Advice about Rats & Mice
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Oct 2010
Rats are climbing a 6-inch thick cinnamon birch to get to
my deck. I want to install a baffle to stop them from
climbing the tree. An internet search did not turn up much
except some DIY solutions which is not a solution for me.
Anyone know of a good solution to stop rats from climbing a
tree? Thanks!
AA
I doubt you can stop rats from getting onto your deck.
You need to figure out why they are doing it in the first
place. Pet food? Water?
Get rid of what is attracting them and they will go
somewhere else.
We have a compost heap and until we bought a plastic
container and put wire mesh on the bottom, they would visit
(along with raccoons) quite often. They have beady red
eyes! :( Even after that they were still hanging around
because of a neighbor's peach tree.
I haven't seen any rats though since we got our outside cat.
We've never left cat food outside, but I used to keep water
on our deck. The raccoons love that. I'm now bringing it in
every night and putting it back out in the morning. Our cat
will often sleep in until about 4-5 AM and then go out
hunting.
You can't get rid of the raccoons. It is a continual battle
of wits. Lately I'm winning. :)
Cat Lover / Rat Hater
I have several inexpensive solutions for you. Wrap the
trunk of the tree or branch with 10-12'' of aluminum. (Not
foil, it's got to be a strip of 1/16" thick or so.)
Funnel shape is best. Large opening side toward the
ground or trunk of the tree. Rats' claws can't grip the
aluminum and they will slip off.
Second solution get vines with thorns, blackberry, rose or
thistles. Wrap the branch with a lot of it. The rats
won't cross. For this to work it has to be thick or dense.
Third, get rat traps. Use French bread coated with peanut
butter.
Forth, get a cat. The smell of cat will keep the rats
away.
FYI: There's a rat population explosion this year. I
caught 11 in one week.
ANON
Sept 2010
I periodically get a small mouse infestation in the kitchen where I keep grains
&
beans (mostly in glass jars). While mice traps set with PB are very effective
once their presence is announced, I'd like to avoid the problem in the first
place. I have no idea how the mice get in. Any suggestions about how to block
access?
no mouse in the house
I had the same problem. An exterminator gave me this tip. Mice can squeeze
through the tiniest holes. He suggested steel wool (the type that comes in a bag
from the hardware store, not SOS pads). Stick fluffed out steel wool in any holes
you see around the outside of the house. Mine were getting in through a hole
made for the TV cable. I also stuck the steel wool in small holes in the inside of
the house, near the baseboards (once again a hole made for cable wires).
Apparently mice hate steel wool.
Mice free
Have you considered getting a ''garden cat''? There are many
cat rescue groups in the east bay (Fix Our Ferals, Island
Cat Resources and Adoptions, Feral Cat Foundation in
particular) that are all in need of finding suitable yards
for feral/homeless cats that are not tame enough to be
indoor pets. Giving a home to a couple feral cats in your
back yard would dramatically reduce the number of rodents in
the surrounding environment, so that they would stay away
from your house, and not come close to getting inside again.
Even if outdoor cats are fed they will still hunt rodents.
No mice in my yard or house
June 2010
We live in a charming board and batten redwood house - all
of our walls are raw redwood. The attic isn't insulated.
Nothing is insulated. There were rats when we moved in and
we've tried hard to curb this problem. But the house often
smells in some rooms - a smell i can only describe as
''ratty''. It's just gross - might be rat urine soaked into
the walls or ceiling, or the smell of droppings or nests.
It's NOT a dead rat smell - we've had those before and I
know they do dissipate after a while. This smell I describe
has been with us off and on for years. It comes and goes and
is really awful sometimes. Now we have a baby and it smells
near her crib.
Does anyone know what this smell might be? And how to get
rid of it?
Is it unsafe?
There are still a lot of droppings in the attic (tight
space, but we could get up there to vacuum them). Any advice
on cleaning products? I thought of baking soda but if we put
it in the attic it would come right through the batten
cracks into our bedroom (and our walls are all dark brown
wood...).
Thanks in advance for all of your help!
Sensitive snout
We had a problem with rats in our attic as well. I suspect
that rat urine built up over time can lead to significant
decay and mold. I would recommend hiring Rat Patrol, or
Pest Control, and take serious measures to get rid of
them. You can't cover up the smell if they keep coming
back and ultimately it is a health issue. My family was
bombarded by rat mites and that was absolutely horrible.
Good luck!
anon
My heartfelt sympathies with you regarding the rat smell. You are
probably
smelling rat urine which has saturated the flooring or subflooring. I
too have
a good sense of smell and I have become somewhat of an unwilling expert
on
this issue.
The smell gets worse in hot weather (just like perfume on a warm body)
or
whenever there is a new rodent invasion.
For resolution, the key is two-fold: replace urine soaked flooring and
block
future access (called ''exclusion'' in pest control parlance.)
GOT RATS is my current preferred pest control outfit. Feel free to
call/email
me for guidance.
Leah
Oct 2009
My refrigerator just died, and when we pulled it out, the
cord had been chewed (lucky we didn't have a fire!), and there
were little pellets under it everywhere that looked suspiciously
like poop. Does this mean I have mice in the kitchen?! If so, how
do I find out where they are getting in, and how do I get rid of
them? I have cats, so I don't want to put poison out. I haven't
looked under the nearby stove, but I'm afraid I might find the
same thing there. Is there such as thing as a humane mouse trap?
Anon
Call Alameda County vector control (if you live in Alameda
county). They are fantastic, come at no charge, and help you
deal with it-- figuring out how to get rid of the mice, the
best way to do clean-up, as well as preventative measures. We
thought we only had 2-3 mice, it turned out to be 30. We
discovered it when an unopened Mother's Cookie Bag (foil!) was
eaten through, two-thirds of the cookies were gone, and lots of
little black poop was around it. I think we worked with someone
with the name of Tabe Gipson? Knock on wood that we're done
with mice now!
happily mice-free for a year now
you may have rats, or big mice (please don't shoot the messenger)
... my cat has always been a great hunter, but she is old now and
slacking off... mice poop under sink here.. bummer! stuff steel
wool in cracks/holes/around pipes under cabinets, leading to
lower levels (look inside cabinets, behind fridge, etc.)
mice don't usually chew through anything metal... and get some
mouse traps... enjoy your game of cat and mouse.
-O.
are you sure it's mice and not rats?
poop looks the same but rat's poop is 3-5 times as big.
if it's mice, your local hardware store will have humane, non-lethal traps (a baited,
trap-door, metal cage) that you can bait with crackers or peanut butter. if it's rats,
they are way smarter and will not go near a trap unless it's been around for a long
time
and has lost it's human scent. the only way to get rid of rats other than poison is to
find the holes they are coming into the house thru and block them with sheet metal
that they can't chew thru.
the above advice is based on my dealings with rats in a few of my past homes.
good luck
rat in a hat
We would get mice every winter. One year we ended up with a
whole family and had little baby mice running around - not fun.
Since we have a bulldog, we couldn't use and didn't want to use
poison. After much trial and error, we discovered how to
discourage the mice from coming/staying in our home. First, do
all the things that are recommended like keeping your food stored
properly, keeping hedges away from close to the house, making
sure there aren't any holes that would allow the mice into the
house (they can fit into extremely small spaces), etc. But the
one big thing that seems to have really helped is using lavender
oil mixed in water and spraying that around the house. We use
the little fillable spray bottles you can get at Walgreen's for
like $2 and have gotten lavender oil various places including
Berkeley Bowl or Rainbow Grocery. The mice don't like the strong
smell and will leave. We spray around the house both inside and
outside. The dog can't eat it and it smells nice, too. We spray
all around the kitchen, under cabinets, around vents and the
edges of the house. You have to respray occasionally as it does
dissipate. But on the occasions that we hear/see signs of mice
in the house, I spray the next day and the mice don't come back.
Sharon
Aug 2009
I am writing in hopes that someone in this group can explain what
to me seems like bizarre and unusual events. A week or so ago I
was walking near 4th St. around 6 p.m. and came upon a rat on the
sidewalk. The animal appeared to be not quite full grown,
grayish in color, coat in good shape but clearly not well. It
was upright but did not really want to move and when it did, it
walked as though injured or perhaps with a neurological problem.
