Help with rat problem

[olhippie]

....Rat poison does work well at exterminating the rodents, but it is indiscriminate and may affect other area wildlife. Remember even after the rat itself has perished, it's carcass is still highly toxic and the poison will persist in the environment until it is leached into the water table, where it will do more harm as well....

....If your yard is fenced, you might consider getting yourself a rat terrier! These little dogs make great house pets, and are death on rats and other small vermin (they are the first of the fiest breeds, and make fine squirrel dogs as well). Teddy Roosevelt used them to hunt bear and cougar too. The giant "Decker" strain of rat terriers is particularly attractive as a rat killer, and are fine hunting dogs (yet still small enough to be a house dog, and adaptable to small yards.

 

[Buzztail]

I have rats in my garage too, but I would not call it a "problem"

 

[raginrednek]

cheap soda pop, in a bowl, and blue death from a farm store(pellets).
it will clean out the neighborhood

 

[goldminer]

Live trap a couple of them, spray paint them red and turn them loose. They'll return to their haunts in the house and other rats will think they are weasels or another type predator and leave the area fast.

 

[.41 magnum man]

+1 on the rat terriers. I've had them, and my brothers have one each. They are great at getting those rodents. They actually use their feet much like a cat does when they catch them.

When I was a young man, I was employed at a job where I worked in peoples homes, and once I was in this house in town. I happened to look out the window and saw a big rat at a bird feeder. I told the gentleman who owned the house about it, and he went and got a .22 rifle. He asked me if I would shoot it because his eyes were not so good anymore. I asked about its accuracy and he stated it was sighted in good when he used to shoot it some years back. I raised the window and the rat ran under a pile of lumber. We waited a few minutes and I saw his head just barely peeking out. I took aim and shot. We went out and I had nailed him. The fellow that was working with me said, "I hope you don't get in trouble for shooting in the town limits!" Being a country boy who could always shoot around the house, it never occurred to me that it was illegal to shoot there. The owner told me not to worry, that no one would know, but I got paranoid and kept looking out the window for the police the rest of the day! That elderly man kept bragging on my good shot, though. I think he was as tickled his old rifle had been put to good use as much as getting rid of the rat. And, no the police never came.

 

[Gordon]

I just bought an older Winchester .22magnum pump gun that someone bored and polished a 5/16" hole about 12" down the barrel. With CCI .22mag shot it bounces rats to 50 feet and is as quiet as a .22lr 'low noise' round. The #11 shot won't go 100yards I think.