Keeping rodents away?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

If a person does not have a cat how do you all advise keeping mice, rats, and other rodents away, as well as racoons, from both houses and apartments?

[Midnightrider]

I think cats are the only ecological option. Maybe some breeds of dogs (terriers) would also help, especially with the bigger stuff.

I had two hounds outside and prairie dogs (feels like I spelled that wrong) used to steal the food out of their bowls whenever they went to sleep. I shot a bunch out the window with a .22 mag but I couldn't make a dent, they're around by the hundreds or thousands. They also tore up the insulation under the hood of my truck.

However, when I moved to another state they were **** on racoons and possums, nothing stayed alive.

The only thing that seems to work on rodents is mass poisoning with terribly dangerous stuff. I hate cats, but I hate rodents more. Where I am now we don't have that problem but I can definitely relate to it.

[dsvirsky]

I'll have to ask the mice in my basement and my garage if they have any suggestions.

[Naperville]

What I have found while living in a large city or a suburb of a large city is that pets attract rodents. It is the pet food and food crumbs that are on the floor. You must immediately pick it up after they eat.

[Naperville]

Sticky pads in the home work well to trap mice. When the mouse gets stuck to the pad, you pick it up and toss it in the garbage.

[Aladinsane]

A local wildlife rehabilitator recommended this.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I think cats are the only ecological option. Maybe some breeds of dogs (terriers) would also help, especially with the bigger stuff.

I had two hounds outside and prairie dogs (feels like I spelled that wrong) used to steal the food out of their bowls whenever they went to sleep. I shot a bunch out the window with a .22 mag but I couldn't make a dent, they're around by the hundreds or thousands. They also tore up the insulation under the hood of my truck.

However, when I moved to another state they were **** on racoons and possums, nothing stayed alive.

The only thing that seems to work on rodents is mass poisoning with terribly dangerous stuff. I hate cats, but I hate rodents more. Where I am now we don't have that problem but I can definitely relate to it.

Why hate cats? They don't hate you.

[ChrisinHove]

In my experience, the problem with cats hunting is that they’ll gift you all sorts of unpleasant things, or parts thereof.

A Jack Russell Terrier, however, won’t leave anything behind. The problem is they won’t want to stop at rodents.

[The Mastiff]

I had a female rat terrier. She was the only one that killed rodents. My Jack Russell pure bred female had a rat jump at her to attack her and she had enough. Our cats were too lazy and well fed to bother killing rodents.

Glue traps are preferred in the house. I had a bad rat infestation about 15 years ago that seemed to like me. I finally put out some food for them. They got a bowl full off kibble. When that was finished off I replaced the kibble with rat poison. Within a few days my problem was gone and there have been no rat colony's here under my house since.

If you just put a batch of rat poison out they might not even touch it. You might be amazed how intelligent they are. They have lived off of and around humans si8nce we began making villages and cities and they always will be nearby. If you see one there are dozens and soon hundreds that you are not seeing.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Thank you all for these helpful answers.

Wow,, that's something about the rats and dog food. Did you have to use strong sanitizers to cleanse the area where the rats were, since they are full of disease?

[Naperville]

Thank you all for these helpful answers.

Wow,, that's something about the rats and dog food. Did you have to use strong sanitizers to cleanse the area where the rats were, since they are full of disease?

We did not leave bowls down. Cleaned them every day.

People in Chicago and big cities like to think they have mice from time to time, but I think they are just smaller rats. They are really aggressive. I've seen rats in Chicago as large as a suburban squirrel. Ran right past me and jumped into a garbage can, and I was not surprised at all, it's Chicago.

You would have to disinfect your whole building every week to be sure.

I feel for people living in large cities. I think a lot of them have PTSD and don't even know it.

[The Mastiff]

Did you have to use strong sanitizers to cleanse the area where the rats were, since they are full of disease?

In my case they were living in the crawlspace which was dirt floored, so no. When they started making raids through the dryer vent into the house , yes. It was because they leave trails of urine to find their way back and to help other rats find their way. On areas that had carpet I vacuumed as best as I could in case they left fleas behind. Fleas are another sort of trouble. Because of the dogs going out several times a day hitchhikers were an issue and once an infestation begins it's a battle that last weeks. One flea bombing of the house isn't enough. You can use enough flea spray to poison yourself and family and there will still be fleas. One dose of persistent spray will not be enough. Spray, vacuum , clean and repeat a couple times daily for about a week is what it takes to get rid of fleas.

All the pests that specialize in humans are a problem and can be tough to get rid of. Here in NC just walking across a nicely manicured lawn can cause you to bring back fleas, ticks, etc. To get away from that you would need a specially designed and built fortress and could never leave it.

[bearfacedkiller]

Kill rats without mercy. Snap traps, hav a harts or poison. Peanut butter is the best bait. Be careful where you store chicken food and dog food. I keep my chicken food in a galvanized trash can. Rats love chicken food. I learned the hard way. Rats are extremely intelligent so be prepared to get creative.

For mice look at the “walk the plank” traps. They are magic. They reset themselves so you can get multiple in a single night. Also, if you are putting it in an uninsulated place like an attic, garage or crawl space you can put washer fluid in the bucket to drown them and it doesn’t freeze and acts as a preservative so you don’t have to check all the time. I check the one in my attic like once a month.

[Scandi Grind]

Did you have to use strong sanitizers to cleanse the area where the rats were, since they are full of disease?

In my case they were living in the crawlspace which was dirt floored, so no. When they started making raids through the dryer vent into the house , yes. It was because they leave trails of urine to find their way back and to help other rats find their way. On areas that had carpet I vacuumed as best as I could in case they left fleas behind. Fleas are another sort of trouble. Because of the dogs going out several times a day hitchhikers were an issue and once an infestation begins it's a battle that last weeks. One flea bombing of the house isn't enough. You can use enough flea spray to poison yourself and family and there will still be fleas. One dose of persistent spray will not be enough. Spray, vacuum , clean and repeat a couple times daily for about a week is what it takes to get rid of fleas.

All the pests that specialize in humans are a problem and can be tough to get rid of. Here in NC just walking across a nicely manicured lawn can cause you to bring back fleas, ticks, etc. To get away from that you would need a specially designed and built fortress and could never leave it.

I got lucky with my last run in with fleas, for some reason they had no interest in leaving the one room in the garage. I pulled out everything that was on the floor, vaccumed thoroughly 3 times a week for 3 weeks, and eventually managed to scrub every last corner of floor with hot soapy water once or twice. Because it was a small enough space I got away without any need for chemicals, but it took a lot of vaccuming and a lot of floor scrubbing.

[Zbec27]

Kill rats without mercy. Snap traps, hav a harts or poison. Peanut butter is the best bait. Be careful where you store chicken food and dog food. I keep my chicken food in a galvanized trash can. Rats love chicken food. I learned the hard way. Rats are extremely intelligent so be prepared to get creative.

For mice look at the “walk the plank” traps. They are magic. They reset themselves so you can get multiple in a single night. Also, if you are putting it in an uninsulated place like an attic, garage or crawl space you can put washer fluid in the bucket to drown them and it doesn’t freeze and acts as a preservative so you don’t have to check all the time. I check the one in my attic like once a month.

Best mice traps we've ever used on the farm. We started out making them with clothes hangers and pop cans years ago. I can get 20-30 mice per trap in just a couple days out in my barn when the temps start to dip below freezing.