Eradicate Rats in Roof Space - Pest conrollers in Kapiti?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Eradicate Rats in Roof Space - Pest conrollers in Kapiti?

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#311338 8-Jan-2024 09:41

Hi Geekzoners,

About 6 weeks ago I heard noises in the roof space of our house. I set rat traps (of the conventional type, spring loaded with bar that breaks rat's neck) in the attic and in the garden around the house. Initially I caught 3 medium sized rats.

After my initial success with using peanut butter, I have had no further success. The rats set off the traps without being caught. Even when I set a group of traps together, with the traps facing each other, the rats set them off and steal the bait.

So I purchased a GoodNature A24 trap, using a nut flavour paste. That has caught nothing.

I then purchased a Reolink security camera with night vision and set it up at the rear of the house. It does not appear to be that successful at recording video by motion detection caused by rats, but it has captured some clips with rats. When I look at the live feed at night I can see that there are some very big rats that the are living at the rear of the house. I very much doubt a standard rat trap would kill these big ones and they appear to be very trap wise.

I had reservations about using poison baits as I was worried about my dog catching and eating a poisoned rat, however, things are getting out of control and I am hearing more noise in the ceiling.

I have now set up bait stations with poison baits, and built a large bait station out of plyboard, as the regular bait stations aren't big enough for the very large rat I have seen. I will just be very vigilant with my dog when he goes outside and keep an eye on him (he spends most of his time indoors).

So we are waiting for the poison to work. Just in case this is not successful can any geekzoners recommend pest control firms in Kapiti for rat removal from roof space?

Anybody with experience of this issue?

Many thanks,

KiwiTim

1 | 2

4973 posts

Uber Geek

Moderator

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3178904 8-Jan-2024 09:56

I personally wouldn't bait them, if they're inside the walls/ceiling, and they die there, you're up for a terrible smell and problems getting them out.

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
13765 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3178907 8-Jan-2024 10:02

Rats generally nest close to their "hunting" grounds, around 100m. We used to get them at our place until the paddocks across the road got developed for housing. No rats since.

You've not mentioned if you're rural or not, but if in suburbia, start looking for places they could nest easily, such as abandoned sheds, overgrown areas etc. Then poison around it and clean it up if possible.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

cshwone

1070 posts

Uber Geek

#3178909 8-Jan-2024 10:03

We have these indoors and outdoors and they are very effective.

DOC 200 plastic

Bung

6477 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3178927 8-Jan-2024 11:18

KiwiTim: After my initial success with using peanut butter, I have had no further success. The rats set off the traps without being caught. Even when I set a group of traps together, with the traps facing each other, the rats set them off and steal the bait.

Some rat traps get modified so the rat has to approach the bait from the dangerous end of the trap. I think I've had a problem where there were more mice than rats so they'd empty the rat trap without being big enough to get hit. The neighbour stopped keeping hens so problem ended before I had to try something else.

lxsw20

3552 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3178986 8-Jan-2024 14:10

rscole86: I personally wouldn't bait them, if they're inside the walls/ceiling, and they die there, you're up for a terrible smell and problems getting them out.

I thought the initial symptoms of bait was it made them thirsty so they go and look for water, usually not in the walls of your house.

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
13765 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3178989 8-Jan-2024 14:31

lxsw20:

rscole86: I personally wouldn't bait them, if they're inside the walls/ceiling, and they die there, you're up for a terrible smell and problems getting them out.

I thought the initial symptoms of bait was it made them thirsty so they go and look for water, usually not in the walls of your house.

I poisoned, then sealed up some holes I found... pity the damn things hadn't gone looking for water. So had smelly area in the house for a bit.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

LinkTree

Bung

6477 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#3179046 8-Jan-2024 15:00

lxsw20: I thought the initial symptoms of bait was it made them thirsty so they go and look for water, usually not in the walls of your house.

The usual poisons don't dehydrate them making them thirsty but cause internal bleeding. The rats just run out of go and stay put wherever the nest is. Rats chew pipes and cable to stop their teeth getting too long not because they know there's water in pipes.

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

Starlith

208 posts

Master Geek

Trusted

#3179069 8-Jan-2024 16:06

Good stuff on the trapping, while your at it you might aswell survey the building both external and internel to figure out how they get into your roof space.

You'd be surprised as they can climb up pipes or through almost any hole. For example our AC piping needed a large enough hole going into the house but the wall was not completely sealed. Mice would climb up the padded pipe with enough space to duck through the wall and follow the piping up into the roof space.

We also put grates on any outdoor down pipes.

cddt

1548 posts

Uber Geek

#3179073 8-Jan-2024 16:37

I would make sure to put out poison to get on top of the problem before it becomes worse.

Rickles

2933 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3179076 8-Jan-2024 17:05

Rodent control Paraparaumu Rats and Mice Kapiti Coast (actionservices.co.nz)

MadEngineer

4271 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3179138 8-Jan-2024 18:30

I wouldn’t use poison with a dog.

Do you have any idea of the source? Your local council will have an environmental specialist that will help if required, if for example there’s a neighbour with a trash filled yard.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3179139 8-Jan-2024 18:45

No trash fill yards that I can see. There is a lot of trees and shrubs in this area, so they have a lot of cover.

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3179141 8-Jan-2024 18:47

Rickles:

Rodent control Paraparaumu Rats and Mice Kapiti Coast (actionservices.co.nz)

Thanks!

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3179143 8-Jan-2024 18:49

cddt:

I would make sure to put out poison to get on top of the problem before it becomes worse.

I think this is the way to go. The dog lives indoors most of the time and I will watch when he is in the yard. It does not take long for rat numbers to explode so I need to wipe them out now.

KiwiTim

376 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3179144 8-Jan-2024 18:50

Starlith:

Good stuff on the trapping, while your at it you might aswell survey the building both external and internel to figure out how they get into your roof space.

You'd be surprised as they can climb up pipes or through almost any hole. For example our AC piping needed a large enough hole going into the house but the wall was not completely sealed. Mice would climb up the padded pipe with enough space to duck through the wall and follow the piping up into the roof space.

We also put grates on any outdoor down pipes.

I haven't a clue how they get in the ceiling ... can't find any gaps under the roof tiles.

1 | 2