Help we have rats. They are eating into our home. Does anyone have experience with sonic repellers? If so, please let me know what you think of them. We live out in the country and have been here for 16 years and suddenly this year we've been invaded. I don't know if it is the drought or what, but we're fighting a battle against the vermin. A couple have eaten through our flooring and we got rid of them and patched every hole we can find, but they are still chewing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We do NOT want these nasty creatures sharing our home. Thanks for any help you can give, we are particularly interested in anyone's experience with the sonic repellers. We've read of snake problems with using them (attracting snakes), but don't know if that is true or not. We'll consider and appreciate any advice offered. Thanks and God bless!

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), November 08, 2001

Answers

EEEEEKKKKKKKK! A couple of years ago we had a major rat problem. Going out to the barn at night was like being in the movie Ben. We still get a few now and then. We don't like killing things but when you go to the barn with a flash light and see hundreds of blue eye glowing in the light it's time to do something. We went to our farmers union store and bought something called "one bite". Then we put chucks of it around where the farm animals couldn't get to it and in about 4 days we started seeing dead rats. I was going out and picking them up and putting them in the trash so other animals couldn't get to them. It works really well.

-- Mary R. (cntryfolk@ime.net), November 08, 2001.

I hear rat terrier dogs go right after them and don't stop till they are all exterminated.Maybe you could look into that?

-- Sandie in Maine (peqbear@maine.rr.com), November 08, 2001.

Hi! Try getting a cat they do an OK job. A West Highland terrier (White, or Scotty) or a miniature Schazurer(Hope I spelled it right!) will do a far better job than any other animal to get rid of your rats.

-- Chandler (providencefarms2001@yahoo.com), November 08, 2001.

Cats and dogs will kill rats, but they have to be able to get at them. If the rodents are hiding inside the house framing, the dog or cat has no way to get at them. We have disposed of them in several ways. One, we put poison bait out where no other animal can get into it (in this old farmhouse, that means my kitchen cupboards because that's where the mice or rats are getting into, YUCK). Two, we have used small traps (commercial trapper traps, not the oversized mousetraps) with some success. And three, on one occasion at least, my husband shot a rat (with a .22) as it tried to escape past the water heater -- miraculously the water heater wasn't hit! We no longer have a cat, but when we did, she occasionally caught a rat; and one of our dogs caught a rat this summer. You may have to try a multi-pronged approach. Rats are smart and it's hard to get rid of all of them.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), November 08, 2001.

Thanks for the input so far, I do have dogs and they will and do kill them. We also have cats (3 inside and 1 out). However, it is the gnawing into our home that is giving us the creeps--that's why we were wondering if anyone had any experience with sonic repellers. We are using traps (with some success--mostly they just get set off). Trying the "one bite" sounds like a great idea--I'll check with our local farm supply stores and see if they carry that or something similar. I cannot abide with the filthy creatures. I'm an animal lover, but rodents don't qualify. Thanks for the advice so far--I really appreciate it. Anyone else with input, please post. Thanks!

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), November 08, 2001.

I tried a sonic rat repeller and was not impressed. The repellers are good in open spaces such as grain bins, not spaces where there is walls or sound deading material. I found that flowing air tends to send rats away, their worried that their odor will be carried to predators.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), November 08, 2001.

The one bit should do it .If you look in the archives there was a thread about a 5 gallon pail filled with water and a plate floating with food on it .The jump in for food and drown .Also they have metal box traps for mice that will catch a bunch at a time , not sure if they make it for rats too. Good luck and get some cats.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 08, 2001.

We tired the sonic repellers and got no results from them. We got the One Bite and it did the job.

-- Grannytoo (jacres40@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Sharon-have you had any new development in your area? A major upset, like a huge housing development or road configuration can cause the rats to move. I mention this because a recent road re-routing not far from me caused dozens of homes to be over-run with rats-the home owners won a judgement from the county to pay for the exterminaton costs for up to 5 years.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

No, Kathy, no real developments or anything. We've had a couple double wides move in across the road, but that's over a mile away and they really didn't disturb much land to do it. They just cleared enough for their homes. We live on 75 acres surrounded by 300+ acres of farmland owned by our neighbors. We live in South Central Virginia, the only thing I can figure is it is the weather. We're having a SEVERE drought. Worst ever here I think. It may have something to do with that. Whatever it is, I don't like it. YUCK. I do appreciate all of the responses you all are giving me. Those of you suggesting "one bite", will it hurt my animals if they eat a dead rat that has eaten the stuff? I have dogs, cats, goats, chickens, and guineas running around the property. I don't want any harm to come to them as a result. Thanks for all the help.