This in and of itself did not seem that unusual- I thought
perhaps it was an escapee from the nearby Vivarium. But, the
next morning, I went to pick someone up in the Elmwood and there
in the driveway was another rat, slightly larger, in the same
''condition'' as the one I had seen the day before. The next day I
heard from a friend that lives in Albany that her dogs were
engaged with a rat in their courtyard. So that makes 3
occurrences in 3 days, miles apart. In all the many years I have
lived in this area, I had never seen a rat before. Can anyone
offer an explanation for these possibly neurologically
compromised animals appearing all over the east bay? Or is this
just coincidence from the twilight zone?
perplexed
rats do live in abundance throughout the bay area, including areas you mentioned.
especially within 5 mile radius of all restaurants, and regardless of how upscale a
neighborhood is, there are many many rats!!! they are smart, shy, and have survival
instincts, so they don't often show themselves so the ones you did see probably was
because they were not well, out and confused, etc.
yuck, sorry
If dogs are messing with a sick rodent, that could put them in
grave danger of ''secondary poisoning''. The rats you've seen are
behaving as if they've been poisoned (and it is a horrible, slow
death...they lose their natural tendency to hide undercover, come
staggering out in broad daylight and just sit there shivering or
convulsing until they die) which could be passed along to dogs,
cats, and other predators who might the poisoned rat!
http://www.dogsymptomscure.com/dog-rat-poison-symptoms.php
If you're seeing them around citywide, it may be there's a
city-run poisoning campaign. Worth asking - and keep an eye on
those dogs, because the poison could have a delayed reaction on
them.
careful
I suspect the ''neurological compromise'' may be poison, that's
why you're seeing them out in the open and acting strange. I've
seen rats in many different locations in Berkeley since I've
lived here - 26 years. (An aside: the huge downside of using
poison is that raptors who eat these rats are in turn killed).
Not surprised
They've eaten rat poison. That's how rat's act when they're dying from it. Why you had
coincidental sightings I don't know. Perhaps rat problems are on the rise and
businesses are putting out the poison. Or perhaps it was just an odd coincidence.
Local
Please call the county Vector Control agency at(510)567-6800.
This is the sort of early-warning that they need to hear about.
It was mass bird die-offs that were the first warning of Nile
Virus in the U.S., so this sort of thing is important.
Thanks for noticing!
I was just considering the same questions. We have had many run
ins with rats in our North Berkeley home -- both inside and
outside, over the years. And everyone else I talk to (literally
EVERYone in our neighborhood) has had problems with rats in the
basement, attic, house, etc. I quite regularly see them outside
in trees, and occasionally see them during the day. Only once
did I see one during the day that looked ''drunk'' -- maybe
similar to your siting. I imagine this could be because so many
are being poisoned as so many people are trying to deal with
them. I was just talking to neighbors about this yesterday and
someone commented that increased composting efforts have
increased the rat population here. Whatever the cause, I
certainly wonder if and how the city is dealing with this
problem. I keep hoping for the time to investigate this
further. And by the way, getting rat MITE bites is also a
consequence of the enormous roof rat population and a big public
health problem!
I share your concern
Although I was highly amused to contemplate the emerging
phenomena of the killer zombie rats on narcotics or
hallucenogenics, in actuality, it is probably something more
prosaic. Rat Poison. Hopefully no pets or wildlife acceptable to
humans get into it...
rat bastard
There are rats everywhere in our area. The rats you sighted
probably ingested poisoned bait that had been left inside a
business or home by an exterminator or property owner. The rat
went outside to die. I encountered a rat outside a business on
San Pablo Ave in Albany and couldn't get the owners inside to
do anything. I waited nearby and made sure no kids came near
it. Finally the poor thing shuddered and died and the only
thing I could do was nudge it under a tree grating. I would
have put it out of its misery if I had the means but I just
made sure no one got near it until its demise. Wish there was a
better way to get rid of them.
Anonymous
There has been a rat population explosion. Tie this together
with budget cuts for city/county funding for rat control no
wonder you've seen several rats.
In our neighborhood this has become more than just a nuisance.
Rats are destroying property, they've eaten the wiring in cars
and chewed holes in homes and are destroying what's in attics
and basements. Since the beginning of summer my neighbor and I
caught 17. Some of these rats are so big traps don't kill them
and the run off trapped in the trap.
My concern is the diseases rats spread and they cause asthma.
Do your neighbors a favor if you see a rat try and trap it.
One rat over the course of several months can have 100-400
offspring.
- Anon
Sept 2008
Our next-door neighbor is a very nice older man who lives on
what is apparently an extremely limited income. His back yard
is towering with blackberries and other plants - it likely
hasn't been gardened/landscaped in decades. Sometimes, if a
neighbor mentions the yard creating problems (as it does for all
of us around him), he'll painstakingly cut back the blackberry,
which of course roars back in no time. He is not physically
capable of doing anything more permanent, and I doubt he has the
money to hire anyone to clear it. Both of his immediate
neighbors are single mothers, and realistically we have neither
the time nor the money to do it for him, either.
Our cats frequently catch and deliver rats to our house from his
yard (gross - plus we had a rat mite infestation this year that
was no picnic), and we have a persistent raccoon problem, with
the raccoons getting in through our ''locked'' cat door day and
night.
Can the City of Berkeley help us? County vector control? Some
senior services agency? This is a health and safety issue at
this point. Any advice welcome.
Rocky raccoon's unwilling host
You might want to let your neighbor know about Rebuilding
Together, the national nonprofit that used to be Christmas in
April. Depending on what city you are in, Berkeley or Oakland,
contact your affiliate and get an application. The national
website is rebuildingtogether.org. Twice a year this group helps
low income homeowners fix up their homes (or do it for them)
using volunteers and often licensed contractors. If you put it to
him nicely, and often to help him with his application (computer
skills are helpful) I'm sure this would be better than nagging or
otherwise making him feel like he ''can't keep up'' with the
demands of home ownership. When the workday rolls around, you can
also help or enlist some of your neighbors to put in an hour or
two. They'll take care of the rest.
RT volunteer
May 2008
I am 3 months pregnant and besides getting up to go pee
frequently my husband and I have to get up 2-3x per night because
our cats drag in mice/gophers and play with them(fight over them)
at the foot of our bed. We get up each night to put them in the
outside trash or else they will lacerate them on our carpet. As
many know, repremending cats doesn't work, so we try giving them
as little attention for it as possible- although we see no
difference. We have tried to lock them out of the bedroom but
they cry all night in from of the door which is also disturbing
to our sleep. Does anyone know how to get cats to stop bringing
us dead rodents? It is beginning to really disrupt our ability
to sleep well. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
C.
Since cats are obligate carnivores it is wired into their brains
to catch those rodents. It also seems to be wired into them to
bring their prizes to the ''large cats'' who supply their food
morning and night. The easiest way to solve this problem is to
install a cat door so you can lock them in at night. We use one
that has an in-only, out-only or in & out feature. You just
slide the buttons to adjust their access. The cats will also be
much safer if they're in at night. They won't be happy at first,
but if they get fed as soon as they come in they will adjust. AND
since you are pregnant either wear rubber gloves when you clean
their litter boxes or have you husband do it. Many cats carry a
parasite called Toxoplasmosis that rarely affects their health
but can be dangerous for your impending baby. It's shed in their
fecal matter.
Jenny, Registered Vet Tech
You may receive a lot of the same suggestion, but here goes:
have you considered eliminating your cats' access to the
outdoors? Cats are so destructive to the urban/suburban
environment plus it cannot be good for you (pregnant) or your
future children to be exposed to the kinds of nasty things the
cats routinely bring into your home, be it a carcass or other
less visible organisms/bacteria.
To further consider this idea, or prior to dismissing it out of
hand, I suggest that you read up on some of the benefits that
indoor cats experience including longer, healthier lives, AND
some of the environmental benefits of keeping cats indoors,
such as not impacting wild life.
Erin
Either lock the cats inside the house for the night, or, if
they sit and cry by the cat door, outside the house for the
night. (They may cry outside too but at least you won't hear
them as well.) There is NO reason to put up with that at ANY
time, least of all when you are pregnant!
anon
maybe not let the cats out at night so they're not bringing their
playthings into the
house to begin with?
Anonymous
What about putting in a board to close the cats in the house at
night? Then they can't get out to get the rodents.
Wishing You Luck
Answer #1: Obvious -- close your cats into the house at night.
They'll hate it, you'll hate it. They'll get used to it eventually.
Answer #2: Do some kind of eradication/poisoning of rodents in
your yard so that they're not so prevalent. But that might poison
your cats if you continue leaving them out.
Answer #3: See # 1.
Answer #4: Not so much an answer, but advice: one of these days,
you'll have a live rat in your stove or refrigerator, like I did.
