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The garage rat from (you know where)

SmittysRV

Well Known Member
For the past 2 weeks I have been trying to catch a large rat in my garage. My wife has a bag of birdseed in the garage and the rat just loves the birdseed. We tried putting a plastic top on the birdseed bucket and the dang rat ate a hole in the bucket to get to the seeds! So I bought a huge rat trap and put some peanut butter on it with some sprinkles of his favorite birdseed. I've been doing this every night and the rat just eats the peanut butter and seeds and doesn't set off the trap! Last night I prepared the rats favorite meal once again and put one of sticky traps out hoping that if the trap doesn't get him, the sticky trap will. I also put an additional trap down the wall a ways. Well... He sprung the trap, ate the meal, and still got away!

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OK, now I know the rat is messing with me!!! Upon his exit from his nightly meal, he actually stepped in the sticky goo on the other rat trap, but still got away, flipping the sticky trap over on top of one of my favorite electric screwdrivers. ARRRRRGGGGG!! RAT, Your are going down!!! If my father was here, he would be sitting in the corner of the garage, in the dark, with his Remington 22, waiting to get a bead on the varment.

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It's tip-board time.

PB at end of a board that tips into a (tall) bucket with the rat's weight. Your choice, dry if you want him to live and be relocated, wet (water or oil) if you wish him to drown.

If you hinge it to the bucket, it 'resets' iteself once the first rat falls. 1x4 s4s pine works well, claws can't get purchase as the critter slides in. If you get more than one, there will be a cage match to the noisy death. Just sayin'.

Rick 90432
 
In my youth, we used a modification of the plastic bucket method. Coat hanger wire strung across the bucket through the center (axially) of an old coke can so that it can rotate. Slather the can with some peanut butter or other attractive goodies. Run a ramp up to the top of the bucket from the floor. Rat goes up ramp, jumps for the PB, which rotates, dumping him into the bottom of the bucket. Six inches of water in the bottom keeps him from being able to get any purchase to jump back out of the bucket (and they can jump a LOOOONG way up from a dry bottom). Come back in the morning, put on some Pink Floyd (the rat drowning song) with a cuppa or some other morning-enhancing stimulant, add another few inches of water to the bucket (if you are really sadistic, just enough that his back feet can almost touch the bottom), and you can observe as the rat drowns "satisfactorily."

cheers,
greg
 
Bucket verson 3, put peanut butter in bottom of bucket 3 days in a row, they can jump in and out just fine, on 4th day, fill 4" of water, float bate on a pice of small wood, they jump in but cant jump out. drown!
 
After you get rid of the rat. Get rid of the bird seed. We had some too and I had mice making nests inside the wings. Not good! Once the bird seed was gone so were the mice.
 
Another Option?

How about introducing a large hungery snake. Depending on the rat, a small Boa or maybe a large Black/Yellow Rat snake might do the trick! :D
 
How about introducing a large hungery snake. Depending on the rat, a small Boa or maybe a large Black/Yellow Rat snake might do the trick! :D
Hmmm, a large rat and a snake! If it were my garage and I brought a snake into the garage in order to get rid of a rat, my wife would most definitely be packing her bags! :D
 
Do you know for sure you're dealing with a rat? It looks more like the workings of a squirrel to me. I can't imagine a rat getting through all your schemes, but a squirrel.....??
 
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How about getting rid of the birdseed first? No food -> no rat.

If you get rid of the rat, but keep the seed, dollars to donuts you just get another one.

And please...no poison...poisoned rats get eaten by birds of prey, which then die from the poison.
 
You have the wrong snap trap. You need one that has the large yellow paddle, then you put the treat in the little dish part only and set it so it is on the verge of going off. That should get him. Step 2 is to close the holes to keep them from getting in again.

Victor-Rat-Trap-M326-150x150.jpg
 
"I have to laugh because Ive often asked myself my foe, my enemy, is an animal. In order to conquer him I have to think like an animal and whenever possible to look like one. Ive got to get inside this dudes pelt and crawl around for a few days. Who is the gophers ally? His friend? The harmless squirrel and the friendly rabbit. Im going to use you guys to do my dirty work for me."


How about some C4 sculpted into a harmless squirrel or friendly rabbit?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lYm0c7gYyU




(I have Carl Spackler the greenskeeper as an avatar for a year, and a week after I change it, THEN you start this thread!!??)
 
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Gas the rat

Try this only if you have a detached garage. Back your car/truck into the garage, leave it running and shut the door. Only problem is that it might go into some hidden space and stink up the place :(

Good Luck!
Tom
 
(I have Carl Spackler the greenskeeper as an avatar for a year, and a week after I change it, THEN you start this thread!!??)

I thought the same thing! Absolutely IRONIC.

I have also had rats get the bait out of a trap without getting caught in it. I think they must work in teams of 2.
 
