Is there a humane way to get rid of rats?

[barkley]

There are trap & release cages. But, you have to take the filled cage and drive it quite a ways away, otherwise the rat will just find his way back. It's like they have a homing device.

We also don't want them to become a nuisance for someone else, which eliminates bringing them somewhere.

thank you for your consideration.

those of us that live quite a ways out don't appreciate it when others dump their unwanted pests AND PETS on our properties (most places 'way out' are owned by someone-just b/c a house isn't visible from the dumping spot doesn't mean one isn't there or the property isn't used by the owner).

rats will home wherever they can find food-if it's dumped on my property it's going to head towards my house so no thank you please , and just as a psa for people who consider 'releasing' cats/dogs 'in the country'-your domesticated animal is not going to adapt or be re-homed, it will likely slowly starve or (imho-more humane) quickly become the next meal of one of the eagles, hawks or coyotes.

 

[bcla]

Our exterminator told us this is what the black boxes are. There’s some sort of poison “cake” inside and the rats eat it and then their innards (for lack of better term)start making them dehydrated so they wander looking for liquid. It disorients them. Which would explain why I’ve found a few in my driveway looking a little slow/out of it. Then they just die.

That's just a line of bull that some exterminators use so they don't scare off anyone from the use of rodenticides. Other than RatX, there are basically only two types of rat poison. It's either an anticoagulant that causes massive internal bleeding or a nerve poison. They'll certainly be disoriented, but they're not necessarily wandering around looking for water. The anticoagulants can be nasty. I've heard that people have found dead rodents with blood coming out of the nose, ears, etc.

RatX works by essentially turning off the urge to drink water, in which case they dehydrate. They do claim that because of the advanced dehydration that it will reduce the smell. However, they might still die inside their nest.

https://www.ecoclearproducts.com/faqs/
How Does RatX® Work?
It coats the lining of a part of the rodent’s lower gut. This coating of the “fine hairs” in the lower gut, called villi, disrupts the message system to the rodents brain causing it to stop drinking. This leads to dehydration, blood thickening, kidney dysfunction, coma and eventual death.

Why Don't I Always See the Rat or Mouse's Body After Death?
When the rodent ingests the bait they become very lethargic and return to their home (Burrow, Nest or Hole). The rodent then dies in its sleep inside its home. Immediately upon death the accelerated dehydration process starts. This process Mummifies the deceased rodent reducing the decomposition smell up to 90%.
​

 

[jt'smom]

I go by my own experience, not Internet experts. And our Terminex guy was USELESS. He didn't try any other thing. I stand by what I said. I will continue to not recommend them. $70 for glue traps that can be bought from Walmart for $10, that didn't even work, is a sham.

I wasn't advocating for Terminix. I was simply telling you didn't have the faintest idea what you were talking about by throwing out scientific-babble regarding what pest control companies specialized in, lol. And that's not an armchair internet expert opinion. That's a simple fact, backed up by a multi-billion dollar industry that employs people who have PhD's in biology and entomology working for them. Just my internet expert opinion, but if you call a pest control company and are unhappy with the results, the best thing to do is to call them back and most will retreat to get the job done.

 

[kimblebee]

In many parts of the World rats are a viable source of protein.
You could make rat kebobs.
Or perhaps smoked rat.
Maybe a nice rat casserole.
The possibilities are endless.

Rat-atouille

 

[mousefan73]

Your situation is taken care of, my humane here IMO is a fast, painless death. would never think of re-locating them.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I don't have rats but I've got mice in the garage and the basement. They are a real nuisance and I try to control them with poison. The glue traps are pretty inhumane and the snap traps are not fun to deal with.
I've been using this beast for a while. It needs no explanation. it works great and the mice don't feel a thing.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We had a rat infestation, it was horrid. out of no where over a period of three years it started and exploded. They came up from the river and just were everywhere, the woods, the barn, attempting to get into the house. we don't like poison because when we did it for mice a long time ago it was so bad, they all died inside the walls and smelled so bad, and if a mouse rotting inside your walls is gross, I could not imagine rats. we used the old fashioned snap traps, my husband trapped 87 over one summer, the mini Schnauzer got two. We were not making much headway until our salvation moved in.. and within a month or two the rats were all TOTALLY gone...I was willing to sacrifice two chickens to the weasel after the rats were eradicated, I improved my coop security, then it ate all the red squirrels before it then moved on to other hunting grounds.

This is a neat story! No weasels here. We have hawks and other birds of prey.

 

[Imzadi]

I wasn't advocating for Terminix. . .

backed up by a multi-billion dollar industry that employs people who have PhD's in biology and entomology working for them.