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), November 08, 2001.

Sharon, I have used the "Just one Bite" for years and never had a cat or dog find the dead rats. They usually just go into their holes and die. Had a real problem on year. I call it a real problem if I see one and I was seeing several run when I came into the barn. We bait in a safe place out of the reach of pets or livestock.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), November 08, 2001.

My neighbor has always used decon and has had cats eat the mice without a problem.I would put the bait where no other animals can get it and pick up dead ones as you find them .I think the chances of disease is far greater with them alive than the chance of something getting sick from a dead one.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), November 08, 2001.

We have 9 barn cats, 2 inside cats, and 1 terrier mix that's mostly outside. I haven't seen a mouse or rat in several months. They really do a great job!

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Peanut butter and Fritos in the snap-type rat traps work great here with no poison.

-- AyleeAnn (AyleeAnn@hotmail.com), November 08, 2001.

Sharon-

Can't offer any advice on the sonic repeller, but what kind of foundation does your house have? The guy who built my house had once lived in a house that had rat problems. My house is on piers, with wood floors, so the builder put squares of wire mesh under the sub- floor between the floor joists. He was determined to keep rodents out! He also sealed every single nook and cranny everywhere a pipe or conduit entered the house. If your house is of similar construction you might consider doing something like that. Hope you find a solution, and quick!

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), November 08, 2001.

Sharon last fall and this spring and summer I have had a platoon of them. Talked to county trapper, he gave me a "have a heart" wire cage trap, and told me to use large pellets of dog food as bait. I trapped all summer, when caught I drowned them. I finally have it under control. Also got a number of cats to help. On the bucket of water trick, run a tight wire through the center(top and bottom ends) of an empty salt container, large round cylinder type, make a rolling cylinder, coat with butter and press some delicious dog food small pellets onto it. Stretch it tight from one side of bucket to the other and fill with water. Now make a ramp from floor to within 3 inches of cylinder. Good trap, no cost.

-- susan norfolk/wy (susan_norfolk@yahoo.com), November 08, 2001.

We live along a row of houses in a semi-rural area. Couple of years ago we suddenly got an infestation in the whole neighbourhood. First thing to come down were the birdfeeders and compost bins, we all got rid of any food source. Opened up or took away any hiding places, cleaned away anything up against sheds or wood piles. We used snap traps to kill some of them. I have a dog, so the square poison bait was placed well up under the back deck out of reach. Took about 4 months, but with everyone's efforts we got rid of them. Main thing is to remove food sources and hiding places. Like someone suggested earlier, barricade where you can with the 1/4 inch hardware cloth.

On a side note, my Mom tells an interesting story about my great-great-grandfather in Hungary. My great-grandmother went out one night to get a bucket of water from the community well, and heard this wierd hissing sound. In the moonlight she saw hundreds of rats migrating into the village. The next morning everyone was in an uproar, rats everywhere. So grandpa (just shortening up on the ancestral spelling) and his brother caught a rat. Pinned it down, sliced the skin open on its butt, and slipped in a few peppercorns and sewed it shut. Cruel, but effective. They turned that rat loose in the middle of the village, and could hear it run down the road shrieking horribly. The rats immediately moved out. Soon people from the next village were complaining about this sudden rat infestation....

-Chelsea

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), November 08, 2001.

Get a live trap and bait it. Catch one rat. Spray paint it silver or neon yellow. Let it dry . Let rat go. It will run to the pack. They will consider it a freak and run away. It keeps trying to catch up. Poof! No more rat problem. Worked for my husband's family on the farm.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), November 08, 2001.

A few years ago our mouse problem dissapered, which was unusual we are always having to set out traps every month or two but for about six months or longer we didn't have a sign of a mouse. Finally wife came home one evening and found the reason sunning on one of her plant shelfs. Yep a large rattlesnake will keep the mouse down but for some reason she shot the snake, guess she perfers mice.

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), November 08, 2001.

