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Unfortunately, I have a few rodents in my house that are causing monetary damage. I have tried to do my own trapping with a snap trap as well as the No kill traps. There was one death in a snap trap but that hasn’t eliminated the destruction. I need help.  I have two dogs. There is a lot behind me with a variety of people that are living in a shed not meant for human habitation. No water, toilet, kitchen. So o need to find a good pest control firm. All recommendations from this source have led to good outcomes. I prefer to live and let live, but rats in the house … not good. 

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The problem is that you really don't want to use a rat poison because if your dogs (or someone else's pet) eats the dead or dying rat the poison will kill them as well. I have successfully used a Rat Zapper that I brought with me from NOB. Unfortunately it was 'liberated' during a recent move but worked well when ever we have had a rat problem. I am sure you can get one or something similar online.

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My cat's decimated the entire rodent population around my place, including two giant Norwegian rats. Get some cats. Not the pampered ones- a street cat or two. Feed them a bit so they hang around but not so much that they aren't that interested in going hunting. 

If your neighbor's place is breeding vermin, an extermination of your place will only be short-lived. 

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Mudgirl and Mtn mama both excellent points. Thank you for you thoughtful replies. 
 

I like the idea of a cat. However I lack the imagination as to the outside cat being able to help me inside because of my pups. 
 

I know the problem is going to be ongoing if the lot behind me is unsanitary which is why I was hoping an exterminator (I hate the word and the idea as well) would be able to help me in an ongoing control effort. I don’t know what that looks like or if any of you are doing that who don’t have awesome cats to help you. One chewed a water line and consequently a large area was flooded. Unfortunately. It’s urgent. 

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10 hours ago, IkoIko said:

However I lack the imagination as to the outside cat being able to help me inside because of my pups. 

So you know your dogs won't be okay with a cat? Plenty of dogs and cats get along fine. If the cat is a tough street cat, they generally give the dog a hiss and a swipe, and the dog leaves them alone after that.

Also, cats are primarily nocturnal  hunters. If you bring the dogs to your room at night, you could let the cat into the rest of the house for the night.

My cat, while primarily an outside cat, also wanders into the house, so she's caught rodents both inside and out.

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10 hours ago, Jreboll said:

I once had some Coumadin pills. I crushed one and mixed it with peanut butter and found dead rats a few days later.

Coumadin is a blood thinner. If the dead or dying rat is eaten by a dog or cat, that animal will suffer a very painful death. Very irresponsible.

Some kind of trap is probably your best bet.  A catch and release trap is a waste of time unless you go a very long way away - the rat will just return to its 'home'. Many rat traps available, you just need to check them regularly to dispose of the dead rats.

A cat is a long term responsibility, but a good solution. No need to underfeed the cat - a good mouser will kill regardless. Check with the shelter store/ cat shelter next to Ladrones Vet Clinic for a rescue street cat. 

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10 hours ago, cedros said:

You could also try sticky traps placed in stragetic locations-they collect a vairety of bugs also.

Sticky traps are a very cruel way of trapping rodents. Sure, we don't want them in our homes, but causing extreme suffering isn't necessary.

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14 minutes ago, MtnMama said:

Coumadin is a blood thinner. If the dead or dying rat is eaten by a dog or cat, that animal will suffer a very painful death. Very irresponsible.

Some kind of trap is probably your best bet.  A catch and release trap is a waste of time unless you go a very long way away - the rat will just return to its 'home'. Many rat traps available, you just need to check them regularly to dispose of the dead rats.

A cat is a long term responsibility, but a good solution. No need to underfeed the cat - a good mouser will kill regardless. Check with the shelter store/ cat shelter next to Ladrones Vet Clinic for a rescue street cat. 

I won’t say you are wrong but the Coumadin is metabolized by the rat and I don’t see how it would affect the animal that eats it.

the Coumadin is lethal to the rat because the effect is weight related.  The same amount to a human would not have much effect.