Then you'll have to replace those appliances, but before your do,
your whole house will stink of dead, burning rodent carcass which
is just horrible.
Anon
Jan 2008
In the last two months, we've had a massive rodent problem in
South Berkeley. The rats have burrowed underground and chewed
through the wall of our old garage. We called in vector control
who recommended clearing out more boxes, patching up holes and
wire netting vented areas, which we've done, but we're still in
rat hell. Also, we assume that anything that's been exposed needs
to be thrown away and even a bleach solution to clean an item is
not sufficient, right? Even though we have a toddler and a dog,
we're considering using poison and even calling in an
exterminator which I imagine will be quite expensive. Any
experience like this?
Frustrated Family
We had a similar problem in the hills. I reccommend the
ratzapper before resorting to poison, though.
http://www.ratmousezapper.com/.
They also sell them at the Ace hardware at San Pablo and Central.
It's a little bit twisted, because you have to train the rat to
eat from the thing, and then after you train them- you turn on
the power, and zap- dead rat. If you have a toddler, you'll
need to find a place to put it where it won't be disturbed, but
a normal place the rats often go.
melissa
Have you thought about adopting an outdoor cat or two? I work
with a non-profit group called Fix Our Ferals
(http://fixourferals.org), we help people humanely reduce the
feral cat population in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties through
trap-neuter-return (TNR). We often find cats in places where it
is too dangerous for them to live, and need to find new locations
for them after they have been neutered, vaccinated and given
rabies shots. The re-location process takes approximately 3-4
weeks, then you just need to feed the cats. Even if well fed, the
cats will hunt rodents in their territory, they will also act as
a natural deterant to the rodents just but their presence. Feel
free to email me for more information.
Lisa
I feel your pain! We have had a really bad rat problem in our
garage (also chewed through and growing their own city in there,
while destroying ALL of our stuff). For a long time, I tried to
be PC about the whole thing and not use poison (also have a
toddler and dog) but..finally couldn't take it anymore and called
Burge Pest Control. .They put bait boxes in the garage...the bait
boxes do not look easy for people/dogs to get into (but because
of the abundance of rats, I'm not spending any time in there
anyway!) and they were placed in out of the way places since rats
are discrete travelers. Then the exterminator comes and
periodically replaces the bait (the sign that they are gone is
when the bait is no longer being eaten, apparently). So far
its been successful. Burge's number is 888/292-pest and I found
them to be really conscientious about the presence of kids/pets.
HazMat suit no longer needed
We had a problem with rats and a big possum living in the
basement of our old craftsman house. Rat Patrol came to our
rescue, set traps, closed up the holes and we haven't seen a
rodent since (that was 3 and a half years ago). They were very
nice too - Rat Patrol. Oakland, CA. 510-628-0958
Rat Free in Rockridge
We have recently found that we have the same problem. However, we
are renting and the landlord has done everything necessary to rid
the house of the rats. We found three LARGE rats, dead, in the
downstairs garage. Then noticed that they had been chewing
through boxes, lots of poop, etc.
THe advice we got was to patch the holes around any sources
leading into the garage. (They aren't in the house; upstairs.) We
contacted Gring Pest Control in Albany and they sent someone out
to bait the crawlspace under the house and then they offer a
monthly service. (I believe it's around $45 p/month) and they
place these box/traps on the outer perimeter of the property and
come and empty them monthly. This is quite the norm for our
neighborhood I found out (in the El Cerrito hills). And a few of
our neighbors have said that it has eliminated problems they were
having before.
Also, just to share...We had to find a pest/waste removal company
to come and do the clean-up. They insisted that we in NO WAY
should attempt to clean up the feces as it is EXTREMELY toxic and
cannot be cleaned with normal household cleaners (bleach, etc.)
and there are special chemical precautions which need to be taken
(protective masks, clothing, etc.) So, I would NOT recommend
doing the cleaning yourselves. We were quoted around $300 for the
whole clean-up job. Which covers the basement, crawlspaces, the
furnace and all of the garage. They take away dead rodents and
clean all the mess. I think that's a fair price to pay for peace
of mind!
Best of luck!
Angela
Oct 2007
Help!
We have rats living in the crawl space under our house. I don't think they have been
there long (part hopeful thinking, partly because until a few months ago we were
working on the house) and I need them gone. I am pretty sure that there is only one
way in and out of the crawl space-- they ate through the vent screen. We can of
course replace this screen, but what I would like to do is get them out, and then
replace the screen.
So-- how do we get them out? I want to exhaust all possibilities before we go to
traps and poison-- but will go there if I have to. What would be best would be if I
could 'annoy' them out, so that they will move their brood to a more desirable
location (my neighborhood has many locations that would be popular with the ratly
set).
I have heard of using ammonia soaked sheets to annoy racoons out of confined
spaces-- has anyone had any luck with this or ANY other rat annoyance technique?
Thank you for ANY suggestions
Can't live with R-A-T-S
With all of the diseases that rats carry, we had little patience
for 'annoyance' techniques. Put 'rat disease' into Google and
learn all about them. We called Richard at Employ Exterminators
(see references on the BPN website) and he's been great. We had
some stubborn rats but I think we're making progress. It's
horrible and I can hear Rachel Carson yelling at me from her
grave. But you gotta do what you gotta do to protect your family...
Anon
I wouldn't wait too long to take a more aggressive measure,
although I understand your reasoning for wanting to get them
out -- humanely, before closing the hole. We had rats come in
our crawl space, crawl up the walls (if they're roof rats,
they'll usually head towards the attic to make a nest), nest in
our attic, and then we were attacked by rat MITES (it was awful
as you can imagine). You may want to try to lure them out with
food. They like fruit and cheese and peanut butter. Maybe you
could trap them somehow and then let them go? Our neighbors
used Eagles Wildlife Service. They remove animals humanely: 209-
324-1853. Good luck!
anon
Could you borrow a neighbor's outdoor cat and stick him under
your house for an hour? I bet that would scare the rats out
pretty quickly.
If you've got no willing neighbor, you could adopt an outdoor
feral cat for your yard. Fix Our Ferals is an org that could
point you to some adoptable feral cats.
I took in two young ferals off my street and they dispatch all
rodent invaders very quickly. I spent time with my ferals so they
are now socialized, but they are happy being outdoor,
do-as-they-please, cats. They are very low maintenance and the
most natural form of rodent control.
Love my furry rat controllers
You are going to have to trap or kill them. Either hire a
trapper to get them (they may be able to get them live and move
them), or trap them yourself. You could use humane traps (have-
a-heart) and then release them far from your home (over a mile
or more), or buy the snap traps that snap quickly and kill them
in a second. Rats are not endangered and trapping and killing
them quickly is not that bad. (Never use the traps where they
just stick to them. How cruel!)
Andi
May 2007
I have a dead animal stuck under the house or in the wall and
we can't get to it. It is stinking up the rear of the house.
It seems to be stuck in an inaccessible area. The handyman
tried to get under the house, but there wasn't enough
clearance. Can anyone give me advice on how to deal with this
or who might be able to deal with this?
Miko
The smell will dissipate in a few days. I know it's horrid, but
if no one can reach the animal, you'll just have to wait until
the carcass dries out. We used some strong Glade or Airwick
plug-in air freshener for a week or so. Use your handyman $$$ to
find where the rat may have entered, and seal up the place.
Now rat-free in Montclair
Sept 2006
We recently inherited a couch which had been in storage for a
while and seems to have been a mouse playground. We found lots
of mouse droppings (and inferred mouse urine) under/between the
cushions.
Aside from vacuuming them up, what else can we do to get it
clean? It's a Macy's couch upholstered in a dark brown cotton
velvety fabric, and most of the cushions have a sticker that
says ''Stainmaster'' on them. The cushions have zippers so I
guess I could take them off and wash them (won't they shrink?),
but what about the fabric on the arms and back?
And should I be concerned about Hanta virus? We have a new
baby and I'm probably being paranoid, but isn't it passed by
droppings?
Mousy Couch
I hate to be blunt, but I would dump the couch. My understanding is that hanta
virus is rather rare, mice droppings and urine STINK and there are plenty of
other things that mice carry (including fleas), and the amount of cleaning /
chemicals that would remove or at least mitigate mouse droppings and pee would
render your couch toxic, I think. Both the marketplace and Craigslist have plenty
of couches and such, and with a little due diligence you can find something nice
that isn't infested or cr*pped on. If you're like me, you're reluctant to let the
furniture go b/c you don't want to be wasteful and want to get your money's
worth- but it's not worth the risk or ickyness to salvage this one. Find a means
to dispose of the couch (not on the street please) and find something new & move
on.
