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I've never seen it, but my roommate has, but there's been a rat coming into my house, due to my keeping the doggie door open a crack for my ferret to come in and out of the enclosed courtyard.
Hunting down this rat has been much more emotionally traumatic than I could ever have imagined! Too soft of a heart I guess, even for the fate of rat!!! Imagine my working in a meat-packing plant!!
Initially, I bought a mouse trap, set it out in the garage (where my roommate has also seen this rat) with some peanut butter and chocolate. But the night I did it, I agonized all night long, fearing the rat would nibble on it, and not die, but die a slow agonizing, painful death. I didn't even want to go out into the garage, fearing I'd run into such a scene, and then what? Half-dead, what to do? Well, after a week, the rat never took the bait!
I do realize, having run into people who have pet rats, that they can be wonderful pets to have, so that hasn't helped matters at all, knowing this.
Last night, I heard some noise under my bathroom cupboards, there's a narrow slit underneath where I believe this rat made his way in, and so my roommate squirted some poison in thru the crack, and sealed it up with a temporary board. I almost went crazy, as an hour later I could still hear some movement underneath, and worrying if this rat was going thru an agonizing death. And then? Oh Lord, the idea of Karma comes into play!
Got to thinking, yup! What does around, comes around, and that's how I'm going to die some day, for my punishment!
Anyone else ever go through this trauma, just merely killing a rat?
Tonite, I haven't heard a sound coming from underneath those cupboards, and I pray and pray and pray that poor rat didn't die in an agonizing way! And if so, will you please forgive my cruelty?
No trauma over one less rodent in the world, unfortunately they do make more.
At least you didn't catch it and eat it like my cats do with the mice they catch. They don't eat it until they have played with it until it dies though.
Oh Lord! Help! What to do now!! I didn't hear any scratching under the cupboards all day long, thinking this rat was dead, and now I'm hearing scratching again, and my roommate has sealed up that crack with a piece of wood and nails!
I think I'm going to crazy before this is all over!!! That poor rat!!
This rat has been around for a few months now, can't leave any food out in sight, or he'll nimble at, even the food for my ferret! I've never had a problem with rats in the 17 years I've lived in this townhouse, and this a first for me and I'm not dealing with this very well at all!!!
I've never seen it, but my roommate has, but there's been a rat coming into my house, due to my keeping the doggie door open a crack for my ferret to come in and out of the enclosed courtyard.
Hunting down this rat has been much more emotionally traumatic than I could ever have imagined! Too soft of a heart I guess, even for the fate of rat!!! Imagine my working in a meat-packing plant!!
Initially, I bought a mouse trap, set it out in the garage (where my roommate has also seen this rat) with some peanut butter and chocolate. But the night I did it, I agonized all night long, fearing the rat would nibble on it, and not die, but die a slow agonizing, painful death. I didn't even want to go out into the garage, fearing I'd run into such a scene, and then what? Half-dead, what to do? Well, after a week, the rat never took the bait!
I do realize, having run into people who have pet rats, that they can be wonderful pets to have, so that hasn't helped matters at all, knowing this.
Last night, I heard some noise under my bathroom cupboards, there's a narrow slit underneath where I believe this rat made his way in, and so my roommate squirted some poison in thru the crack, and sealed it up with a temporary board. I almost went crazy, as an hour later I could still hear some movement underneath, and worrying if this rat was going thru an agonizing death. And then? Oh Lord, the idea of Karma comes into play!
Got to thinking, yup! What does around, comes around, and that's how I'm going to die some day, for my punishment!
Anyone else ever go through this trauma, just merely killing a rat?
Tonite, I haven't heard a sound coming from underneath those cupboards, and I pray and pray and pray that poor rat didn't die in an agonizing way! And if so, will you please forgive my cruelty?
Yes, I have had to deal with mice in the house (not a rat), and a packrat outside that was eating up my garden. It is not pleasant but dealing with the repercussions of doing nothing is far worse. These animals breed and have babies, a LOT of babies, and then they grown up and in just a matter of months can have babies themselves. This goes for rats and mice and before you know it you can have a huge huge problem. Rats carry disease and sometimes even rabies. A mouse trap will not kill a rat, you need a rat trap which is much bigger. You are MORE likely to trap a rat and have it still be aloive with a mouse trap. Get some rat traps and put some peanut butter on them (not chocolate) and place them in several areas of your home, but nowhere where a pet can get to them. You said your roomate "squirted poison" in an opening that you heard noise coming from. What kind of poison are you talking about? You'd be far better off setting the traps and checking them daily. IF you had killed the rat with the poison and it had died in your cabinet where you could not get to it, in a matter of days your whole home would begin to smell of a dead animal, so that is not the best way to kill a rodent.
I got the idea of the chocolate from another CD.forum thread, so I put a piece of chocolate in the little hole, and smeared peanut butter around the edges. It's been there a week, and no bites, I know it goes to the garage because my roommate works in the garage, from time to time, and has seen it out there, so I put the trap on top of a table out there.
I'm worried about my uncaged ferret, who freely roams the house, courtyard and garage, as I don't want him to get killed in the process, and if I close the doggie door, he'll scratch and scratch at that door til I go crazy, or he'll start tearing at the screen door!
I thought about that tonite, what if this rat dies below the cupboards. Then what? Then I'll have to removed the temporary slat and the carpentry below that to remove the rat.
Oh, how I wish I could just capture that rat somehow, and carry him a block away from the house and let him go loose there!
Oh, how I wish I could just capture that rat somehow, and carry him a block away from the house and let him go loose there!
That's easy enough. Just get a live trap the right size at a hardware store or borrow one from your local humane society. You can bait the live trap with meat or peanut butter.
Don't leave this little guy to die a terrrible death. From what you wrote I know you're not that kind of person.
I'd never be able to kill a rat, as I've had pet rats and they're smart and affectionate, not to mention natural comedians.
My cat has brought live sewer rats into the house and I've managed to trap them and release them further away.
I'm just concerned that the one you poisoned is dying a slow death. I don't wish that on anyone.
Yes, there are live traps. You do not want to have your ferret get caught in a trap, but setting a mouse trap for a rat is useless.
Use the right size for a rat and place it where your ferret can't reach it. A closed but not sealed cupboard or drawer near the rat's favorite area would be ideal.
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