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There's a f@*##* rat in my house!

trane_fanatic
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trane_fanatic Rookie

trane_fanatic

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Last night, around 5 a.m., I heard something running around my room and there have been mouse droppings in my basement too.

If there's one thing I'm scared of, it's rodents. I had to move to another room to sleep. Any of you guys ever had this problem? Should I get a cat?!!?!?!?!!?!

Edited by trane_fanatic
Epithet Newbie

Epithet

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Posted (edited)

William Lobay, supervisor, crop protection, originally conceived the idea of a control zone to prevent rats from spreading into Alberta, and was initially responsible for organizing, supervising and administering the program during 1950 to 1953.

Most people in Alberta had had no contact with rats and did not know what rats looked like or how to control them. Consequently, the government's initial response was to educate the public and obtain support from local governments and residents.

Edited by Epithet
kinuta Newbie

kinuta

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Are you sure it's a rat, and not a mouse ?

Mousetraps should work for the latter, professional help for the former.

Before we moved to our new place a couple of years ago we lived in a broken down old timber frame apartment and had an unwelcome visitor one day in the shape of a mouse ( not a rat ). It managed to get into the living room and we eventually cornered and killed it but not before several exhausting hours trying to trap it. It was one of the hottest days of midsummer , my wife and I were stripped down to our knickers devising a system of tunnels and funnels to get the varmint into a garbage bag. Our efforts finally paid off and I had the unpleasant job of finishing off the mouse with a baseball bat. :blink:

patricia Newbie

patricia

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Wouldn't Alberta be too cold for rats?    :D

Alberta's climate varies, depending on where you live. I live in Calgary, which is in the southern part of the province. Although the temperature can drop to -30 C in the winter, it can rise to +90 C in the summer. Due to the chinook winds though the temps can vary as much as 40 or so degrees in a single day, no matter what the season.

But, for example, Edmonton, which is in the centre of the province has much more severe winters and no effects of the chinook winds.

But, getting back to the rat thing. I have only lived here a couple of years and was unaware of the efforts of William Lobay. However, last summer some rats were spotted here and the city went into emergency mode and vanquished them. That was when I found out that Alberta has no rats, due to the efforts of William Lobay.

Question. Is it true that rats and mice never exist in the same rodent infestation? I have heard people say that if you have rats, you won't have mice and vice versa. Seemed strange to me.

alankin Newbie

alankin

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A mouse was playing hide and seek with two of my cats in the backyard yesterday. (Well, from the cats' viewpoint anyway.)

But of course, mice are one thing and Rats are another.

Edited by alankin
sidewinder Mentor

sidewinder

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A rat ran under my car a couple of days ago and somehow missed the wheel. I live in a rural UK area backing onto native woodland and see them quite often (indeed I've spotted the occasional rat, shrew, vole and mouse in my garden). They are quite harmless as these are the wild species. The local cats do the work of keeping them in check.

I just make sure that all potential entry points into the home are kept sealed. The only instance I've had of one getting in was a vole some years ago and I gave up trying to catch it. After a few days the poor critter was found dead on the floor of the study.

Edited by sidewinder
Guest

Guest

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Posted

Last night, around 5 a.m., I heard something running around my room and there have been mouse droppings in my basement too.

If there's one thing I'm scared of, it's rodents. I had to move to another room to sleep. Any of you guys ever had this problem? Should I get a cat?!!?!?!?!!?!

Why did you give your address to the club owner?.....

SEK Newbie

SEK

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I don't like sharing our house with wild rodents.

We have bats in our attic and crawl spaces, and they get into our "Michigan basement". Wire mesh seems to keep them from coming into our living space.

The rare mouse that somehow wanders into a room gets cornered and eaten or chased out by our cat.

So far, no rats (fingers crossed).

slide_advantage_redoux Newbie

slide_advantage_redoux

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Before I met my wife to be, I was living in a bohemian hovel in downtown Dallas. The rent was right, but I inherited a rodent problem. Assuming it was mice, I bought the appropriate poison and set it out for the bastards to eat.

It didn't work. I fact, not only did they not die, they kept eating that shit! Later I spotted one of them and I then knew I had rats as well as mice. (I guess the rats were copping a buzz on the mice poison!)

Before that, I had set out some of those sticky pads. One night I heard this god awful high pitched squealing coming out of my kitchen. I knew I had one of the little pricks, but I figured I would wait until the morning to deal with it. When I did go in to check it out later, all that was there was a lot of his hair! The bastard ripped his on fur out to get away.

I set out another one. And when I heard that squealing again, I rolled up the pad (made him a sticky sleeping bag), tossed it into a plastic grocery bag, in turn put that into another one, tied it up and tossed it in the freezer for later disposal. (my wife grimaces at that story, but I figured a slow freeze death was more humane than flushing him)

Indestructible! Newbie

Indestructible!

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Wouldn't Alberta be too cold for rats?    :D

Alberta's climate varies, depending on where you live. I live in Calgary, which is in the southern part of the province. Although the temperature can drop to -30 C in the winter, it can rise to +90 C in the summer. Due to the chinook winds though the temps can vary as much as 40 or so degrees in a single day, no matter what the season.

Hi Patricia,

Hey, I grew up in Canmore, and went to the University of Calgary for four years, so I can vouch for what you say here... except for that +90 C temperature! I don't think much of anything would survive that, rats included! :g

I do remember one day in Calgary (probably back in 1991 or so) where the temperature dropped from +12C to -38C in the span of about 12 hours! That was one brutal day... I went from thinking about wearing shorts to school that morning (thankfully I didn't) to hoping my car would start that evening!

My parents still live in Canmore... I miss it there, especially in the summer!

Cheers,

Shane

P.S. -- Another thread hijacked... sorry 'bout that! --

Edited by Indestructible!
patricia Newbie

patricia

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi Patricia,

Hey, I grew up in Canmore, and went to the University of Calgary for four years, so I can vouch for what you say here... except for that +90 C temperature!  I don't think much of anything would survive that, rats included!   :g

I do remember one day in Calgary (probably back in 1991 or so) where the temperature dropped from +12C to -38C in the span of about 12 hours!  That was one brutal day... I went from thinking about wearing shorts to school that morning (thankfully I didn't) to hoping my car would start that evening!

My parents still live in Canmore... I miss it there, especially in the summer!

Cheers,

Shane

P.S. -- Another thread hijacked... sorry 'bout that! --

:blink: I'll never get used to the lightening fast climate changes. I moved here from CA and the biggest problem is not knowing how to dress in the morning, as you say.

I was amazed when major panic ensued when some rats were discovered last summer and the government swooped in and got rid of them immediately.

Earlier, I asked about the belief that if you have mice you won't have rats. That was based on, well nothing but somebody having said it. I was watching a reno program on television the other day that shattered that myth. The renovators hired a rodent killer person who took dozens of mice and almost as many rats [that were as big as a cat], both dead and alive out of the cupboards, under the appliances and out of the walls and had them stacked in a noxious pile. Ughhh. So, they apparently can co-exist.

Edited by patricia
Hardbopjazz Collaborator

Hardbopjazz

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A cat will work fine. I live in a rural area on Long Island, my cat bring my wife and I dead mice as presents all the time. She goes out in the yard and comes back with what she thinks is a gift. I am the one that ends up picking it up to throw away.

The hungrier the cat, the faster the mouse will be history. :)

Edited by Hardbopjazz

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