Droppings? No thanks.
Do NOT vacuum up the mouse droppings. This will distribute any germs/viruses the
mouse may carry into the air. Instead, spray the droppings with a diluted bleach
solution (10% bleach in water). Once saturated, let it sit for 30 min then wear
rubber gloves and clean up the droppings with a paper towel (damp with the bleach
solution) and throw everything out, including the gloves if possible (or rinse
them with the bleach solution afterwards). A pain but then you don't have to
worry. For more info, check out this CDC website:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps_stc/stc_clean.htm
has cats who bring in mice
I am an archivist with the National Park Service, and deal with rodent droppings
on occasion. I have included some very good links from the National Park Service
Museum Program, and from a museum conservators web site at Stanford If you got
the couch from an urban area in Alameda County you probably don't have to worry
too much about hantavirus, b/c the mice that carry the virus are are deer mice.
That said, hantavirus has been found in more rural areas of California, including
Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties. If a couch was in a garage it could be
nested in by disease carrying rodents, regardless of the particular species or
disease.
Our house was INVADED by mice over winter break last year when our daughter was
three months old. We came home to mouse droppings in her crib and in our bed! We
chose to leave her for two days with my in-laws while we did a very deep clean.
We dampened everything with a mild bleach solution before vacuuming and wiping.
We washed all bed covers in bleach solution, surface dampening and sun drying
our bed and the baby's bed, spraying, damp-sweeping and mopping the hard wood
floors, all surfaces, etc.
I would DEFINITELY give a good clean to the couch if you have an infant at home,
if only b/c their immune systems are more vulnerable in general. Clean the couch
outside or in a garage, not in the house. As a preliminary step spray WELL and in
the nooks and crannies it with a weak bleach solution and let it sun dry, though
that will probably cause bleaching. More specific advice is in the links below,
which you can adapt to your home situation using common sense.
National Park Service on Hantavirus:
http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/publications/conserveogram/02-
08.pdf
Stanford University CoOL - Conservation Online. A search for ''hantavirus''
bought up documents in the following document
link: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/AT-
cool_allsearch.cgi
sara
I'd say dump the couch. Even if you wash the covers or had it cleaned, it won't
get rid of the underlying urine. Unsavory at the very least, more like
unsanitary. Not for a baby. . .not for anyone. Not worth it.
anon
August 2006
Hi, we have mice in our home and they are leaving droppings
everywhere! We tried traps, and caught two...but alas, more
droppings. Any ideas? Maybe we need an exterminator? I do not
want harmful chemicals sprayed or mice dying in our walls. Know
anyone who could help? THANKS!
Tired of mouse poop
Want to borrow my cat? :)
Seriously, though, I've recently dealt with a major rat
infestation where I live and found Richard, owner of Employ
Exterminators, to be extremely knowledgable and genuinely
helpful. You might want to call him to discuss
alternatives.
Word to the wise: I accepted his bait treatment and it did the
job, but the stench from rats that died in the walls was g-d
awful and lasted for ages. In the future, I'd try using traps
before resorting to the ''big guns''.
Good luck
Jane
Contact Alameda County Vector Control. Their website is:
http://www.acvcsd.org/. We had a problem with mice when we moved
back into our home after the Oakland Hills Fire, when all the
construction debris and litter was attractive to mice. Vector
Control came out and inspected our house, flagged areas where
mice were entering the house, and recommended ways to seal off
the areas. One area where they were coming in was through holes
where plumbing came through the walls, i.e. under sinks and
behind toilets. The contractors will often drill a larger hole
than necessary, and that becomes a conduit for the mice to enter
your house. They recommended spray foam that hardens once it's
set to seal off those areas and with a little follow-up trapping
we got rid of the mice. Good luck!
Christina
Sorry to hear about your mouse situation. we had the same
issues when we bought our house 2 years ago. I freaked out and
called an exterminator. they wouldn't put out poison, which was
fine with me, but traps and came to pick them up. BUT: This was
a waste of money. I'd never do it again. And here is why: All
they did was finding holes in the house where the rodents came
in (but we had to fix the holes). That was a crucial part of
getting rid of the pest. kill the ones that are already in the
house/crawlspace/walls by setting up traps. and try to find
every little hole they might get back in. The other thing we
did was putting out bait in the yard. that means you'll find
dead mice every now and then while gardening, but it will
minimize the colony and thus the chance of any member getting
back in the house. Before the rainy season we check our house
from the outside, fill up anything suspicious with this plumber
foam (home depot, looks ugly though) and we've been clean ever
since.
good luck!
anon
Hi. If you can adopt a young cat or a *dachshund (*who are
great hunters), they'll take care of your problem!
anon
Hi-
If you can at all try to find where they are entering your living
space - and keep in mind that mice can enter a hole that is very
very small - then fill these holes/spaces with steel wool - the
critters will not try to get through this nasty stuff
michael
I just want to say one thing first in response to the person who was suggesting
to put poison bait out in the yard for the mice - BEWARE! This can be very
dangerous! Not only will you have dead rodents in your yard, you may also end
up accidentally poisoning your neighbors cat or dog, or some other wild
animal. I watched a skunk die in my yard from accidentally ingesting poison rat
bait that my landlord put out. It staggered and convulsed all night. The next
morning I found it dead under my car. It's nose mouth and eyes were oozing a
greenish bloody foam. What if a samll child accidentally ingests mice
poison?
I recommend that you keep setting those traps! You
probably have lots and lots of mice. You need to trap a whole lot more than just
two to get rid of them. Go out and buy more traps. Bait them with peanut
butter for several days BEFORE you set them, that way the mice get use to
going to the traps for food. Wait and make sure the mice are eating the peanut
butter from the traps on a regular basis. Then, set the traps. You should get a
lot of them that way. Cover up all small holes, even cracks, that lead to the
outside, like areas where pipes come in, or small vents, etc. Fill the holes with
steel wool - mice don't like it. Remember, mice and rats can squeeze through a
hole that is small as their skull! Check for holes in places that are up high, as
they are also amazing climbers. Make sure there is no food attracting the
mice into or around your home, like open boxes or bags of cereal, crackers,
birdseed, pet food, beans, rice, etc. Seal up all open containers. Check in
storage areas, like closets, for stuff that mice might like to eat, like stuffed
animals filled with beans. We had mice in our closet. We didn't know what they
were getting into until we cleaned the closet out and discovered that they were
eating the beans from an old bean bag.
Laurey
Mice are very common in berkeley. We had them (or rats) and
this is what we did after consulting with my child's science
teracher: there is one kind of poison that has a blood thinner
in it. It's not coumadin, but something similar. Find the
nest (often in the attic, in our case under the heater in the
crawlspace) and put the bait there every day. They have to
keep eating it daily. Once a few die (they are very smart)
they'll figure out something is bad around the nest and move
(in our case to the crawlspace under our bedroom). Try to keep
putting out the bait. It worked. But yes, make sure other
animals and pets and children can't get to it.
The regular poisons will give the rats/mice a stomach ache and
then they won't eat it anymore; they'll only sample small
amounts of novel 'food'. Our rats I think started around our
composter. Any ideas to avoid rats around the compost, by the
way? Cutting out all the ivy around it helped a lot too.
Apparenttly they love ivy
rat free now
July 2004
A couple of months ago we started hearing creatures of the
night in the roof and learned that we have roof rats. We
had a professional come to our house who said that since
we have no attic (it is a small crawlspace full of
insulation and no access), he could not set any traps
there. The only solution was to cut the branches of the
trees over our roof. We did that and it substantially cut
down on the activity, however, we still can hear a couple
periodically at night. I am concerned that they are going
down the walls and then may end up somewhere in the living
space of the house. Tonight I thought I heard something
in the floor.
We have a Spanish tiles on the roof, which is problematic
because there are so many small spaces they can crawl
through. We had our entire roof replaced when we moved in
several years ago. I wouldn't install Spanish tiles again.
How do you get rid of them in this case? How far can they
jump from trees? How do you deal with the roof tiles?
I also heard from the pest control company that Berkeley
apparently has a large rat problem. They said it has
something to do with the sewers that the city has not
corrected. Can anyone confirm that? We have lived in our
house in North Berkeley almost 8 years and have never had
this problem before.
going beserk in Berkeley
I highly recommend Rat Patrol at 888 551 5513. The guy's name is Garland
Buckner. It's expensive $500, but he guarantees his work for 2 years. A lot of
the other places are cheaper but if it doesn't work they won't back up their
work.
