Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

A question about : Getting rid of rats/mice (merged threads)

I walked into the kitchen yesterday and saw a black rat/mouse move towards our bin in the kitchen, it came from the utility room.

Now what can I do to get rid of them?
Should I buy the rat poison and leave it around or buy traps? How much should I buy and how long does it take to do the trick?

Is there anything else that I should do?
Do I need to tell the council?

All help appreciated.

Best answers:

• (CG'S Hubby here)
  he council will posion them for free
  other wise keep all food, waste and rat,mouse eatable things of the floor and in plastic contaniers and keep everything clean
  if you not sure where they are comming in sprinkle flour on the floor around the edges,walls etc inside and check for little footprints. (I used this to great effect when I use to shoot them for people)
• get a cat lol
  youll never get mice again!!!
• Ring the council they should have a pest control dept who will come out to the house. There may be a charge but if it cures the problem.
  We moved into our house 3 years ago and we live next to a race course so there was vermin due to litter etc. My neighbours on either side said there had been a problem with rats for 5 years and pest control came every year.
  However when I moved in with my two cats the rat problem was gone in 5wks, granted I had a vet bill when they had a fight but my cat was the winner and no more rats.
• by the way Two rats can be the Parents of one MILLION rats within a year
• That is a very scary thought. Bob betta get that rat catcher in fast.
• Please keep this thread on topic to help the original poster.
  Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: While it’s easy to wander off-topic that often prevents newbies finding the information they want quickly and easily (please see this rule). Please keep this thread on topic. If you’d like to discuss non-MoneySaving related topics please continue your discussion in The MoneySavers Arms or Discussion Time. If you have any questions about this policy please email abuse@moneysavingexpert.com.
  Regards
  Nile
• If you don't want a cat for ever then have you thought of getting a foster cat? Often just the smell of a cat is enough to clear a house of mise
  And you'd be helping the puddytat and maybe even save it's life
• Second the idea of chocolate on the traps - little cadbury fudge bars (teeny pieces) stay on well. Found out one christmas eve that mice had eaten into every christmas present stashed in our loft that contained chocolate! Even the wrapped ones in cellophane! Handn't touched the rest!
  Also, a mouse can squeeze through a hole as small as your little finger. You'll need to find out where they're coming in and seal up any holes or their little friends will keep visiting.
• Peanut butter works good on traps to.
  Iv just thought of a great new business RENT-A-CAT :-)
• I`ve used a humane mouse trap in my kitchen with chocolate as bait and been very successful. We take them to local woodland, don`t think I could do that for rats though!
• hi I am often subjected to invasions of this sort ( from unused allotment back of house). My council charge #20.00, it had no effect whatsoever, but I did get a good tip from the man who put the poison down, keep all water out of their reach, they will die quickly from thirst then you can easily dispose of them in the wheelie bin, all for free! This has worked for me every time. Good Luck9 to you not the vermin)lol
• Borrow a neighbours cat, the perfect hunter will immediatly trace the source of your problem via smell, and stand guard.
  There are electronic devices ( around Ј30) you plug into the mains that are supposed to make all the rodents and spiders vacate in a hurry. They work by sending high frequency pulses around the house wiring that upset them, dont know how effective they are, affect guinea pigs and hamsters too tho.
  HTHs dc
• I've had a problem, on and off, with rats and mice for the past 18 months. I've lived in the same basement flat for over 20 years and never had a problem previously.Someone told me to get a cat, which I did, but the rodents don't seem to care! He has killed a couple of mice but even he is scared of the rats. I think the problem is getting worse (I live in London). I now have poison (but only in the airing cupboard so the cat doesn't eat it) and a trap (also in the airing cupboard, which is where they seem to be coming in). Haven't tried the electronic device, I wonder where the rodents go when they get upset??
• Some of you may remember the holes I found in the bottom of my garden last year, well it wasn't rabbits as I had hoped!!!
  It was a flippin' big rat!!!
  I seen it yesterday sat on my neighbours patio table, eating bird seed. (I have put no food out since I found the holes) It then dropped off the table and ran behind their out building, I stood stunned and as I did.....another ran across the garden to the same building.
  I went next door to tell them about the huge rat I had seen, but only the children were in and they just laughted at me.
  I went back to my viewing spot and it was back again so I bravely took a photo so my o/h would believe me!
  I went around again yesterday and the parents were out again, also they have a dog so won't want to put down any poison, which I totally understand but what can I do? I am really really petrified of rats and now don't want to go outside in case I see one.
• You can ring the council and they can put poison in special metal boxes that the rats can get into but pets and children can't. Asking your neighbour to move the bird feeding onto a higher level does help a bit - although the rats will still come and clear any debris that the birds drop and if they can get up onto the feeder they will do that as well. We've had rats continually where we are in London - at least in part because of the nature reserve and the high level of rented property I'm informed by the rat catchers who have come out. We do have a compost bin but use a wormery now for all food waste (with a brick on top to stop them getting in) and if it gets too bad we call out the rat catchers...
• Thanks, we live on the egde of a village so I know there will always be wildlife! But I don't think my neighbours are really doing much to discourage rodents, I also should have mentioned that the outbuilding the rats were running behind was once an out side toilet. Most of us have had ours knocked down but they haven't and the door is always open as they keep their bikes in it, they are generally not very tidy and a bit of an eyesore on an otherwise very pleasant street, I think this is really the straw that broke the camels back!
• This thread I started may help you.
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=159477
  Bob.