It certainly sounds like you are advocating for Terminex.

but if you call a pest control company and are unhappy with the results, the best thing to do is to call them back and most will retreat to get the job done.

We DID call them back. They sent the same guy, who looked at the hairy glue trap and put out MORE ineffective glue traps - which the rat knew NOT to walk on after the first one, since it didn't want to be bald on the other side. He then told the landlady that he couldn't get rid of the rat since I was making pottery and the bags of sterilized CLAY were attracting rats.

Since he and the landlady couldn't come up with another or more effective ways to get rid of the rat, I ended up calling the county health dept. I told the health inspector what the Terminex man said about the clay attracting rats, and asked him if that was true?

The health inspector's reaction:

He then said, "NO, dirt & clay do NOT attract rats. They already LIVE in dirt & clay outdoors. That is not what attracts them inside. FOOD attracts rats."

Even previous poster, Barclay said the same thing:

rats will home wherever they can find food

BOTH these individuals, who probably do not have have PhD's in biology and entomology, yet they know more about rats than a Terminex man WITH a PhD's in biology and entomology. That rich!

The health inspector gave more helpful advice than the Terminex Man. I finally found where I had mentioned in an old DIS post from 2009 about having to call the health inspector: https://www.disboards.com/threads/1-mouse-14-glue-boards-game-on.2329306/page-2#post-34311088

When I had to call the county health inspector to complain about the house I was renting once, he said the best/quickest way to kill them if they are stuck to a glue trap is to put the mouse/rat & trap in a bucket of water and drown it.

The health inspector came for a second visit to make sure the landlady implemented his recommendations. When he learned a rat was still inhabiting the place, avoiding the glue traps, he gave the landlady a health code violation, which gave me the legal right to break the lease. I ended up moving.

So much for your Internet expertise and endorsement, throwing out grandiose descriptions of a billion dollar company who hires people with PhD's in biology and entomology - yet who don't know what attracts rats or how to get rid of them. I'll take someone who's never been to college, barely makes over minimum wage, and has a dead aim with a rifle and can shoot a quick moving rat, over your description.

A previous poster mentioned a stray weasel with no money, no home, and certainly no college degrees was more effective on getting rid of a bunch of rats than this Terminex man.

I say once again: I STAND BY MY BAD EXPERIENCE WITH THE TERMINEX COMPANY. The Terminex man was USELESS against ONE rat. Blamed other people for his ineptitude to get rid of ONE rat. He did give the County Health Inspector a hearty laugh.

And Thank YOU reminding me, the DIS is Googleable. This is my Terminex review. In my experience, they are useless for getting rid or rats. They do not know what attracts them. They lack the proper, knowledgeable, effective employees and tools to get rid of them. They will blame the customer or tenant for their failure stating incorrect causes. No matter what the cause, they couldn't get rid of ONE rat. They will greatly amuse the Heath inspector, who will verify the Terminex man does not know about rats. I ended up moving. #Terminex #Terminex Review #TerminexReview

 

[bcla]

This is my Terminex review. In my experience, they are useless for getting rid or rats. They do not know what attracts them. They lack the proper, knowledgeable, effective employees and tools to get rid of them. They will blame the customer or tenant for their failure stating incorrect causes. No matter what the cause, they couldn't get rid of ONE rat. They will greatly amuse the Heath inspector, who will verify the Terminex man does not know about rats. I ended up moving. #Terminex #Terminex Review #TerminexReview

Terminix is a franchised company, so the quality of the service may vary depending on the quality of the franchise owner and the employees. Sounds like you were specifically dealing with a less than competent employee.

 

[Suger Mag]

A previous poster mentioned a stray weasel with no money, no home, and certainly no college degrees was more effective on getting rid of a bunch of rats than this Terminex man.

Weasels are relentless...

 

[jsmla]

We have an animal feed store (lots of grain, molasses, etc.) and nothing works as well as a couple of feral cats to keep the rodents away. We get spayed/neutered feral cats from a local rescue. There's something about a cat that discourages the rats from ever coming into the building.

Back in the day my FIL had a rat problem in his house. He tried everything, including a pest service, but couldn't get rid of them. DH brought over one of the tamer store cats, released it in the attic and the rats were completely gone in a week.

 

[mousefan73]

We have an animal feed store (lots of grain, molasses, etc.) and nothing works as well as a couple of feral cats to keep the rodents away. We get spayed/neutered feral cats from a local rescue. There's something about a cat that discourages the rats from ever coming into the building.