We had rats in our dog kennels, eating the dog food. Only poison did the job, and we tried lots of other methods first. We put the poison in the roof rafters so the dogs could not possibly get it. Don't know why, but the rats all came outside to die. We found them (dead) around the perimeter of the building for a few weeks, then never again. Yes, a poisoned rat carcass can hurt your pets. Be very careful!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), November 09, 2001.

I know what you mean !! Several years back we had the same problem. You would lie in bed and hear these creatures eating at your house like Hansel and Gretal. We do have cats now and that has done away with the problem as far as I can see. Did receive one as a gift on the front porch the other day from the cats !! Mostly find small dead ones now from the cats. But....we did use the de-con type rat and mice killer stuff you buy at hardware stores. Used big rat traps and also the small humane traps with food inside. Only thing with them is then we had to drown the little monsters in a bucket of water inside the cage. Too dramtic for me to handle. When we first moved into this house it had been empty for a while and one day I opened the kitchen cupboard and a huge rat was sitting there grinning at me. Needless to say, I beat him to death with my rolling pin...would have made a great cartoon !! We also have taken the old .22 and sat in the barn at night with a small light and shot them also. There is nothing like going up to the barn to check on your animals and see a rat sleeping with the goats ! UGH !!! So I can relate to your problem. Happily we have not had much of a rat or mice problem in many years and hope to keep it that way too. ALSO, if you have any bird feeders very close to the house or on the windows move them away. They love the bird seed. When our girls were home they had raised doves on our enlcosed front porch only to have the rats eat the babies right out of the cage. So keep any bird seed or animal feed in cans with the lids on tightly too. Keep you barn grain in a tight can or old freezer with the lid down and pick up any food that the animals leave in their dishes even the cats and dogs in the house. Don't leave the dogs food sit overnight out for the little darlings to find to feast on while you are sleeping. Another horror story here for you...got up in those early days to use the (inside) bathroom and felt a furry little creature run over my bare feet..you guessed it... a rat !!! And I wonder why my city slicker sister won't come and visit me on the homestead ?? Hope this helps !! Good Luck !!!!

-- Helena (windyacs@npacc.net), November 09, 2001.

An old time rat killer is mixing concrete / flour together, put in pan, set another pan of water next to it. The rats eat the mixture, drink water, and die.

Patch holes with steel wool; they have difficult times going through this stuff.

Snake skins are a wonderful repellant; do you have a pet store nearby, or do you have a friend owning a snake? Maybe you can find one outside. Either way, snakes really are a deterrent from mice and rats hanging around. Good luck; hope this helps.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), November 09, 2001.

during a drought,, set some poisen water, someplace that only they can get to,, works great,, helps someone get rid of rats in a dump one year,, didnt have much rain, so this worked great, then we turned the dump upside down, ,and had sheriffs, and volunteers ready with .22,, wasnt hardly worth loading,, think only 3 were shot,, nothing else was seen

-- stan (sopal@net-port.com), November 09, 2001.

I have a funny story relating to the "sonic repellers". When I was a kid, we had a heck of a mouse problem. My mom went to the farm store, and asked for a solution. The salesman sold her this, sonic repeller, which was a little black box, that had a red light that flashed when plugged in. Was supposed to be the latest in technology, will drive all the mice, rats, insects, etc. away for a quarter mile, or some such. So she brings it home, and puts it on the kitchen counter. A few days later, she get up in the middle of the night, turns on the kitchen light, and (no joke) a mouse is sitting on top of the black box looking at her! As you can imagine, it was returned the next day. We still tease her about her "amazing mouse repeller" - it cost $50 or some exorbitant thing. Anyway, I would recommend one (except as a gag gift) unless they have improved a lot. Latest in technology you know. Marv

-- Marv (mcheim@lewiston.com), November 09, 2001.

If you can find where they run, get three pieces of 1 inch diameter PVC pipe about two feet long. Get a 'T' fitting. Assemble two pieces in a straight pipe with the third joined at a 90 degree angle. Lay this pipe along their run with the short piece up. Put the poison down the upright tube. The victums can get to the poison, but pets cannot.

-- Rickstir (rpowell@email.ccis.edu), November 09, 2001.

Portland Cement mixed with flour and corn meal mixed in equal amounts. Place where they can get to it and make sure they have a water supply near by. A lot cheaper than boughten stuff and works great. I store 2 boats and put that around them. Have not had a rodent in them yet.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), November 09, 2001.