There are hugh sewer rats in Berkeley. When they redid the sewer line in front
of our house they invaded. We had a lot of rats it was horrible. Garland
cleared them up very quickly. When we had another rat a couple of months
later he came back and got that one too.
It's been a while and we've been rat free. I'm very pleased with his work.
Karen
Dear ''going beserk in Berkeley,''
We had a rat problem, and we also have a crawl space
instead of an attic. Rat Patrol (Oakland, 510-628-0958)
got rid of our rats. Rat Patrol is costly, but they
guarantee their work for two years. They do not use rat
poison, and they sealed up all access to our house,
including the roof. They travel all over the bay area.
Good luck!
Finally rat-free
May 2004
The attic of our rented house is intermittently invaded by
rats. Some months, there are no rats; other months, there
are many, and their wild revels and squeaking battles wake
us at night. Our landlady brought in an exterminator, who
said that trying to trap or kill the rats might be an
expensive exercise in futility. He gave two reasons: one
is that the rats are absent right now, although they have
left abundant evidence of their past occupancy. (He did
lay traps, and caught nothing.) The other reason is that
there are so very many holes and paths into the attic that
new rats are free to enter at will. He thought it would
be a vast undertaking to close off all the points of
entry, which include the tops of many hollow walls, as
well as many openings through the exterior walls. We are
reluctant to impose large expenses on our landlady, both
out of gratitude to her, and out of enlightened self-
interest.
What we'd like to find is some sort of device or substance
that would discourage rats from remaining in the attic. We don't want to poison them, because the attic is very
difficult to access, and we might well be stuck with a
ceiling full of decaying rat carcasses.
We're hoping you can point us to noise makers, light
sources, or odors that bother rats more than than they do
people. Any ideas? (For various reasons, cats, pythons,
ferrets, and terriers are out of the question.)
Wishing I knew the Pied Piper
I 'm sorry to say but the safest most effective way to repel rats is to do all
the things the exterminator recommended: plugging up all the holes and
setting snap traps. Smells, lights, sounds and any other kind of sonic
devices are useless against rats. You will also need to remove any food
sources, junk piles around the house, if any, and thin or eliminate
overgrown shrubs or ivy that might harbor rats, or large thick tree
branches touching the roof of the house. It is a lot of work, but rats are
not a good thing to have around the house. If you don't want to burden
the landlady, I suggest you do the work yourself. Here are some websites
that explain in detail just how to rat proof your home. They all
discourage using poisons for the reason you mentioned, and they also
discourage using live traps because most rats are introduced pests in the
community that carry diseases.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74106.html
http://www.ecologycenter.org/erc/fact_sheets/rodent_control.html
http://npspests.cas.psu.edu/articles/RATsheet.html
Good luck!
Laurey
Nov 2003
Our second story flat has recently been invaded by mice. We
had them once before, but we introduced some poison and
they dissapeared. The folks downstairs just got a cat and
coincidently the mice started coming back to our place for
dinner. First they would just hang out in the pantry,
nibbling on rice, oats and a variety of grains, but after
we boarded up the hole in there, they began appearing in
the living room, hallways, even the office. Not cool.
Problem is, now we have a 7 month old and we're not so
comfortable with poison as we once were. Any non-toxic, non-
cat solutions? (I'm allergic)
mickey
There are three things you need to do:
1) Go through your home with a fine tooth comb and
plug up any holes that may lead to the interior spaces
of your walls. They can come in anywhere. And
remember, a mouse can squeeze through a hole no
bigger than the diameter of it's head.
Check where all plumming goes into your walls. Check
all electrical outlets. Check all hidden places like nooks
and crannies in closets and storage areas. We found a
hole where mice were coming in in one of our built-in
shelves. They can even enter where a small hole has
been drilled for t.v.cable lines. Once you locate ALL your
holes, plug them up with steel wool. Mice and rats will
not attempt to chew through this stuff. Make sure it is a
tight fit so that it doesn't fall out. If the whole is really big
then you will have to use a wire mesh with a small
weave or a sheet of metal, then cover that up some
kind material typically used for patching walls.
2) Set mouse traps. They are non toxic. If you don't like
killing them, then you can buy humane traps. Victor
makes them and they can be bought at a hardware
store. Just keep in mind when ever you use traps,
always bait them without setting the trap for a while to
get the mice use to getting food from them. Once they
are comfortable with eating from the trap, then you set
them. Make sure you place the traps in hidden areas
so that they are less afraid to approach them. And don't
forget to check them.
3) seal up all your food in airtight plastic or glass
containers. Leaving grains and nuts lying around on
your shelves in their original bags only asks for trouble
with pests. Not only will mice and rats chew through the
bags, but moths and grain beetles will find the food as
well. Also find any other sources of possible food like
stuffed animals or dolls that are filled with littles beans.
Laurey
Please do NOT use poison to get rid of mice and rats. If
the mice or rats ingest poison and are then caught and
eaten by owls, hawks, cats, or dogs, those animals will
die from eating the poisoned mouse/rat. A friend of mine
works at the Lindsey Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek. She
said that someone brought in a barn owl during her last
shift there. The owl had been poisoned and was in very
obvious distress. The staff tried to save it, but the owl
died.
If you have a mouse or rat infestion, the best solution
(I know that it is not for the squeamish) is to (1) plug
any holes that they are coming in through and (2) set a lot
of snap traps (a lot = one dozen or more). Also, you
should/can call the rodent control person in the city that
you live in. These people are quite knowledgeable and can
figure out where the mice/rats are coming into your
house.
Also, clear away thick ivy in your yard, and do not store
bird seed or dog/cat food in your garage (unless you use
chew proof containers) because that will attract mice or
rats to your garage and then your house.
Janet
For the mice: the old fashioned mousetrap is a bit gross but can
be effective. Bait it with a firm bread, stuck firmly in the trap, dipped
in peanut butter. Throw mouse and trap out together--I find a trap
does not work as well the second time. The wood ones are very
cheap. Find all the holes you can and plug them with metal pot
scraper ball thingees (chungas), especially around the pipes
under your sink. Set traps where baby can't go!
Trapper John
Re the rats, having dealt with them myself, the best
solution is plain old-fashioned rat traps. Using poisons has
a couple of important disadvantages. Of course, it
introduces toxins (toxic to humans as well as rats) into
your home, and it is not uncommon for the rats to die inside
your walls. Then you have a stinking carcass to remove that
can be hard to find.
Cecelia
Oct 2003
My wonderful cat has a terrible habit of bringing in ''friends''
from outside. We (well actually, my husband) have been able (for
the most part) to gather up the variuos birds, mice, lizzards,
grasshoppers and worms and set them free back outside.
Unfortunately, she brought in one mouse that has found comfort
in our home. She has lost interest in this critter. I try to
encourage her to get the mouse out from hiding, so that my
husband can scoop it up and bring it outside (or let her do the
nasty deed) I am not one to use traps or poisons and would want
to deal with this with the least amount of direct contact as
possible, preferring not to have to make any visual connection
with it! Are there any contraptions out there that would help
solve this problem?
eek- a- mouse!
Have you tried a small have a heart trap with a little peanut
butter? You catch him alive then release him outside, without
having to touch him. The traps are available at most hardware
stores.
Tracy
Jan 2003
We've owned our home for 1.5 years, and recently
some animals, probably rats, have been pulling down
the insulation. My husband found a dead rat and a
nestlike spot, which he removed, and we are now
getting nasty smells wafting through the house. Any
recommendations as to who to call and what to do?
Has anyone solved this one on their own? Of course,
we are horrified! No evidence of anything in the actual
house YET. Our cellar is mostly a dirt floored crawl
space, and we have a floor furnace.
--disgusted in san leandro
Having just fought (and won, I think) a major rat battle, I
advise you to call Alameda County Vector Control. They have
been amazingly helpful to both me and my neighbor (who also
has rats, although a different kind). Tabe, the resident
rat expert, has visited our house twice and our neighbor's
house several times more, diagnosed what kind of rats we
had, showed us where the rats have been coming in, told us
how to keep them out, came back to look at what we had done
to fix the problem and gave us more advice, followed up
with phone calls to see how things were going, and in
general has made us both feel pretty darn warm and fuzzy
about the way our tax dollars are being spent. I highly
recommend taking advantage of this free service.
