One got inside the wire today...

[Ysabel Kid]

... but didn't last long!



Darn little tree rats have kept my wife and I up the last two nights, running along the roof - and into our attic. Weather took a cool snap here recently, so they've kicked it into high gear. The Attic is now cool enough for them to venture into it.

But not if I can help it!

[gamekeeper]

Well done Jay, keep that gun handy, bound to be a few more on their way...

[Ysabel Kid]

They do tend to attack in mass!

[Lassiter]

Those things are drivin' my wife's Yorkie crazy. I think it's intentional

[Rusty]

You might try some traps as well. An inclined board with a rat trap screwed to the board 3/4 of the way up. A pole with snares along it's length leaned at an angle as well.

[Nath]

Keep at them, be harder as it gets darker!

[Blaine]

... but didn't last long!



Darn little tree rats have kept my wife and I up the last two nights, running along the roof - and into our attic. Weather took a cool snap here recently, so they've kicked it into high gear. The Attic is now cool enough for them to venture into it.

But not if I can help it!

What ya shooting, there?

[crs]

DCON will take care of the mice, rats, and squirrels that do make it to the attic.
It is now time for the winter treatment.

[Les Staley]

Forget the poison. Those "tree rats" are delicious fried and served with taters n gravey. Better than chicken!!

[Blaine]

Forget the poison. Those "tree rats" are delicious fried and served with taters n gravey. Better than chicken!!

I sure miss squill hunting in the midwest....I'd gladly trade blacktail deer hunting out here for a generous, and productive fox squill season like they had in Ohio and Indiana.....

[.45colt]

If Fox squirrels were big game I'd be walkin in tall cotton. Like I told a co-worker last week I tolerate them barkin and digging up the yard.......never know when I'll need a free meal. .

[1894]

Forget the poison. Those "tree rats" are delicious fried and served with taters n gravey. Better than chicken!!

Tempting as that sounds , it seems like it would take a bunch of those grey rats to make a meal that was more than taters , gravy , and a little bit of meat.
Those fox rats I can see 3 or 4 making a meal though

[Ysabel Kid]

... but didn't last long!



Darn little tree rats have kept my wife and I up the last two nights, running along the roof - and into our attic. Weather took a cool snap here recently, so they've kicked it into high gear. The Attic is now cool enough for them to venture into it.

But not if I can help it!

What ya shooting, there?

Stoeger M-20 "Suppressed" .22-caliber pellet rifle. The baffle at the muzzle does lesson the noise noticeably (enough that I can shoot it in my back yard and not worry about alarming the neighbors too much).

[JohndeFresno]

We had a big rat and some li'l mouse critters for a period of time. These cheap electronic varmint repellers got rid of them - abut $25 for three. Just plug in an extension cord and run one into your attic.

I suspect it would work for squirrels (we have plenty of them in California, but mainly the two legged kind that us city folks encounter).

Only proviso - the sonic repeller works like light - it must have an unobstructed space to work, but you can bounce it off bare sheet metal vents, just like a light beam. Aim it into a large area, not from behind an insulated space.

I understand that it sounds like a jackhammer to the pests, so within a day or so they pack up and relocate with their family.

I use one repeller in the garage, one in the attic. They have been working for several years, silently (to us) but still effective.

Lowes, Target, Amazon, many other stores sell them, or Google "Electronic mouse repeller".

[spaceman spiff]

Cover? concealment? I'm interested in your tactics




spaceman

[Ysabel Kid]

Cover? concealment? I'm interested in your tactics
spaceman

Sniper nest. My office at home is in the back corner of the house. I shot him from inside; just opened up the window and sniped him from there. My backyard slopes away almost at a 45 degree angle, and I'm a level up from the ground (above the walk-out basement), so I can shoot down and safely.

[spaceman spiff]

Cover? concealment? I'm interested in your tactics
spaceman

Sniper nest. My office at home is in the back corner of the house. I shot him from inside; just opened up the window and sniped him from there. My backyard slopes away almost at a 45 degree angle, and I'm a level up from the ground (above the walk-out basement), so I can shoot down and safely.

So it's death from above

I like it


spaceman

[tray]

We had one get into the attic and would run across the ceiling. Drove my wife into a frenzy. I used a have-a-heart trap. I knew he could pack all the food he needed for a long stay, but not water. Water is the key. I wired the door open and put a bowel of fresh water in there daily. After three days I unwired the door and set the trigger. Next morning there he was mad as he could be yanking at the door, but he was caught.

[M. M. Wright]

I have a home made version of the "haveaheart" that I use mostly for 'coons. A fish head is the best bait.

[Ysabel Kid]

DCON will take care of the mice, rats, and squirrels that do make it to the attic.
It is now time for the winter treatment.

My neighbor did that. Sucker died buried in the attic blown-in insulation, then decomposed on the drywall of the ceiling, staining it to the point that between the smell and stain, they had to cut out a section of the ceiling to replace it. Cost him a bundle!

I'll continue to take them out when they are outside.

[Ysabel Kid]

We had one get into the attic and would run across the ceiling. Drove my wife into a frenzy. I used a have-a-heart trap. I knew he could pack all the food he needed for a long stay, but not water. Water is the key. I wired the door open and put a bowel of fresh water in there daily. After three days I unwired the door and set the trigger. Next morning there he was mad as he could be yanking at the door, but he was caught.

Hadn't thought of the water. I tried the have-a-heart trap. Put everything in it I could think of, and they ignored it all. Then saw one of the little turds chewing on what was left of a ketchup packet. I use these for target practice, and apparently they like the sweet taste of ketchup. Dummy didn't realize that he was exactly where I had my target so the range was perfect. Needless to say, he didn't last long.

So I ripped up a couple packets and put them in the trap. Checked it for a few days, and nothing. Went off on a business trip, got busy over the holidays, etc., and forgot about the trap that never worked. We stopped hearing the squirrels in the attic, and the next spring I went up and lo and behold, discovered a petrified squirrel in the trap. I guess it isn't a humane trap when you forget about it!

However, apparently squirrels don't like the smell of their dead kin. I may need to toss a few of the bodies up in the attic...