Thread: rats

Pythons or Python poo in the ceiling?

Wongo tried WoodBorer's Python Poo for possums in his ceiling....

cheers
Wendy

Our vet told us to change baits each time we hear the little buggers as they develope an immunity to repeated doses.
There are plenty on the market so try another one, I have also found that Ratsak doesn't work very well, seems a bit light on.
Try going to a produce store as they have some pretty volatile baits for rodents, moreso than the local hardware shop as they are dealing with people/farmers etc who have large quantities of feed and consequently large quantities of rats.

you have got rid of them when the
maggots start dropping down the vents !

I've successfully gotten rid of rats by using ratsac. They also tend not to die in the ceilings as the stuff severly dehidrates them and so they go searching for water and generally die away from the nest. I've never had a problem with them stinking afterwards but then I've only had to get rid of them twice. If you're worried about the rats suffering then don't use it because, from what I understand, it's not a nice way to go.

With the ratsac - I don't just sprinkle it around but make little ratsac saches out of plastic about 2-3cm each side (like a little chip packet). Then, rather than just eating the stuff there - they can take large amounts away with them to the nest. Someone put me onto this and it seems to work real well.

Michael.
We are currently going through the same thing, again, we do it maybe once a year here in Darwin.
We use Talon. Not the lumps, but the granules. Works well for us.
We always lay them on ledges outside the house, out of the way of the dog, in the eaves, etc but somewhere close to where they are getting in.
I think the lumps of Talon (25mm cubes) are intended to work as Mike says about the ratsac packets, they carry them back to the nest, and that gets rid of more of them in one hit.
I have found half eaten lumps 6M away from where I left them, and as we have a dog we went to the granules.
Same as Ratsac, they go for water after. We tried rat traps a few years ago but not as effective.

As an aside, my mate had a $2800 plumbing bill for a problem caused by rats in his ceiling. He had used the black poly pipe for his water supply and the sods nibbled through the pipes in a few spots. He showed me the damaged bits after he had it all repaired. They had just nibbled through enough to maybe create a very fine mist.

Regards
Bill

Change your type of bait regularly (say each year) as rats soon learn what has killed off their chums and quickly learn to avoid it.

I reckon some ratsac mixed up with dirty old dripping from a roast or off a bbq would be a good mix but the fat will go rancid and pong in time. Nevertheless if I ever get to the stage of the commercial baits not working well I'll mix up a rats BBQ lunch just like this

Thanks everyone for the replies. We bought some poisons today with a different active ingredient from the one we are currently using but I'm not sure where to put it. I have been around the house but can't find any access points apart from vents at the gable ends of the house about 3.6m up a brick wall - can they climb that?? The only other idea I have is that they are jumping from an overhead branch and getting access under the first row of tiles - which could be anywhere There is no access to food inside the house as we have a new kitchen with fully sealed cupboards and pantry (plus 2 cats), so they must be getting food elsewhere - possibly from the compost??

Cheers
Michael

Rats can run up a vertical brick wall.

Lift your man hole cover inside the house and throw the baits all around the ceiling cavity

Originally Posted by echnidna

Rats can run up a vertical brick wall.

Lift your man hole cover inside the house and throw the baits all around the ceiling cavity

Thanks Bob, have done.

Cheers
Michael

Originally Posted by echnidna

Rats can run up a vertical brick wall.

Lift your man hole cover inside the house and throw the cats all around the ceiling cavity

IF you have double brick walls they are probably squeezing in thru a tiny drain hole somewhere - if they can get their head in, pretty much the rest will follow. If the house is brick veneer or otherwise has timber studs, they will chew holes thru the studs to make runways.

One traditional 'cure' for rats is a ferret - rats are absolutely terrified of ferrets, which can crawl thru the rat's runways - around the wharves the ratters used one ferret - just tossed into the warehouse without a feed - and watched the rats come boiling out, which is what the 20+ fox terriers were for. Even ferret droppings work & may be easier to get than python droppings - or maybe the kids need an interesting pet

Originally Posted by mic-d

plus 2 cats

Don't feed the cats for a week

"Blue Oats" from the pest exterminator people of your choice, placed on a tray just inside the manhole as they look the roof cavity of houses. These oats are deadly on rats and mice, and after the initial kill off, count how many you have put on the tray, and do a check every few days to count how many oats if any have been taken.

Be aware that will appear at dusk but in the event they have been poisened, they will appear in the daytime to get a drink get from somewhere, anywhere, and will attack a human that comes to close.

The active ingredients of the poison, dehydrates them as well as thinning the blood down over a few days, so that eventually their lungs flood with blood causing heart-lung failure, especially when they are exerted in water seeking activities.

Get your neighbours to stop throwing food out for birds or possums and such.

I think that ratsac mixed with sand and cement
fixes the rats because they cant crap after eating it and if you realy hate them you can add some small blue metal chips so that before it solidifies in the stomach it is a very painfull form of revenge.