Nelly
Jan 2003
We have some sort of animal living in our heating vent. We
can hear it at night in the living room vent which is right
above the garage. It is the only vent we hear it in. We
called Animal Control and after they told us it might be a
roof rat, they pretty much said, ''good luck getting rid of
it.'' We're at a loss as to who to call next. An
exterminator? A heating specialist?
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Our biggest
concerns are 1) the animal's urine is smelling up our house
(we thought originally the smell was from our cats) and 2)
it will die in the vent and really stink up the place.
Allison
Ace hardware carries a product that you plug into an
outlet, it affects sound vibrations thru the electrical sytem,
not audible to people, safe for pets but it keeps rodents
away.
Marc
i've heard about these things you plug into the wall
that make a high pitched noise that drive rodents
away--perhaps that would work for your ceiling animal?
i don't know how well they work, and if you have gerbils
it might be a problem, but it might be worth finding out
more.
joanne
A rat whose urine you can smell? That sounds like a giant.
We recently had rats in our attic and had a great
experience with Janet Elliott from Berkeley Health and
Human Services. On the phone I described what I heard and
answered some questions, and she decided it was rats. She
then came to the house, looked all around outside for
possible points of entry, poked around the attic and the
kitchen (where I'd seen the furry things) and found where
they were hanging out most, and advised us where to put
traps and how to set them up. With her advice, we were rat-
free within days, and it was all free. You can call her at
981-5310. Good luck.
We recently had the same problem...first it was a mouse
wandering around our house...there was evidence of it
everywhere, but in places not that obvious.We called a
company called Ensure, for $150 they came out,detected the
problem set traps and bait. They'll come up to three times
and guarantee for 90 days. The mouse was caught within hours
of laying the traps. Luckily it was only the one. However, I
found a ''dying'' roof rat in our basement a month or so later,
it had apparently gotten into the bait. It was shocking to
find but at least it is gone. The co. also closes up any
prospective openings that they can get into or at least
points out those they can't get to. You could probably go to
Long's or Target and buy the traps and set the bait yourself,
but it was worth it to me to pay the $150 for them to come
and deal with it....I can't believe a pest control co. said
''good luck getting rid of it...''
No More Critters...for now
DL
Having just fought (and won, I think) a major rat battle, I
advise you to call Alameda County Vector Control. They have
been amazingly helpful to both me and my neighbor (who also
has rats, although a different kind). Tabe, the resident
rat expert, has visited our house twice and our neighbor's
house several times more, diagnosed what kind of rats we
had, showed us where the rats have been coming in, told us
how to keep them out, came back to look at what we had done
to fix the problem and gave us more advice, followed up
with phone calls to see how things were going, and in
general has made us both feel pretty darn warm and fuzzy
about the way our tax dollars are being spent. I highly
recommend taking advantage of this free service.
Nelly
Feb 2000
Hi,
We have a mice problem. We've set all kinds of traps (humane) and catch
mice, but apparently not enough. They seem to be spreading and I have
recently found mouse poop on my children's clothing. Can anyone
recommend anyone who can help me take of this problem.
I know you're looking for an expert, but while waiting for one, here are some
considerations that we've used successfully for trapping mice in our own home
(some we read about, some common sense, some which just worked):
1. Set lots of traps at a time. We've caught 3-4 mice in one 12 hour period
some days with about 8 traps set at a time among 3 rooms. Reset sprung
traps right away--our mouse problems seem to have come in waves.
2. Set the traps along walls. Mice are timid and prefer to keep away from
open spaces.
3. Set traps around where the mice come in (if you have an idea of where),
where the mice go for food, and places in between.
4. Release the mice *blocks* away from your house.
I have to admit we use regular mouse traps--cheap so you can have a lot at one
time, and fast to empty and reset.
Fran
Please post anonymously! I don't want PETA after me!
If you see one mouse, you probably have a lot of mice. They will poop
throughout
your clothes,silverware, etc. eventually and even breed there. I buy loads of
inexpensive snap traps and set them everywhere, using bread crust and peanut
butter as bait. I don't like killing them, but I believe it is the most humane
way to eliminate them, as there is little chance that they will survive if
caught
and released. If they do survive, it will be at the expense of some mouse
that already was in the habitat you release yours into. Also you can spread
house mouse diseases to wild mice populations, etc. The mouse usually dies
instantly when the trap snaps,instead of starving to death slowly outside
somewhere. Anyway, I never use a snap trap twice
but simply throw the mouse and the trap out. I make a full-on attack -- lots
of traps for several days, and then I generally am rid of them for a long time.
Less messy are glue traps but they gross me out.
At the same time, you can stop or almost stop more of them from getting in the
house, and spare yourself the further killing of them, by assiduously plugging
every hole. Ventilation holes need to be covered with screen. Gaps in walls and
foundations can be plugged with a hardening foam you buy at the hardware store.
The gaps where pipes come in and other holes can be plugged with metal
scrubbies.
Mice can't chew through the metal, they are cheap, and you can stuff them
in gaps and holes.
By the way, as a parent, I think kids should know that we take up space on
this planet,
and that it is at the cost of other species and habitat, no matter how
much we try to
pretend otherwise. One house is the death of many creatures, starting when
the lot is
cleared for building, the road is paved to our door, the lines are laid for
sewer,
electricity, and so on. We should use our time and space well in respect of
that.
Roger
Mice and the parasites that they carry are a serious health threat
to you and your children.
This is no time to worry about being "Humane".
(What's more "Humane" anyway - starving to death or having the neck snapped
in a fraction of a second? They shoot horses don't they?)
Just use spring traps - lots of them - baited with peanut butter.
Bait and set the traps just before lights out.
Then just try not to react to the sound of traps snapping.
If you're squemish about emptying the traps in the morning, don't.
Just throw the whole mess away and start the next night with fresh traps.
Make sure you change the bait in the ones that don't go off.
Mice tend to follow along the base of the walls, so put the traps right
next to the walls so they won't miss them. If you don't know which way they'll
be coming, put two back to back so they'll encounter the bait no matter
which way they come from.
Show your kids the traps and explain how they work and how dangerous to little
fingers they are. Also show them where you intend to place them so they
don't walk
into them, and so they will know what the noise is if they happen to hear it.
Pick up the traps in the morning so the kids can't play with them.
Horror story- A mouse ran across my bearded chin in bed one night. - luckily
we had a trap on hand and after baiting it with peanut butter and placing it
along the wall in our bedroom, we only had to wait about three minutes before
the mouse found it.
Also, getting a cat can be extremely effective. We haven't had a mouse in the
house since a cat adopted us ten years ago. I'm very allergic to cats, but
he spends most of his time outdoors, is not allowed up stairs in the bedroom
area, or on the furniture. Also, we use a whole house electrostatic air filter
to keep allergens under control. I also wash my hands immeadiately after
touching
the cat.
Susan
Recommendation to rid of mice in humane manner: I heard peppermint essence
works b/c they hate the smell of it. I've used it and the mice are no longer
here... but who knows? I read from BIRC's literature that those high frequency
noise makers don't work although the mice disappeared. Unfortunately, I didn't
do a controlled experiment... I just applied every humane repellent known to
rid of them asap! I think many of the essence stores like body time in Berkeley
has peppermint essence.. I believe you have to place only several drops every
week or so. Also try calling BIRC... look for it in white pages...it stands
for
Berkeley Integrated? something something. It's a non-profit org. that provides
info to public on using alternatives to harmful chemicals such as pesticides
and cleaning products. I have now been using only baking soda, oils and soaps
from the kitchen to prevent fungi and aphid infestations on my roses, using
very effective iron sulfate tablets for snails/slugs, and am in the process
of replacing all household chemicals so all I have are vinegar, baking soda,
borax and bon ami as the worst chemicals in my home. I believe they'll send
you one free fact sheet for a particular topic... then the annual membership
is $30 of $35/year and it supports a great project. They're unfortunately
very unorganized so sometimes you have to be patient w/ them.
Christina
I have a suggestion for you and it's even FREE!! We had a big problem with
mice and called the Alameda County Vector Control Office (in the government
pages of the phone book). An inspector came out and identified points of
entry into the house and recommended ways to seal them up. Believe it or
not, it seems some mice were coming in right through the front door! We
had a double door and at the bottom there was a small gap in the
weatherstripping on each door and that's where they were coming in. The fix
for that space was simply putting on new weatherstripping that fit better.
Another area where mice were entering our house was at plumbing for the
toilets. There was a tiny gap between the sheetrock and the pipes coming
out of the wall. The inspector recommended a product you spray into the
gap and it foams up and dries hard, thereby sealing the space. We took
care of the recommended fix-its and didn't have a problem after that.
