I saw a rat in my apt tonight. I have lived here

[BigmanPigman]

for 30 years and never saw a mouse or a rat. I turned the light on and off a lot to scare it (my scream scared it first but I wanted to strobe light it out of here too) and the wall switch broke...what a shitty night. Are rats afraid of anything? How can I keep him from returning? Are they afraid of light like roaches? Should I buy a trap and cheese? My dog could probably catch it since she is small and fast but her eyesight and hearing aren't so great (she's 15). I am not working since I am ill and can't afford a rat catcher to come out. Do traps with cheese like you see on TV really work or is that a myth?

[RandySF]

1. They are smarter than we are.

Metropolitan areas are seeing an uptick in rodents. We got things under control by buying a set of ultrasonic devices.

[patricia92243]

2. Traps work. I used peanut butter when I had field mice. Put trap near place you saw rat.

Also, you can buy rat poison - be careful about dog,

[lunasun]

3. I don't know about rats, but mice do not like peppermint oil . You can put it on a cottonball near

the hole it's coming in . Lots of it so it reeks
I would call the bldg mngmnt or landlord. If you are gonna trap, I have heard use peanut butter not cheese but make sure the trap is the right size for the animal you saw as the traps I have seen go from credit card size to big enough for a squirrel . Local hardware can help if you have such a store
If you don't want more cover the hole . Foam in a can works well to seal

[msongs]

4. sounds like u are a renter. call your property owner asap. you can also

report it to local health authorities or at least get advice from them. traps work well if you just have a few here and there. rats are big. youd know one if you saw one probably

[BigmanPigman]

5. I own it...550 square feet so I call it an apt

and not a condo so I have to take care of it (hopefully not "them"/plural) myself. They make a lot of little rats fast, so I hope it isn't pregnant. I am nervous about going to sleep now too. I put an old Halloween plastic rat on its back with his feet up in the air where I saw it pop it's head up, hoping it will see it and get scared that he could be next.

[blue cat]

6. If you take a broom and let your dog

try to chase it out. My Pomeranian was able to catch and kill a mice as we both went after it. I was going to get a live trap but my dog was able to get it before I got home.

[BigmanPigman]

15. My dog did catch a baby rat and it's mother

about 6 years ago out back. She is a Chihuahua and is a natural fatter. Man, she moved so fast that she threw the baby rat in a nanosecond against a fence and it broke its neck. Then the mother rat came looking for it and she killed it too (she chased it into the jaws of my friend's pit bull). Now she is older and her senses and hind legs are not very sharp. I tried to get her on the scent last night but she wasn't picking up on it.

[thbobby]

7. I believe rat poison is a bad idea

Your dog is at risk. If the rat is poisoned and dies where you cannot find him, the stench becomes unbearable. Plus, I am just against poison.

Rat traps that lure a rat and have adhesive floors are an alternative. The rat will not be able to escape and you can safely discard trap. It is a gruesome way to kill but is effective. My advice would be to use such a trap.

[Cattledog]

8. Are you renting? Call landlord.

In any event the place they are getting in needs to be located and sealed.

[BigmanPigman]

9. Can they get in through an air conditioner?

I own my little condo/apt so I have to do it myself.

[Cattledog]

16. They can get in through almost anything.

You need to do a complete inspection looking for any small holes etc.

[jodymarie aimee]

10. OH, kiddo

I am so sorry...I rented a place in a field once, rural HUD bldg, and the first fall got mice...house and field..I about covered myself like a mummy when I turned in. Finally the HUD folks paid for some expert to put these green squares of poison in the attic...I moved out tho, as I could never rest there again.

In another HUD bldg presently and have bedbugs which bite all day and nite...at least the rat isn't on your face when you type....Good Luck ...

[BigmanPigman]

14. I was bitten by bedbugs while in Amsterdam.

I got about 10 bites a night and slept with the lights on. Soon I was covered in red bites (I looked like I had chicken pox) I changed hotels but they wouldn't let my fly (I looked scary) so I had to go to Italy and stay with relatives I had never met for a week while some of the marks faded and I could fly. When I went to a doctor in the US he said I only looked like I was bitten 500 times since it was an allergy to the bites and my body imitated the bites. YUK!

