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Anybody knows how to get rid of rats. I have some under my shop. They dug into the dirt and it is hard to get them out.

I got some rat poison and sprinkled it around the perimeter of the house I am building. It was infested with mice and I was willing to put up with a little odor of rotting mouse carcases just to be done with them. But, the mice disappeared, and there is no odor.

There was a guy with a flute advertising in the local paper. Since all my kids are grown I was considering that option if the poison didn't work.

JohnJohn Kinnaird38665.3242592593

Love it John!

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

Mice and occassionally rats are a perpetual problem around here -- as are squirrels. I tried traps and gave up after a while. What works best for me is the bait bricks you can buy at the hardware store. I'll toss a few up into the attic, every few months or so, and one or two into corners of my shop, or just outside it.

True, you do have to put up with the stink for a while, but it's better than having them leavy droppings and urine trails all over my workbench. Vermin. A while back I discovered that a family had made a nest inside a computer I had out in the shop. I had left one of the drive bay covers off for cooling and they got inside and absolutely ruined it.

If you use poison, one thing you should keep in mind if you have outside pets: the poison is designed to dessicate the rodents. So, they will often leave their hidey-holes and venture out into the yard, looking for water, where they then expire. We have a dog, who seems to have enough sense not to eat them when they die in the back yard, but still -- it bears keeping an eye out for the dead varmints.

Best,

Michael

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Live to Play, Play to Live

A while back I had racoons visiting my shop to eat the kitty's food. One night I happened to be in the humidity controlled room with the door closed of course and I heard quite a ruckus going on in the outer shop area. I opened the door and two teenage racoons were tearing it up fighting over the cat food. When I came out they ran to the other side of the shop and behind stored wood and whatnot. I opened the big double doors on my shop and grabbed my air hose. I had a good time chasing then all around the shop for a good 5 minutes before I was able to herd them out the door. They haven't been back since.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Moth balls. Vermin don`t like `em. Occasionally, I`ll get one who must like the smell, so that`s where the poison, trap, and pellet gun come in handy. Also, get rid of any source of food they might be seeking.

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Give me 50 cents worth of regular.
Check my oil too, if you don`t mind,,,

I had a bat once that lived behind the switch cover in an electrical outlet. I have NO IDEA how he got in or out. As far as I could see there was no opening at all. While just checking out the wiring, I took off the switch cover and the bat flew out, more or less at my head. Took years off my life.

That's my vermine story and it's all true

O.K John, I read your post and since I was a previous Science Museum employee, and used to care for rosettus bats and flying foxes, I have to add that bats aren't rodents. They actually have a great impact on controlling disease causing insects, and insects in general, and are a huge pollinating resource for plants.
The plant that produces
There is not a single negative aspect to bats other than they somehow got into the creatures of the night business.



They also carry rabies equally as much as any other mammal, which is seldom.

O.K, the soap box is open!

Craig L

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www.handcraftinlay.com

My shop is a part of the house garage, normally closed and quite warm in winter. I often find a red cat sleeping on my chair, don't know how he comes into the shop. But a few years ago at the end of february one night a doe found the main door open, take place into the shop and dropped a cub over a heap of wood curls. We found both mother and son the next morning in good conditions and have been absolutely stroke by this event for weeks. Lately I have seen them more than once around here, seems that they like the place.
"Open" shop

Regards - Luigi

Be careful with the moth balls...humans don't tolerate that odor well either. It's toxic. Don't ask me how I know.

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Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

[QUOTE=clavin] O.K John, I read your post and since I was a previous Science Museum employee, and used to care for rosettus bats and flying foxes, I have to add that bats aren't rodents. They actually have a great impact on controlling disease causing insects, and insects in general, and are a huge pollinating resource for plants.
The plant that produces
There is not a single negative aspect to bats other than they somehow got into the creatures of the night business.



They also carry rabies equally as much as any other mammal, which is seldom.

O.K, the soap box is open!

Craig L[/QUOTE]

I'm with you Craig. I love bats. You would be surprised at how many bats we have around here. I put out bat boxes for them to live in. (Trying to tempt them to leave my bellfry.) The only problem is when they fly out at me from unexpected places like junction boxes. That is disconcerting.

Don't the Germans call them flying mice?   fluddermouse. I think there is piece of music by that name. That should lend some credence to them being vermin. Germans seldom get anything wrong.

I had a real issue with rats once when I lived in Tennessee. We stored corn in the barn which was close to the house and the rats migrated from there to our house. All the poisons I tried just seemed to fatten em up real good until someone told me about a different one. I don't remember the name but, it was a phosphorous based paste that came in a tube like toothpaste. I bought it at the local pharmacy. I just put it little on several pieces of bread and spread it in the barn and under the house. Two days later...no more rats ! They won't die in their hole...they will come out to die. Seems the poison causes them to seek fresh air...a suffocating effect. It was the most effective stuff on the market. Wish I could remember the name but, you could probably inquire at your local pharmacy about a phosphorous based rat poison and they will most likely know. Good luck...rats can be very devastating to a wood supply.

shopcat does the job for me!

I very often have small humans that invade my shop. They come at the most inopportune times. I like John Howe's idea of chasing them out with the compressed air. Course, they may actually like that and make a game of it...