If you can, get a cat. It's the best and surest way to never have any mice
around your vicinity.
Second best, get your neighbors a cat.
Renting in LaMOrinda. Rats seem to be very common.
Landlord has done everything to this 40 year old house ''on the
cheap'' so actually 'proofing' the house would be WAY too
expensive, but as it is getting cooler, I need to start thinking
about rodents.
Do NOT want them in the house with me and the little ones, but
do not (with a completely clear conscience) support the whole
poisoning/trapping thing.
Is there any repellent or humane way to just keep them away from
the inside of the house?
I already have a dog.
Trying to keep them OUT
I recommend you call Contra Costa County Vector Control. They
will come out to your house at no charge and evaluate the rodent
situation. Rats are extremely destructive. They made a nest in
my brand-new car and did $6,000 worth of damage. Additionally,
the public health hazards are serious. Vector control will
explain how to best deal with them and perhaps they could advise
you about your landlord's liability in this.
Anon
as i wrote to the person with the mice problem above, the only way to keep rats out of
the house without poison is to block the holes they use to get in the house.
your landlord has an obligation to take care of this and hire a professional
terminator
but that might lead to the use of poison. you might be better off just finding these
holes your self and blocking them with sheet metal the rats can't chew thru.
i'm not a professional terminator but i've dealt with rats in a few past homes.
good luck
rat in a hat
Aug 2009
We have a rodent problem due to our compost bin in the yard.
There is a huge rat warren living near to it. I stopped
composting kitchen waste over a year ago but the rats still
remain. I do not want to use poisons (during parts of the year we
have an owl living in a nearby tree).
Does anyone know of a source to get a native
California snake, such as a King or Gopher snake, to release into
my yard? We would love for a snake to take up permanent residence
in our garden.
The Vivarium will not sell snakes to people if they are going
to release them and not keep them as a pet.
Any information or thoughts would be appreciated.
Too Many Rats!
Dear Snake-Seeker, It sounds like you have no problem with
killing rats. I don't either; I really don't like them at
all. However, you are going about it in the wrong way. I
don't think any snake will be garanteed to stay in your garden
long enough to eat your rats. I don't believe that a
snake's ''territory'' is limited in that fashion. You either
need to get one or two outdoor cats, which are highly
territorial animals and will treat your garden as their domain
after they have been trained to their territory (takes one to
two months) or buy some simple wood and metal-spring traps (one
for each rat at least) and bait them with peanut butter (highly
sticky and irresistable to rats). I had a LARGE rat living in
my garden and his neck was snapped within 25 minutes, in the
middle of the afternoon, of my setting out two traps baited
with PB along the wall that I saw him scurrying across twice in
the previous days. Good luck rat-hunting.
Detest rats too
April 2009
We seem to have rats getting into a wall/crawl space. I'm looking
for someone to help get rid of them and find their access point
and keep them out. Has anyone ever worked with a reputable
exterminator? Any advice?
plagued
We just went through the rat situation ourselves (a mom rat and a
nest full of babies! Fun!). We ended up using Rat Patrol in
Oakland (got the info off of BPN, actually). They guarantee
their work for years and they did a great job of sealing off all
the cracks.
Rat Free!!!
Sept 2008
We have rats living in the walls and cleanings (upstairs
neighbors floors). There are also signs of them in our kitchen
sink cabinet - we have tried a trap there but they seem to know
to stay away from it. The traps we have are the snapping kind
(we looked for no-kill ones but only found them for mice). My
landlord is talking about trying poison but I am worried that
our cats catching and eating a poisoned rat!
Anyone have successful strategies?
anon
Sorry to hear about your rats! First, call your county ''Vector
Control'' office. Rats are a ''vector'' for disease. The county will
provide a free inspection of your home, with tips on how to beat
your rat infestation. Find their phone number in your phone
book's government pages at the county level. It might be under
''Vector'' or under ''Health Dept'', I've forgotten, but search the
listings for ''vector''.
Next, get rat bait traps to put around the property, available at
some hardware stores. These use poison ''bait'' in big cubes with a
hole in the middle, so it can be placed on a metal rod within the
bait station, preventing animals from running off with the
poison. The opening into the station, and the path to the bait
within, is small and circuitous, designed to keep out other
animals, like squirrels or cats. The station ''locks'' with a
plastic key or a phone-wire tie, and is screwed down to a fence
or other wood structure on your property, to keep out children.
The vector people will also show you how to place the
spring-traps, screwed down, perpendicular to the rats' accustomed
paths, inside the house, and advise you to set them at night and
check them in the morning, regularly, using peanut butter,
tied-on nuts, or granola bars as bait.
Rats can squeeze through a 1/2'' hole, so you must inspect your
property and close up any spaces where they can get in, using metal
sheeting, heavy hardware cloth (metal mesh), or some
plastic spray-in goopy insulation stuff. Check out drier exhaust
vents, chimneys, basement vents with bent lattice, etc. Rats
climb. Trim vegetation away from the roof.
Don't touch any rat droppings or vacuum or sweep rat debris, it
could carry airborne disease. Use disposable plastic gloves and a
moist paper towel to wipe it up, double bag in plastic and
discard all, outside the house.
If the rats die within your walls, it will smell awful for a
while and there will be flies. We sealed off our hearth (in which
a rat died) with plastic sheeting & tape, and ran a cheap, used
vacuum cleaner from the exterior ash-debris box, to make this
manageable. The poison makes the rats thirsty, so most go outside
to find water, but we had a nest, with babies.
I'm sure I've forgotten something, so get the vector people to
come out, and take notes on what they say! No rats now!
Rats are resourceful and smart (you knew that already). Putting out
snap traps yourself might help, but it it's important to find the
places where they are entering and exiting your home and to plug these
holes. It's also vital to locate their pathways and then to place the
traps strategically to have the best chance to catch them. When we had
this problem some years ago we hired The Rat Patrol, a firm that
specializes in rodent control. You pay a set fee which covers their
services for a few years. If rats return within this time frame they
will come out again to combat the problem. I agree with you that the
rat poison strategy is distasteful and is to be avoided, if possible.
Been There
I had this problem, though your sounds a bit more severe. I would
recommend against poison because you don't want rats dying in your
walls. First you/your landlord have to find, and then close up, any
holes where they may be getting from inside the walls to inside your
house, like under your sink. You have to use wire mesh and/or steel
wool; they'll chew through anything else. Then you have to find and
close off all access from outside the house into your walls. I had to
close up a big (interior) gap around our dryer vent tube and another
around a piece of sheetrock cut to access to bathtub plumbing, in a
cabinet -- the rats chewed the sheetrock to enlarge the opening! The
next year we had mice -- even worse, b/c they can get into openings as
small as 1/4''. Couldn't access the holes to close them up. Finally
used snap traps to get rid of a family of 4 or 5. It was awful, but it
worked.
Good luck!
Been there, done with that, I hope
April 2006
We have had alot of trouble with rodents in our home for the
past 3 1/2 weeks. Since I have young children (2 1/2 and 5
months) my husband and I are trying to find a safe solution but
nothing is working. We've bought Victor glue traps, the snap
traps, the box traps, and some black lure disks; we've put the
traps everywhere we've seen them, alternating locations, but
every morning I still find droppings everywhere, mostly in the
kitchen, but now moving into the kids play area and living
area. I've even hired an exterminator but so far they've only
caught one and I know there must be a bunch breeding somewhere
in our home. Some of the traps are even missing or sprung and
yet they still get away. Several people have recommended the
poison, but I don't want them dying somewhere in our house
where we can't see them. And I'd rather not keep shelling out
money for exterminators that don't do anything. Help!
Sandra
What about a cat?
Jill
The first thing to do is to find out how the rodents are getting
into the house and keep them from getting back in. We had rats in
our previous home that were coming in through the cat door. It
took me a while to figure that out, but once I did, I intalled a
magnetic cat door and killed all of the rats with spring traps
(against the wall with peanut butter bait). I found the first rat
living above the dishwasher in the insulating material (the rat
destroyed the hoses under the dishwasher) and then more living in
our sofa! Several months after the first invasion, I discovered
that they were once again getting into the house, this time
through a gap in the dryer vent. Good luck.
anon
We have had success with two services:
1. Alameda County Vector Control, David James, 567-6816
2. PESTEC, 925-757-2945
Good Luck!
Rachael
Get the Rat Zapper. You'll be amazed.