[Silver Gaia]

11. I think the best thing for you would be an electronic zapper.

Last edited Fri Oct 19, 2018, 05:42 AM - Edit history (1)

You lure them in with food (peanut butter works well) and it electrocutes them. It's clean, all you do is dump it in your trash. Spring traps are dangerous and messy yucky. Glue traps are inhumane, torturous and messy. Poison is out of the question if you have pets.

Places like Lowes and Home Depot sell the electronic zapper. They aren't super expensive. We used them for rats under our house where we used to live that were chewing on the coax cable and it worked.

To answer your question about how it got in, they can compress their bodies and squeeze through some incredibly small places.

ETA: Lowe's has them for about $40. It's worth it. Search for: Victor Electronic Rat Trap. Amazon probably has them, too, and Home Depot.

[True Dough]

12. Yes, we had a pest control expert

tell us how some species of mice can fit through holes hardly bigger than the circumference of a pen by contracting their ribs. It they weren't such a pest, it would be hard not to admire the little buggers!

[BigmanPigman]

13. Thanks...

I was going to go buy some traps (poison not good for dog and sticky stuff is cruel). I never heard of electrical traps before. I saw him again last night when I woke up to a noise. When I turned the working light on the bedroom blinds were moving and then he ran across the bed and I screamed. I thought that maybe he was looking for an exit since he was at my opened/screened bedroom window. I decided to leave the back door open and left a light on to help him see it. When I got up this AM there was chewed carpet by the opened door, so maybe he did leave. I hope he doesn't come back with his family and friends. I am definitely getting those traps though since I want to be able to sleep soundly.

[Silver Gaia]

17. You're welcome!

I don't have a problem with bugs or spiders (unless they are poisonous, like black widows and brown recluses) or even snakes, but mice and rats give me the heebie jeebies! I scream every time I see one, involuntarily, just can't help it. They are nasty and they carry fleas and all kinds of diseases. I detest the poor things. So, I've figured out what's the best way to deal with them (for me). I hope it helps!

[son_b]

18. personal experience

No way. Rats and mice do not eat cheese in reality. It's better to use special poison in capsules or special sticky tape

[No Vested Interest]

19. Since you're living in a condo, it would seem that the condo association should be notified

of the appearance of a rat. Other owners would want to protect themselves against an invasion- even of one.

[BigmanPigman]

20. I called them and they got the gardeners

to cut the 10' tall weeds behind my condo. I went out and raked if they found "anything" back there and the guy told me they saw a big rat (MY RAT) fun out from a little cave in the foundation at my bedroom. I had three rats traps and caught none so I guess he won't be coming back. All the spaces/openings were filled in with chicken wire too. I still am nervous going to sleep though.

[Hotler]

21. Rat trap with a small amount of peanut butter, just enough for smell,

youwant them to chew on the trigger.

[BigmanPigman]

22. I did that with three traps and never saw the critter again.

A few days later the gardners came and found his hiding place and saw him take off. They confirmed that it was MY rat, and "a big one". His little cave was covered up with wire. Bye bye Rat.

In Jan there was a leak in the apt upstairs and when they went through my ceiling they say a lot of chewed up stuff and rat skeletons up in the space. I had heard them up their for years...they were chewing stuff to file their teeth down.

[BigmanPigman]

24. That particular rat was the one that was spotted

running out of his hiding place under my bathroom. The gardeners saw him take off and he was the same size as the one I saw. The rat cave was closed up and he never made a reappearance and was never caught in any of my 3 traps (I am happy to say). When plumbers had to repair a leak in the apt upstairs they found a bunch of chewed up pipe insulation in the bathroom ceiling (to file their teeth)and rat skeletons. For years I heard them running around (sounded like a rat party) at 3 AM. Maybe the stuff they chewed killed them.