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rodent control!

2,354 Views | 18 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by oldag941
jasonkidd
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I've been hearing some shuffling around up in the attic for a couple of weeks now and I thought it was just squirrels trying to get warm in the winter. I sealed up a spot in the roof where I thought was the entry point but today I turned on the lights in the garage and it seems that I do not have a squirrel problem but a rat problem.

Gross.

Can anyone recommend a reasonable company to handle this rodent problem. I searched and saw one thread that recommended Venus Pest Control. I will make sure and call and get an estimate from them tomorrow but was wondering if anyone had any good experience with anyone else?

I am not familiar with the whole "rodent control" process but we have dogs in the house so if anyone has experience company that is mindful of pets in the home is a plus!

thanks in advance.
jasonkidd
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I forgot to mention. I live in the Richardson/North Dallas area. Thanks.
culdeus
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AG
Attic party animals solved my issue for about $700. Other places quoted 3 to 5000. Have seen 5 figure bills from places as well.
PlanoAg98
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AG
I bought several packs (5) these and plugged them all over the house, garage, & attic. They serve as good night lights and I have yet to see any rodents inside. I live in Plano and my house backs up to woods.

Victor Mini PestChaser Night Light (3-Pack)

I also put several (4) of those black bait stations that locks the food in outside around the house. I check the station about every 2 weeks and each time, all 4 of the bait sticks are gone in all of them. After eating the poison the mouse/rat gets real thirsty and will exhaust themselves and die. My neighbor said they've found a few rats in their backyard.




DannyDuberstein
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AG
It's been a number of years, but we used Critter Control, if I recall. We sealed up/reinforced all of the potential entry points with metal flashing, steel wool, wiring, etc. except for one hole in the eve they created, where they basically put a one-way exit cage for several weeks before then repairing and reinforcing with flashing. At the same time, I put bait station boxes with both a snap trap and poison around the perimeter of the house (2 per side and a couple at our back fence by the alley). The all-in coast back then was about $700-800.

Ever since, I just keep up with the bait stations and we have not had a problem since. Since they can enter in the tiniest spot or just chew a new one, it's not really possible to completely proof the house, but my approach is to at least make it tough on them to find entry and to have enough traps/poison outside to kill them before they find one. Seems to be working.
akaggie05
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AG
Seal hole(s). Snap traps. A few trips into the attic to remove dead critters. Done. People pay thousands for this?

Also, avoid poison if you can. Dangerous for pets (including if they eat a poisoned rat out in the yard) and the rats also have a pesky habit of crawling into a very much inaccessible space (or falling down into wall cavities) and dying... leaving you with uncontrollable stench for weeks.
permabull
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AG
jasonkidd
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I called for a couple free estimates but oh wow. I had no idea it could get up in the thousands of dollars. I'll see what they say but if it gets that expensive I think I would just handle it myself.

Basically I need to just equip myself with copper mesh and some sort of caulk, any specific kind?

I assume it is easier to seal from the outside rather than moving all the junk in the garage and attic to get to the holes? Once all the holes are sealed just set up traps and check up daily. I was going to use kraft singles and rolled oats.

Any other suggestions?
aggielostinETX
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AG
hypeiv said:

I put a couple of plates of ratx in my attic and kept refilling it every few days. After about a week it wasn't getting eaten anymore so I patched up the hole they were getting in from.

Ratx claims to be pet safe, but my dogs are never in my attic anyway.
The worry is that your dog will eat a poisoned rat.
DannyDuberstein
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AG
Some metal flashing and matching eave paint can come in handy, especially around some of the common entry points (for example, where some of the roof pitches come down and meet each other or other parts of the roof).

Also take a look at your trees and taller shrubs, and trim any back away from the roof line.
DannyDuberstein
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AG
Deats said:

hypeiv said:

I put a couple of plates of ratx in my attic and kept refilling it every few days. After about a week it wasn't getting eaten anymore so I patched up the hole they were getting in from.

Ratx claims to be pet safe, but my dogs are never in my attic anyway.
The worry is that your dog will eat a poisoned rat.
The selling point of Rat X is that it's technically not a poison and is non-toxic for pets. Basically, it works by gradually coating the villi in the rats digestive system, which eventually disrupts the signal to the rats brain that it needs to drink water which leads to dehydration and death. So it's more of a mechanical process vs. a toxic process, and supposedly not something that harms a larger animal that eats the Rat X or a rat that died from it. The trick though is that it takes longer and is also not very effective if the rats have access to other food and water. They need to chow on this stuff for multiple feedings without much else mixed in.
powerbiscuit
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http://www.automatictrap.com/
bert harbinson
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AG
akaggie05 said:

Seal hole(s). Snap traps. A few trips into the attic to remove dead critters. Done. People pay thousands for this?

