Critters in my garage

[Johnnyboy1971]

Can anyone suggest a way of removing the critters from my garage.
Pretty sure its a rat thats in there or a damn big mouse.
Am i going to have to resort to traps or is there anything better and maybe a little more humane.

Just been in to move a few bits and found on of my Scarpa boots and a pair of Toggi field boots have been eaten.
In total £300 of boots ruined and who knows what else they have been into.

 

[Niels]

I had rats in my attic. Rats only buy 2 kinds of traps. Normal ones and sticky paper with bait. I don't know of any other way to deter them than maybe a slingshot or an air rifle but that doesn't seem safe.

 

[resnikov]

Not sure if you can get it in the UK but when I was in Oz we had rats in the house and we put poison down, it makes them really thirsty so they go and find water and don't die in your house. Worked well for us.

You could also borrow a neighbours cat?

 

[British Red]

Most importantly cut off any food source (bird seed, poultry food, animal food, veg seeds etc.)

Second secure the floor - a poured concrete slab is a must

Third get rid of piles of "stuff" they can nest in

Fourth poison - it works, preferably second generation anticoagulant like Slaymore - preferably in staked blocks inside a tunnel box to prevent access from non target species

Burn or bury any bodies you find if you use poison

Fifth (if you must) traps - they sort of work but need to be left unset for a week for rats to get used to them. They may, or may not, kill on impact. They work, but not all that well - cage traps are better if you are prepared to shoot the rats on catch.

To be honest shooting rats is fairly pointless unless you have a large infestation and terriers etc. to flush them out.

A very experienced pest controller I know suggest all the above and a low yield thermo nuclear device as the only sure way!

 

[KayakFisherFinland]

Kill on impact traps (with somethin irresistable as bait, rum raisin chocolate etc.) and poison are the only reliable ways, unless you have a ferret.

 

[IanM]

Because of a hole in the wall left by poor builders we had a rat in the roof, it daily crawled through the hole and up the cavity, Sneaky.

A Magnum 110 from Solway Feeders set in a cut bucket with a piece of chocolate as bait killed it two days after being set.

The Missus and I did a weeks trapping course with 'Buckshot' Hemmings in the US a few years ago. We learned a good few tricks from him, easy when you know how, wasting your time if you don't.

http://www.snare-trap-survive.com/

 

[ged]

You can tell what the infestation is by the droppings. Let us have some photos. Mouse droppings are about 3-5mm long and a couple of mm diameter. Rat droppings are a lot bigger - 10 to 15mm long and 5 or 6mm diameter. Rat urine has a very distinctive smell but I can't begin to describe it.

Poison will deal with either. It could possibly be squirrels too, they might not go for thepoison but they will go for bait in a trap.

I prefer live traps so I know what I've got and don't accidentally kill things I don't want to kill. Mouse traps are obviously a lot smaller than rat and squirrel traps.

Red's right about the floor slab really, but laying a few tons of concrete isn't everybody's idea of the quickest and cheapest way of dealing with a few vermin.

Don't leave anything even vaguely edible where they can get at it. You could get some old steel ammo boxes or something like that, or maybe hang things from hooks in the rafters.

At least they haven't eaten all the house wiring like the squirrels in my mum's loft did. It's a wonder the house didn't burn down...

http://www.jubileegroup.co.uk/JOS/misc/damage_02.jpg

 

[Teepee]

I have regular visits from mice that like eating rubber and bags in the garage. Metal door and concrete floor is ok, but doesn't stop them running in when the doors open.

10 mouse traps with Nutella spread on the bait spikes will sort them until their mates show up and move back in. I modify the traps by bending the wire down a little to make them ultra sensitive.