Back in the day my FIL had a rat problem in his house. He tried everything, including a pest service, but couldn't get rid of them. DH brought over one of the tamer store cats, released it in the attic and the rats were completely gone in a week.

I dont have a problem but have the potential. Our neighbor has an outdoor cat and she is constantly feeding off of mice. We live rural and share communal property. I am not a cat fan but would consider getting an outdoor to control rodents.. I am just scared of having this cat then reward us with dead rodents. Do you cats then present their killings? that is the part that grosses me out. I would rather see a live rodent than dead.

 

[g00fy!]

I dont have a problem but have the potential. Our neighbor has an outdoor cat and she is constantly feeding off of mice. We live rural and share communal property. I am not a cat fan but would consider getting an outdoor to control rodents.. I am just scared of having this cat then reward us with dead rodents. Do you cats then present their killings? that is the part that grosses me out. I would rather see a live rodent than dead.

We have a horrible problem with out of control rabbits. The hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes and other wildlife are very well fed around here but even they cannot keep up. And I certainly don't want to poison the little rodents but something needs to be done. We have already had to replace our front lawn once per HOA because it was chewed down to a brown mess. The neighbors had to have the entire foundation of their sunroom redone due to the rabbits burrowing underneath. They thought relocating them would be the answer. We laughed because all the neighbors' rabbits just moved in. Not to mention that Tularemia has recently popped up in local rabbits.

We have LGDs that do an ok job in our backyard keeping them at bay, but we are thinking of getting a Bedlington to really eradicate them on our property. It would take care of other rodents too like rats, mice and voles.

 

[mom2rtk]

We have a horrible problem with out of control rabbits. The hawks, owls, eagles, coyotes and other wildlife are very well fed around here but even they cannot keep up. And I certainly don't want to poison the little rodents but something needs to be done. We have already had to replace our front lawn once per HOA because it was chewed down to a brown mess. The neighbors had to have the entire foundation of their sunroom redone due to the rabbits burrowing underneath. They thought relocating them would be the answer. We laughed because all the neighbors' rabbits just moved in. Not to mention that Tularemia has recently popped up in local rabbits. It would take care of other rodents too like rats, mice and voles.

We have LGDs that do an ok job in our backyard keeping them at bay, but we are thinking of getting a Bedlington to really eradicate them on our property.

We were on Sanibel Island last month and saw what a terrible time they're having with Marsh Rabbits. They were everywhere. One night we counted 14 of them sitting right out in the open near the pool of our condo just nibbling away at the grass. I can't imagine they aren't doing a ton of damage on the island.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I couldn't help but think of Sebastian Maniscaclco's standup special on Netflix when I read this...

 

[vicwishes]

Twenty years ago I lived in Massachusetts and they had a law prohibiting transportation of trapped animals - any animal - citing the possibility of the animal being rabid. Just an fyi in case of using a live trap. Rats carry diseases, ticks, and can be confrontational, not to mention that many communities have a law (or ordinance, or whatever it’s called) requiring a person to report the presence of rats. This doesn’t help your dilemma, but it’s more info for you.

 

[BillSears]

Easiest most humane way to get rid of the rats? You move and leave the rats there.

 

[jsmla]

I dont have a problem but have the potential. Our neighbor has an outdoor cat and she is constantly feeding off of mice. We live rural and share communal property. I am not a cat fan but would consider getting an outdoor to control rodents.. I am just scared of having this cat then reward us with dead rodents. Do you cats then present their killings? that is the part that grosses me out. I would rather see a live rodent than dead.

I aśked my husband and he said that the feral cats never bring "trophies" from the warehouse into the retail area. (He feeds the cats so they're not particularly hungry.) He does occasionally find leftover partially eaten rat in the warehouse. The rescue recommends confining the cats in the area they will move to for a couple of weeks before releasing them. He uses a large (think German Shepherd) wire kennel that he puts in the warehouse. He always releases them at close of business on a Saturday so that there is a whole day of quiet before the cats are first freed. He's had fair success using this method.

I grew up in the middle of sugar cane fields and our house cat used to bring us presents all the time. The feral cats at the store, for the most part, avoid people all together.

 

[mom2rtk]

I dont have a problem but have the potential. Our neighbor has an outdoor cat and she is constantly feeding off of mice. We live rural and share communal property. I am not a cat fan but would consider getting an outdoor to control rodents.. I am just scared of having this cat then reward us with dead rodents. Do you cats then present their killings? that is the part that grosses me out. I would rather see a live rodent than dead.

I cheered our outdoor cat on every single time she left a dead mole at our door! Those things were wrecking havoc on our yard.