Also, avoid poison if you can. Dangerous for pets (including if they eat a poisoned rat out in the yard) and the rats also have a pesky habit of crawling into a very much inaccessible space (or falling down into wall cavities) and dying... leaving you with uncontrollable stench for weeks.
Agree.

I hired Attic Party Animals for my parents house in Dallas years ago. They did a good job of finding and sealing the entry points, but I had much better luck on my own with the traps after they stopped coming out to check (I don't think they removed any rats). I also had good luck doing this at my own house in Plano. And keep in mind you may not get the most cosmetic closure solutions from these companies...their job is to seal the holes, not make it pretty.
permabull
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AG
PooDoo
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AG
PlanoAg98 said:

I bought several packs (5) these and plugged them all over the house, garage, & attic. They serve as good night lights and I have yet to see any rodents inside. I live in Plano and my house backs up to woods.

Victor Mini PestChaser Night Light (3-Pack)

I also put several (4) of those black bait stations that locks the food in outside around the house. I check the station about every 2 weeks and each time, all 4 of the bait sticks are gone in all of them. After eating the poison the mouse/rat gets real thirsty and will exhaust themselves and die. My neighbor said they've found a few rats in their backyard.




Do they make noise? I can usually hear a high pitched squeal from the old devices that came out.
PlanoAg98
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AG
Quote:

Do they make noise? I can usually hear a high pitched squeal from the old devices that came out.

I don't hear anything. The package says pets/humans cannot hear it. My dog manages to be lazy all day long so if he's hearing anything, it doesn't bother him.
agcrock2005
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AG
My wife and I moved to DFW from Austin in 2013 and moved into my grandmother's house after she went to nursing home. Had been vacant for about a year and wasn't maintained well for a couple years before because she was getting old.

We started hearing crazy noises in attic and put trap up there. Caught 3 raccoons in 3 days. City came and got them. I called critter control and they informed us that the raccoons were coming in to feed on rats. We had about 7K worth of work done ( i didn't pay for that *****). They sucked out all insulation (hell I assume rats included but don't know), installed mesh everywhere, and even installed steel cages over all the whirleybirds on the roof and pumped in insulation that has a certain deterrent that they hate. They came back out for about a month and would find 1 or two in a snap trap then they were gone. Pretty crazy experience.

PS: Had a new roof put on so I'll part with the steel cages for very cheap if you'd like to install yourself.
Polish1979
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AG
Still going through issues at our house that we bought 2 years ago. Had multiple attempts. Got with Omega pest. They did a seal job around the house...after we had replaced the insulation etc from previous owner letting the infestations get out of hand. It's been much improved but still have issues from time to time. The good thing is that they warranty the work so if there is the occasional one that gets in they come back out and try to find the entry point.
Not Hotdog 03
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AG
akaggie05 said:

Seal hole(s). Snap traps. A few trips into the attic to remove dead critters. Done. People pay thousands for this?

Also, avoid poison if you can. Dangerous for pets (including if they eat a poisoned rat out in the yard) and the rats also have a pesky habit of crawling into a very much inaccessible space (or falling down into wall cavities) and dying... leaving you with uncontrollable stench for weeks.
Yep.

Had the same problem last year. Unless the problem is rampant and/or you have a dead one between the walls, no sense to spend a ton of cash. I heard them at night, saw some droppings by the furnace in attic and noticed their tunnels in the insulation. Spent $60 at Lowe's and got to work. Found that the big boy snap traps ($5/ea) set with Peanut Butter worked best. Caught 1 big one 2 nights later and then a smaller one a few days after that. Haven't had an issue since. I did put one of the electric ones that electrocutes them w/ Peanut Butter in the garage and then caught one coming in a few days later. My wife said the dog went ape s during the kids' naptime and she didn't know what the ruckus was. That guy got the chair. This led me to realize the access point was garage door rubber seal so I replaced it and no issues since..
oldag941
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AG
Hate to say it, but I used the old spring-loaded rat trap and some good ol' american cheese. Worked like a charm within about 30 minutes. Reloaded it and the cheese was still there weeks later; so I assume I took care of the problem.
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