Way Way O.T!!!

Things that go "scratch" in the night!!

Well the wife just called me upstairs..Its 11.00pm here and she was in bed...all thru the house not a creature was stiring..exept for the damn rodent scratching on the drywall right above my bed!! Needless to say the wife is freaked out now.. I figure a racoon or possibly the damn rat i poisened in the garage last week..anyone have any ideas? and also how the hell do i get it out of my attic!!

Thanks..

D

Hey Darrinj...Could it be a squirrel maybe? I know around here people get them in there attic,although I personaly haven't. As far as getting what ever it is out, if the wifes asleep ,I wouldn't suggest using a chainsaw ,firearms or explosives.But tommrow is a different story. Could be like caddyshack and the gopher{If you know what I mean}

Sorry couldn't help any better,goodluck and later...Todd

Maybe some kind of rodent, or bugs like horn beetles, or maybe a small owl, or some kind of bird. It could be anything that has the fetish to scratch. or maybe a motor got triggered and started to run around in the attic.

If you can prove or KNOW its a racoon, squirrels or owls then check with any local animal control, they will catch it and not charge you...in most cases.

If you got a rat problem then get a cat...kinda wild and from the animal shelter is what you want, an outdoor cat. I got several but you are too far away. Make sure it has access to the roof/attic. In most cases a GOOD cat will rid you of just about anything but coons.

Coons can be VERY VERY MEAN so DO NOT confront, especially if a family is involved. When I was going to Tech school I worked for a restaurant called Baby Doe's which was based on the old mines in Colorado. One day I had to go underneath the building for something (do not remember what) and ran into a FAMILY of coons, needless to say I felt like Jerry Clower....he did a comedy routine about coon hunting where he was in a tree and told his friends....SHOOT...We might hit you...Shoot amongst us, ONE OF US GOTTA HAVE SOME RELIEF. I needed some relief but I made it out of there cursing all the way...coons this, coons that, needless to say some people in the restaurant got VERY MAD at me. The term coon in the Southern states can have other meanings. Once we got animal control there they got the whole family of coons and I had to buy new coveralls, for several reasons, and the people were no longer mad at me.

I had the interior of my boat destroyed once, by a family of coons, while it was stored for the winter.

Of course when I went to get the boat they were gone, so me and my shotgun never got the chance to thank them properly.

Maybe payback for all of the years of watching their relatives die of lead poisoning.

After that I stored it every year with Moth Balls in it. (Okay no comments about neutering innocent flying insects) Never had another problem. I do not know if it will work for you, but it is worth a try.

As rsdoran stated, a good farm cat will do the job if it is anything else. My problem is I like cats just as much as the other pest. Give me my old lazy grey furred dog any time.

We had a problem at our shop so I bought about 16 of thoes ultra sonic gizmos that drives them crazy. It took awhile but they finally left. Cats I think whould have been better, and I dont necessarly mind cats but the maintenace (food & litterbox..vet bills etc..) is too much for me...

I'd reccomend aganst poisions. That could turn into a real smelly mess.

Get a rat trap - load it with peanut butter - place in attic - bet it works the first night!


Also, homeowners insurance doesn't cover rodent damage - therefore, if it causes your house to burn down, you are SOL. I wouldn't worry about what it was until it was dead...

One good farm cat can clean up a large area. We have a calico. She has eaten all the mice and rats, and is now living off the rabbits, squirrels, and birds. I saw her once in the front yard trying to catch some birds. She did a very good bird call imitation and lured one down close and then pounced on it. She lives mostly outside in the woodshed but comes in once in a while on rainy days. She has never needed a litterbox, or a veterinarian either, except that I did get her neutered when we first got her. We have two dogs also, one that must weigh 100 lbs. He walks a wide path around that cat!

I agree not to use poison. A dead mouse inside the wall will stink for weeks. A rat...you'd be tearing the house down to get rid of the smell. I agree that a cat is the best answer, traps work well too, and I've been told that a cotton ball soaked in peppermint oil (not peppermint extract) will drive away all rodents. Haven't tried that last one yet though.

We had a cat that was a pretty good mouser..but instead of killing them she would bring them home as playmates. The cat was actually causing the rodent problem. It became standard practice NOT to let the cat in the door unless she showed us that she was not hiding a live mouse in her mouth.

All other cats I had were true killers.

I don't know about American rats , but English ones , and I can't comment about welsh ,scottish or irish one , except perhaps to say that Scottish one maybe the meanest of the lot , are very nasty things , andf not try and handle one .your cat (and if it is a clever cat , it won't play with full grown rats ) might object to its new duty .

I've personally tried to give a few lead poisoning with a little .410 and 7 shot , and it is amazing how resilient the little devils are .
The word "coon" , for reference in the UK at least has a very different and un "PC" meaning .
Try Warafarin and Alpha-Chloraloze , but don't let them stay a minute longer than necessary , they can strip Pyro cable down to the conductors.

10baseT said:

The word "coon" , for reference in the UK at least has a very different and un "PC" meaning .
.

Click to expand...

Seeing as i am from that side of the pond i am aware of the meaning!!!

Thanks..i will let you all know whats up there shortly..A buddy is comming over to help "comb" the attic, I am sure we will be brave enough after a couple of wobbly pops..

As for the Raccoon, I have had a couple of close encounters, Got one out of a friends basment, Trapped him behind a cabinet and got a rope around his body..He was not a happy camper!! almost got scratched a couple of times..There heavy little buggers when you holding them straight out!!

Anyway..wish me luck..im going in..or up anyway

D

Well i checked the perimiter and there wasnt a hole big enough for a 'coon to get in.There was a 4" hole in the garage that seems to be the entry point..(Insulation on the ground under the hole), Took the Rat trap advise and put 2 in..one right at the entry point..the other at the far end of the attic..Will check tommorow to see what (If anything) takes the bait..

Darren

The bottom line on rats is
if you don't want em don't feed em.
NO pet food outside.
No fallen fruit.
Same goes for RACcoons (I'm PC -- brag brag) bears, possums (boy do they have a lot of teeth - yes they have migrated to Seattle).

Ground entry in garage and they are in the attic --- hmmm - rats or squirrels ??

When I was a kid we had two decent size siameze who went after a rat - they had their paws full for a while. That rat in a corner stuff is true. The squirrels made fools of the cats in the summer though - fun to watch but awful hard on the cats' egos.

I see it is quite interesting the folks "across the pond" also have PC - did they get if from us colonials or did they pass it to us?

Dan Bentler

The problem dan is there is no food in the garage..I have a bit of a problem with rats out there for about 4 or 5 months.. I got one..(Poison) then cleaned the garage from top to bottom..damned if 2 months later another is in there..I put 2 rat traps side by side with a big dose of poison in the middle..I figured they would get cought in the trap while trying to get the poison..NOPE..More brains than me i guess..got the poison without setting off the traps..I figured he was dead after that round of poison couse i hadnt seen any signs of him, So i threw the poison in a zip lock and left it on a shelf..Last week i went out and saw dsome droppings so i figured some poison would do the trick..It took me an hour but i finally found the bag, Half way across the garage with not much left in it..I sure hope i got the bugger..BTW can a rat climb a BX cable suspended in mid air? I know a chipmonk or a squirrel could do it easy but not sure about a rat..


D