We had a rat problem under our rabbit hutch, I mixed concrete and grits half/half and a little peanut butter on top, put it on a paper plate it works. also used rat bait.

-- Bruce Burdge (comfreybruce@richmond.com), November 09, 2001.

THE BEST AND MOST NATURALLY PRODUCTIVE METHOD I`VE SEEN IS IN AN AREA WHERE MY PARENTS LIVED.MY PARENTS HAD A COUNTRY STORE AND DUE TO THE AMOUNT OF FOOD WITHIN MADE IT A TARGET FOR THE RATS.PLUS BEING AN OLDER STRUCTURE WITH A ROCK FOUNDATION.GAVE THE RATS AN OPEN DOORWAY. THERE WAS A WEASEL IN THE AREA.I WAS VISITING MY PARENTS ONE TIME AND I ACTUALLY HEARD THE WEASEL CHASE A RAT UP THE INSIDE OF A WALL.A WEAZEL IS SO EFFICIENT AT HIS JOB.THAT HE ROAMS QUITE A LARGE AREA TO MAINTAIN A FOOD SUPPLY.MY PARENTS WOULD KNOW FROM NEIGHBOURS WHAT SECTION HE WAS IN.[ITS KIND OF LIKE THE USA GOING AFTER THAT BIN LADEN RAT...THE RATS DON`T HAVE A CHANCE] I SAW FIVE RATS TRY RUN ACROSS A ROAD AND YOU NEVER SAW ANYTHING AS EFFICIENT AS THIS LITTLE KILLING MACHINE.HE RAN OVER THEM ALL RIPPING THEIR THROATS OUT UNTIL HE GOT THEM ALL.NONE OF THE FIVE GOT TO CROSS THE STREET.IT WAS ALL OVER IN SECONDS.HE THEN DRAGGED THEM ONE BY ONE TO HIS LAIR.WHILE I STOOD ARMED WITH A SHOVEL AND MY MOUTH HANGING WIDE OPEN.I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT HE WOULD HAVE JUST GONE FOR DINNER BUT HE WENT SHOPPING FOR THE WEEK OR MONTH.BUT THE RATS WERE RUNNING AND KNEW WHAT THEY WERE UP AGAINST.IF THERE HAD BEEN TWENTY I DON`T KNOW IF HE WOULD HAVE STOPPED.IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDABLE. IF YOU COULD GET LANDS AND FORESTS TO TRAP AND RELEASE ONE IN YOUR AREA THEN HE WILL DO HIS JOB.A WEASEL IS SOMEWHAT SMALLER THAN A FERRET.HE GOES RIGHT IN ALL THEIR TUNNELS.I`M NOT SURE IF A FERET WOULD BE THE SAME WITH RATS.BUT YOU COULD CHECK IT OUT.REMEMBER IF THE WEASEL IS DOING HIS JOB IN THE WILD THEN THE RATS SHOULDN`T EVEN GET TO VISIT YOUR HOME. NOW AS FAR AS DOGS GO THE BEST RATTER IN THE WORLD WAS A BULL TERRIER IN GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS.[HOW ABOUT 500 IN 15 MINUTES I BELIEVE.BUT THEY WERE IN A CONTAINED AREA.] ANOTHER TRICK TO THE WATER BUCKET POSTS.SOME PEOPLE THREW OATMEAL ON TOP OF THE WATER.THE RAT LOOKS INTO THE PAIL SEES WHAT HE THICKS IS A SOLID BOTTOM WITH FOOD.THEN JUMPS RIGHT IN...GLURGGGGG! THEN THERES THE WARFERIN BAITS.THEY BLEED TO DEATH ONCE BITTEN BY ANOTHER RAT.BUT I DON`T LIKE THE IDEA OF A RAT DECOMPOSING IN THE WALL.I`D RATHER TRY TRAPS AND SUCH AND DUMP THE CARCASSES. A CAT OR TWO WOULDN`T HURT EITHER.

CORDWOODGUY

WEASELS RULE!

-- CORDWOODGUY (cordwoodguy@n2teaching.com), November 09, 2001.

If you have crawl space under your house,you might put some of the poison there, also.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), November 09, 2001.

