I've got a RAT!!! (real) what do I do?

[gwEm]

If the entry point is relatively discreet, clean and not too messy structurally you can fill it. 

I find No More Nails on a pump gun does the trick. 

that sounds a good technique to stop Afghan's hairy beast re-entering

[Andrew W]

If you've got one of the old school traps I'd also make sure you have a blunt instrument, like a shovel, too. I say this because in my experience with mice the traps often don't kill them, so you may come down in the morning to find a badly injured but not dead rodent and you'll need something to administer the last rights. It's not pleasant and it sucks that this has happened to you but you can sort it given time and a methodical approach.

Also, don't use poison. Apart from the obvious risks of accidental contamination, if your trespasser does eat some, he or she will crawl somewhere inaccessible to die and that will not smell good. Had a friend who made that mistake. :(

Good luck.

[Afghan Dave]

I wouldn't use poison for exactly that reason, plus I want to know 100% it is out of my house.

I'm ready!

[Ian Price]

That's exactly what you need mate - a big tool to smash it senseless with.

I've had mice in my garage recently. They all appear to have gone now though with minimal force from me. I just got rid of loads of rubbish* that had been hanging around for too long.




*old rags, towels and jeans.

[Modular1]

You could sit in the quiet reading James Herbert novels and wait its return.

[MrBump]

We had a mouse when we stayed at a CenterParcs villa once.  He used to come out and see us once we put the kids to bed.

That story doesn't actually go anywhere. 

Except that I suspect that my little intruder was in all likelihood, much smaller than Dave's - a shame that I will take to my grave.

[Alex]

Killing the rat isn't the hardest part necessarily - finding out where it came from is key. I know we're all detached from death and cycle of life etc and all that stuff, but hey: it's a rat. There's a reason they're called vermin. In my book you're responsible for far greater misery if you buy cheap meat in a supermarket.
Cats and a dog work best, a dog might also help you find the entry hole (maybe a friend has a dog? especially terriers are good). We had cats and dogs (but only mice where we live). The cats are very effective at killing them, but dogs can sniff out the holes and lairs. Our dog loved to dig out them little mice in the vineyards where we used to live, bad surprise for the poor little suckers, I'll tell you ;-)  Otherwise I think you should go for a death trap and not poison. The last thing you want is a dead rat rotting away somewhere in the wall.

BTW did you know rats are physically incapable of throwing up? One of reasons poison works so well on them.

[Elliot]

Most commercially available poison contains a preservative that minimizes the smell of the corpse - although it works better with mice than rats.

[Kiichi]

Oh the smell of rotting vermin...
When I lived back with my parents we once had something die in the wall of the bathroom. The first day I though someone just had a really bad dump, but then it grew worse and stayed for weeks. Leaves a really nice taste in your mouth when brushing your teeth.

PS: Sorry Dave, but I laughed my ass off at some of the things said in this thread xD Your aura is really amazingly strong.

[Frank]

Start a poll - "what should Afghan Dave put in his rat trap?"

Or get a lot of traps and number them so we can have a sweepstake, £1 a go. Name your trap and if there's a dead rodent there in the morning you win the pot. Otherwise it rolls over to next week.

[Afghan Dave]

The winner gets...




Second a copy of...




Third prize:

[Philly Q]

Third prize:

Awwwww.......  




(I've already got one of those amps)

[Afghan Dave]

OK, I know what I'm giving Philly for his birthday!

[Nadz1lla]

We had Mice in our old Kitchen once, put out some humane traps with peanut Butter in them, and they went for them the moment we turned off the light and closed the door! Peanut butter really seems to milk their Guernsey.

[JacksonRR]

I have 2 domesticated rats as pets. They are a lot of fun with very little responsibility. Wild ones are indeed gross and should be handled with the same mindset as stray dogs/cats.

As far as catching them goes, they'd much rather move along the side of the wall and between things than risking it out in open space. They are climbers so don't think your dry food storage area is safe. My rats love the hell out of peanut butter, dry cereal, chocolate chips and whole peanuts but kernels of corn seem to be the favorite. I'd imagine peanut butter working best in a trap as they can't pick it off and run with it. They are the most active from dusk to dawn so I wouldn't be upset if you set some traps before work and didn't find a little bloody ball of furry stink in one of them when you got home.