An electronic pest control device will do the trick! It's a
little device that emits ultrasonic noise - humans can't hear it,
but rodents can and it drives them away. You can find them at any
hardware store, or do a Google search on ''electronic pest control.''
Kristine G
Try the Mosquito and Vector Control department in your county. I
called the one in Contra Costa (actually left an e-mail) and an
expert came out within a couple of days. She spent a whole hour
with me, inspected the inside and outside of the house, and made
recommendations. We are to set traps in strategic locations,
repair all the tiny holes rodents can come through, clean up all
possible food sources, etc. Keep some of the droppings so that
she can tell what kind of rodents you have. This was free, too,
by the way, though she did no trap set-up herself. I was very happy.
(Unfortunately, in our case, we have not done all the many things
required yet, so I can't tell you if the suggestions have worked
or not!)
Susan
Oct 2005
We just learned that the nasty itchy bites my family has been
getting for weeks are due to roof rat mites. our house has been
sprayed and now we are working to get rid of the rats in our
attic. we've had to move out of the house and it's all been a
terrible inconvenience. The pest company wants to dust the
house and attic with a pesticide called Drione, but I've read
it's safety is questionable. I'm trying to walk a fine line
between wanting to aggressively deal with this horrific problem
while not hurting my family (and especially our 1-year old) with
toxic chemicals. Does anyone have any experience or advice????
Rachael
I would check out ''the bug man'' a columnist in the SF Chronicle
on Wednesdays in the home section, I think. He has a website and
gives very level-headed recommendations about pesticide
management. He usually recommends the least toxic method for
pest control and also recommends getting more than one opinion.
I emailed him once about a non-toxic bug repellant and he
responded to me in a pretty short time.
jen
i didn't see the original post, but --in my opinion, Rat Patrol does the best job.
They completely seal off the house, set and collect traps, and make sure the house
is rat free. They have a two year guarantee. We had another pest control company
in before and they just set traps and poo-pooed our theory that the bites all over
my and my son's body were mites.
No longer bitten
Dec 2001
Ensure Pest Control (415-731-5288) solved our Montclair rat problem 3-1/2 years ago. Like you, we couldn't see
our rats, but we could certainly hear them. We haven't seen or heard any rats since.
-NORM
Most people don't like to hear this, but the only way I finally got rid of
the mice in my house (big field running the length of the block behind the
houses) was to put poison under the house where they were coming in. Had to
do the same thing to get rid of the gophers (put poison in their holes). The
good news is I've been mouse free for over a year and gopher free for over
two years. I now have two cats (in the house) that find any moving piece of
dust a toy so I am not anticipating any return any time soon of the mice. At
least in the house.
And I am also guilty of using those sticky traps as well. It was the only
way to catch the babies that were already in the house. This was pre-cat so
I won't have to go to that extreme again.
I have a couple of neighbors who refused to be so inhumane and still have
mice problems. They are continuing to try all the humane methods available
and continuing to find things chewed up and droppings all over their
formally nice clean counters. I really feel for them, but I consider
invading mice (especially deermice and roofrats) to be disease spreading
rodents and not nice sweet house pets that you keep in a cage, so my
conscience is clear on this one.
marianne
Oct 2002
We have a mice problem in the duplex I live in. I called one of
the exterminators recommended some time ago and was quoted a price
of $125.00 to come out and set out bait in traps and then come
back five days later to check on it. They give a three month
guarantee. I'm curious if anyone has used anyone's services
recently and if this price sounds about right. I have no idea what
one pays for this service.
Not looking forward to this.
I.S.
I full heartedly recommend ''Employ Exterminators.''
Richard has come to my home three times already
regarding a mice problem and has also consulted with
me about ants and spiders. He is very knowledgeable
and honest. You can't do better. Good luck.
April 2002
We have a newborn baby at home and unfortunately, we seem to have a
family of cute but unhygienic mice as well. Any advice on how to get rid of
the mice without using poison or inhumane traps?
anonymous
Don't worry about being ''humane''. You and your family's health are more
important than a trying to be nice to a few mice. The mouse problem can
very quickly go out hand and they carry tons of disease. It is just not
worth trying to be gentle with them.
elli
For persistent problems with mice/rats getting into the house, the permanent
solution is blocking the access that the mice/rats have. In addition to
using trapping and poisons, there are exterminators who can help you
identify the little cracks and spaces the critters squeeze through to get
inside and help you block them. Over time you can gradually close up those
holes and hopefully they won't find other ways in. Poison alone will
eliminate the vermin that are there now but not the ones sniffing their way
down established trails toward your house in the future. I recall a
homeowner who was telling me about her experience with this. She contacted
someone at UC Berkeley who made a house visit and consultation. Does anyone
know the name of the person with ties to UC? It may be a professor.
You can also request the city (county?) to put rat bait in the sanitary
sewer (not storm sewer) near your house because the vermin travel through
the sewers and the poison is not accessible to pets or larger animals.
Lissa
This may be stating the obvious--but have you thought
about getting a cat? When I was in college at UCSC, I
lived in the campus trailer park, where *everybody* had
wood rats (cute silky little native rats, destructive
nonetheless). I (illegally) brought my rescued feral cat
back from my boyfriends house, left all my cabinets
open, and after a few days, I was the only one
rodent-free. He didn't actually catch the rats, but would
park himself in their pathways and generally make their
lives hell; it was easier for them to just move on. As
long as the cat was there, the rats weren't. It worked
much better than poison or traps.
A couple thoughts, if getting a cat is right for you:
o To get a good mouser, you'll want a cat that has lots
of interest in playing. Cat rescue societies are a good
bet (try http://www.feralcatfoundation.org/); cats that
were born feral will have been taught by their mothers
to hunt. There should be a cat up for adoption
somewhere that's proven good with kids.
o Keep your cat indoors. Outdoor cats are a danger to
themselves, and can be devastating to bird
populations.
o Obviously, you'll only want a cat if you have the time,
energy, and money to deal with another new addition to
your family. You'll get a new friend, though, which you
won't from traps.
A final note: if you go with traps, humane or otherwise,
I've heard honey-nut peanutbutter is the best bait ever.
Also, those ultrasonic mouse-chaser things don't work
for squat.
Good luck!
Katy
2000
Can anyone recommend an exterminator to get rid of mouse in our rented
house? I am a single mom with a young toddler and a dog and I don't want
anything done which could harm them in terms of whatever is used. I am
also terribly phobic of mice so I won't be setting or picking up traps
myself so I'd appreciate recommendations of local exterminators and info
regarding what this should cost and how much time it takes to get rid of
them. We live in El Cerrito...thanks so much!!!
Try to contact your Animals Control in the City of El Cerrito. They might be
able to help you. They provide free service too. Good luck!!!
Heather
"Employ Exterminators" in Berkeley, Richard REALLY knows a
lot about mice, roof rats, and ants! Family business -- we have used
them for two years and are delighted - they respond promptly whenever
a problem pops up (yellow jackets were attacking us. They were there
that afternoon. Ant infestation - ASAP, usually the same day or next
morning).
I highly recommend Brinkman Pest Control at 510-530-6133. They are great
people to work with and more importantly effective at exterminating a mouse
(laying down traps & removing them). I called all around when we had a small
problem and they were also one of the most reasonably priced. Good luck.
Nina
We had a terrible problem with rodents in a house in the Sierras. Our cat
was useful, but the thing that really did the trick was a device my brother
bought at a local hardware store that emitted a high-pitched noise that is
apparently painful to mice. My recollection is that it had different
levels including some that were inaudible to humans and others that were
not a problem for pets. We turned it on only when we were not in the
house; it worked (continues to, actually) like a charm.
Sherry
You can call the pest control of your county's health department. I had a
wonderful experience with the Alameda County Pest control, the officer came
with a thorough inspection, and put several cages (traps) on each openings,
he came back to pick up the cages and the mice to the lab for inspection.
Then, he gave our landlord a list of repair works required to do within
certain days. Your landlord is liable for all the pest related work if
there are holds or openings need to be mended.
April 2000
One of our much-loved pet mice has escaped and may be in our subarea along
with
some wild mice: I found a new mixture of pet and wild mouse poops just last
night. Does anyone who lives around campus or North Berkeley, or works on
campus, have a humane mouse trap they would be willing to loan me short term?
(I admit to being one of those who set snap-traps when trying to eradicate
mice.) Fran
The Ecology Center (San Pablo at Dwight; number in the phone book) used to
rent humane mice traps for a nominal fee (only a couple of dollars for a
week's use). They may still have them available for rent.
Jennifer
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