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22 minutes ago, Jreboll said:

I won’t say you are wrong but the Coumadin is metabolized by the rat and I don’t see how it would affect the animal that eats it.

the Coumadin is lethal to the rat because the effect is weight related.  The same amount to a human would not have much effect.

Coumadin is similar to the chemicals in rat poison, it thins the blood and causes internal bleeding. The rat doesn't only eat enough to kill it, so what is left in its body is more than enough to kill a cat or dog.

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The rat doesn’t die right away. It takes several days for the drug to wear down the rat’s defenses and by then there is little left.

the half life of the drug is 40 hours and most of the effect is gone in five days. This doesn’t mean the drug concentration follows the same pattern.

the dead rats I saw appeared about 3 days after ingestion.

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5 hours ago, Jreboll said:

The rat doesn’t die right away. It takes several days for the drug to wear down the rat’s defenses and by then there is little left.

the half life of the drug is 40 hours and most of the effect is gone in five days. This doesn’t mean the drug concentration follows the same pattern.

the dead rats I saw appeared about 3 days after ingestion.

If you don't believe me, ask a Vet. Have them describe trying to save a desperately ill pet after it ate a dead or dying rat. 

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17 hours ago, Jreboll said:

The rat doesn’t die right away. It takes several days for the drug to wear down the rat’s defenses and by then there is little left.

Exactly. It doesn't die right away, it gets sicker and sicker. Making it slow and easy to catch by dogs and cats. It doesn't run around as normal and suddenly keel over dead.

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There are many foods and medications normally eaten by humans that are toxic for cats and dogs. There are some like Tylenol which if ingested by a mouse and then eaten by a snake will cause the snake’s death. However, we don’t call these poisons.  The following is a list of rodenticides that cause secondary poisoning.  Anticoagulants are low on the list.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_poisoning

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We bought some pet friendly traps from our fumigator along with some pellets to put inside the traps and put them in various spots around the outside of our property.  Your dogs and cats can’t get into them so you won’t have to worry about them getting into them.  We had an issue with rats in our carport getting into the car but some well placed traps have solved that problem.

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On 3/6/2022 at 2:15 AM, IkoIko said:

I didn’t know we have Norwegian rats here. 

 I'm not a rat expert, but I just looked up the various types of rats, and what I had appears to actually be called a roof rat or ship rat, not a Norwegian rat. They were huge, their bodies, sans tail, about 8 inches long, with long black hair. I live in Sayulita, right near the arroyo, and it said that type of rat is common in tropical areas, so you might not have this type of rat Lakeside.

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Thank you all for your thoughts. None of this business makes me happy. Of the choices, really I think the snap trap is the most humane, IF the device works and that’s all based on the position of the rat when it goes off. It’s awful when it happens, but the rat isn’t poisonous to other animals or dies slowly. I tried to keep up with them that way but they started to proliferate and I was falling behind and they were destroying appliances by chewing through a water line and flooding my kitchen and dining room. 

I went with a service that places black boxes with pellets around my house  the house was also sprayed . Again, none of which makes me happy. But I appreciate the good ideas and concerns and I can’t imagine any of your pups being walked where one of these rats would appear  my geography informed my choice a bit  pleae don’t be upset  but it was getting out of hand  thank you all agin  

 

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11 minutes ago, IkoIko said:

IF the device works and that’s all based on the position of the rat when it goes off

The thing about rats is, they're smart. Once you've killed a couple of them in the snap trap, the others avoid it, regardless of whether there is some attracttive food in it. That was my experience, anyway.

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On 3/6/2022 at 5:28 PM, mudgirl said:

Sticky traps are a very cruel way of trapping rodents. Sure, we don't want them in our homes, but causing extreme suffering isn't necessary.

What is wrong with being cruel to house breakers? I killl them shortly after they are stuck

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42 minutes ago, cedros said:

What is wrong with being cruel to house breadkers.

Rather shocking that this needs to be pointed out to you, but cruelty to any living creature is wrong. 

The rat is just being a rat- it isn't intentionally trying to harm you or your home. 

No one wants vermin in their home, but there are humane alternatives to getting rid of them.

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