I would not put poison in the house because it could die inside your wall and you would have to smell it quilt a while. when I was a kid my grandma use to get those big rat traps(mouse traps won't do) and she would drill a hole in one end of it and tie a heavy cord to it and then tie it to the wall LOL the rats were so big they would carry the trap off when they were caught in it. Anyway she used peanut butter. Those rats loved it and could not grab it and run they had to stay there and lick it off and that is how they got caught. Anyway my other granma use to get big buckets and fill them up half way with water and float a piece of bologna in it. She would sit a kitchen chair beside it. In the morning she would just dump the drown rat out in the woods. The watter has to be deep enough that the rat can't touch the bottom or be able to stand on his hind legs to reach the sides. If you put out poison put in in the barn or shed where other animals can't get to it. If they die inside and it smells bad a coulple of weeks it won't bother you out there. Good Luck

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), November 09, 2001.

Everyone that recommended the One Bite, is on the money. I have livestock and the rats are absolutely horrible!!! Our neighbor decided to trim their date palm, and all the tree rats that were living in it made their way to ours and a neighbors house. Getting rid of them without poison was not possible. Since my animals free roam, it was important to me that I use a bait that wouldn't have secondary effects on them, should they happen upon a dead rat and decide to eat it.

One bite was the most effective thing I have ever used. To aide it, I suggest placing large tubs of water where ever you place the bait. This poison causes their blood to not coagulate and makes them unable to retain moisture, so they die of thirst, basically. If you leave the tubs of water out, so they can get in, not out, they will drown, and it's easier to collect the bodies, this way, too. They will be drawn to the water, rather than go inside the walls to die.

I recommend spot treating the highly visible areas every 10 days. You will see that it starts to work in a few, but sometimes a few rats will eat the whole thing, and there are many that wont eat any of it. If you keep putting it out, the ones that get the first dose die, then the second dose gets the stragglers, and so on.

The ultra sonic repeller only repel money. They make it go away from your wallet when you buy them, the whenever you have to pay the electric bill because they don't scare anything else away.

-- Wendy A (phillips-anteswe@pendleton.usmc.mil), November 09, 2001.

Thanks and God bless all of you for your helpful advice. One of the critters ate his way in last night--I got up at 3:30 a.m. for a potty run and caught him eating out of our cat feeder in the hall. Eegads-- he's still in here, we've set traps, set out poisoned food (both concealed from our indoor cats) and have the cats on patrol. This is just too much. Our local farm store does carry "one bite", but they are out--guess others have been having trouble too. I found a dead one in the dog pen today. Good dog! We will get the "one bite" ASAP, we've set several snap traps, put out poisoned dinner delights for them, and have sealed all of the possible entrances we can find. I'll give you an update when we get rid of them. Thanks for letting me know the sonic repellers were not a good idea--I admit I was somewhat skeptical--they don't sound too scary to me and the rats are not easily scared to say the least. Thanks again for all of you who took the time to share your knowledge--also enjoyed the humorous accounts--I needed a little lift after the rat insanity. Thanks again!

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), November 09, 2001.

I can't read all the answers, so don't know if this has been mentioned. Usually rats come and stay because there is available water. The food is just an extra goodie. So you might want to figure out where they're getting their water.

Also, rats killed with One Bite will indeed make your dog or cat ill if they eat the rats. A solution that worked for my mother, and I'm about to try it, was related by someone on this forum, I don't remember who.

Mix up some flour with cement powder. Not concrete, just pure cement. Then leave it where your pets can't get into it, but the rats can. Apparently it gives the rodents a case of terminal constipation. My mom said it was quite effective. And if a dog or cat happens to eat the rat, it's just like eating some little rocks - no big deal.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), November 09, 2001.

>>>I`M NOT SURE IF A FERET WOULD BE THE SAME WITH RATS.BUT YOU COULD CHECK IT OUT.<<<

Ferrets won't catch anything. That is if you're talking about the pet store kind. They have had the hunting instinct bred out of them. They are more helpless than a cat or dog if left to themselves.

I use to have a problem with rats. I haven't seen one in a long time. I have two feists. But I don't know if they have anything to do with it. I have had them about 3 years. Anyone know much about feists? I would like to know others' experiences with them.

-- Kyle M. Murfreesboro, TN (kyle10500@webtv.net), November 10, 2001.

We had this problem two years ago, and not to overly scare you, but my husband and I got bit while in bed asleep. We had to go get tetnaus shots, and were worried about rabies for some while.

-- Sherrie R Clifton (BryrPatch35@aol.com), November 12, 2001.