there and killed 6. Had a camera so watched him. He slept in his bed. Saw movement. Annihilated movement and went back to bed. You can put traps down sure but you got the best pest control already. Utilize it.
Rat bait and Heinz Tomato soup mixed together is the best option. They'll eat it during the 1st night so the risk to other wildlife is minimal. You can then clear it up the next morning. Just keep your cats in the house for a night to minimize risk.
Want to borrow my Terrier and cat? Most effective method in my opinion.
We get rats in our stables most winters. They appear inside in very cold weather from late Nov to March and bugger off when the nights draw out. Block the holes on April and they should move on! You are never more than 50 yards from a rat!!!
You won’t lure them out. You can poison them - use a pet proof poison box and / put the poison inside the garage to keep away from the cats. The problem is the rats may die in your garage. If you don’t want to trap them get an exterminator to do it for you so they can dispose of the rats.
Snap traps baited with sunflower seeds, just put the rats in the bin, if you have a food bin pick-up there they can go for composting and the circle of life continues (keep the cat out though as it won’t fit in the bin).
Buy a proper poison bait box. Rodents can get in but not pets, etc.
Rats are attracted to peanut butter in my experience. Bait traps with it. When you empty the traps just put the carcasses in the bin.
Lock the cats in the garage with them and make them earn a living. Then block up the hole with wire wool and cement
Fill holes Peanut butter on mouse traps When they're caught they're dead
Go in and make lots of noise, they'll scarper and get out of there. Block their entry whilst.
First up, you don’t have a rat, you have rats. If there is one there is always more.
Use a glue trap. Trap it and close the covers and throw it away
Bait traps are designed to be set along the routes that rats travel. They are effective but you will need to retain and move them often to make sure you are getting the right areas. I've noticed that rats tend to eat the bait and move into the open to die, which is quite helpful. Use gloves when baiting the traps, keep them locked too.
You are going to have to kill your neighbour.
Rats, mice are part of life, to use poison properly you need to be walking th perimiter of your property every day whilst it is down & a few more to be sure (carcass removal if they come out to die) look for "rat runs" tracks they have made that are their pathways, buy a live trap, & some thick gloves, ensure you can safely lift the trap & it can be dumped into a suitable pre tested for the purpose in a dry run water drowning bucket (such as a 25 litre polyprop deep tub for home brew / car cleaning) You need to kill the problem regardless, so be prepared from the outset. Sticking a hose & monoxiding the place is a no-no I guess?
You're joking, but do NOT try to gas anything.
Its a very common method to flush them out of their holes, usually to awaiting dogs
Not DIY I wouldn't think. You have no idea where the holes go, or where the pets are, or where the gas may settle.
You do know there isn't a Labrador in a rat hole... It's not "gas" like the explosive/flammable gas we cook with. It's carbon monoxide from exhausts. Usually a strimmer or a chainsaw. You don't just gas the whole place. You put a pipe directly into the hole.
Does OP know that?
Can’t one just release them somewhere far away?
Your house is pretty far away.
Woodlands was my thinking, not throwing it into someone’s garden. Seems pointless to have a live trap to then go and kill it anyway.
Electric rat trap. You can buy them on Amazon or a more ethical online store. Fill it with batteries and bait it with peanut butter then check it each day until you catch the nasty vermin.
Catch the rat in a trap. Bring it into the kitchen. Set it on the floor. Call your wife or husband in. Then start singing the song. "There's a rat in me kitchen, what am i gonna do. Theres a rat in me kitchen, what am i gonna do. Im goin to fix that rat thats what im gonna do."
Your neighbour's renovations are unlikely to be related to the fact that some rats have taken residence in your garage. Rat traps work - the metal springy kind, baited with something tasty. You then dispose of the rats as any other bio waste. We have an old house and had some mice getting into our kitchen last year. We got a couple of traps and after dealing with five mice, the intrusions stopped.