Rat Traps

I'm sure your local hardware store would have a few different options for vermin eradication, we moved into a new house 6 months ago and my girl friend was going nuts because she saw a mouse, I bought a mouse trap similar to this trap http://www.derwenttraders.com.au/contents/en-us/d203.html

Simple to use, easy to reset, all you need is a bucket of water to immerse the critter in for the last Harare.

Check out other rat traps at

http://www.derwenttraders.com.au/contents/en-us/d68.html?gclid=CJaJz8zSzqQCFRc2bwod6kbPhA
 
Have you seen the critter? Looks like maybe mice to me, as they will set off a rat trap and laugh at it going over their heads.

Get this kind and paint the PB on really thin. Plus, this kind won't bust your finger if it snaps on you. Get some mice sized and rat sized ones. Good luck, as since you started reading this, there are about 5 more of them.

better%20mousetrap.JPG
 
PB at end of a board that tips into a (tall) bucket with the rat's weight.

If you get a chance to ask him what he weighs, so you can build this thing, just trick him and catch him them. He'll never expect it!

Sorry, couldn't resist...
 
You really have to give us a daily update on this little predicament. I don't care how many PETA folks read this, in the end you MUST post a photo of the prize.
 
Better Bait

Use some Nutella - it is stickier than peanut butter and the vermin really like it. We had less empty traps when we switched over to it. The Tomcat snap traps seem to work really well.
 
Thanks Guys! I have the bucket-o-water and PB on a stick set up in the garage. Just waiting for the big sploosh. Cross yer fingers!
 
Two KIA

I used a 9mm on a packrat in the cabin when it stole my bagel (kids freaked out a little, but now it's a good story), and a 44 mag on one that made a mess in the tack shed. It was the best tool I had handy at the time. Gotta corner them though and get em to sit still for just a second, which can be challenging. Traps? We don't need no stinking traps!
 
A 44 Magnum?!?!?!?!?

How long did it take to scrap the remains of the little guy off the ceiling?

That would of been a youtube moment!
 
Have you seen the critter? (rat)

Considering his trail of feasting and avoidance of getting trapped, it could be a raccoon. They definitely are smarter than the everyday rat.

How secure is the garage?

If the varmint is not living inside, there is a way in and out.

PS If there were a rat in our garage, my wife would move out to the nearest motel. :)
 
Rat mess

The mess wasn't bad, not much mass to mushroom the bullet. Way less than the mess he made living in the tack shed. Gotta make sure you have solid logs behind him though, and nothing valuable!
 
yeah, packrats stink and pee and poo on everything. they really make a mess of stuff, shredding wires and anything they can get their teeth on. they've nested in the engine compartments of some of my parents unused vehicles, a real mess
 
Here is a simple trick

I have had no rodents for the last 3 years. From the droppings you do have a rat.

Rats are smart or lucky it doesn't matter which it is. Second if you have a rat now, the chances are that there will be more now and later. They can follow a trail that is years old. Expect them to be harder to get rid of as time goes on.

Ok so here is the trick. The rat (mice) seems to be able to spring the trap if it is out in the open. I put the trap in a tight confined place so that the only approach was straight in to the front of the trap (spring snaps down to the front). I do this by placing boards around all but the front, or put it in a box. I also place a trap in a tight runway if available. Snap! Bang! Take one out. They do not seem able to avoid or springing a trap from the front.

I have pets - no poisons for me.
I had a neighbors dying cat crawl under the porch and smell the place up before I found it. I just don't want to be responsible for that sort of thing.

Oh, I put out the sticky boards and tried a number of other clever things. I tried the bucket of water/balance beam too. The only thing I caught was a contractor who was keeping his tools in the back room while doing some work for me. A bit later I found the bucket kicked over, a boot and hand print in the sticky stuff, and finally a sprung trap in the rafters about a year later.
No one said a thing. I sure was not going to start that conversation.
 
Been wanting to try this after reading this thread. Finally got around to making this trap. Came back out to the hangar the next day, and as you can see had 3 drowned mice in the bucket. My son was really excited about it (doesn't take much to entertain us here in TN;)) I was actually kinda surprised it worked. Hot glued some peanuts onto the can and then smothered the peanuts with a little peanut butter for extra enticement. My buddies at the airport didn't think it would work, and one even bet me a hamburger on it. Gotta collect my 'burger now!!!:D


ThreeDEADMice2.jpg
 
jimbrwn said:
My buddies at the airport didn't think it would work, and one even bet me a hamburger on it. Gotta collect my 'burger now!!!
That's absolutely brilliant. I'm definately remembering that.

You also might want to try your luck at getting 3 burgers out of your mates, since you seem to have exceeded their expectations. :D
 
Only in the USA

Bryan
''I used a 9mm on a packrat in the cabin when it stole my bagel (kids freaked out a little, but now it's a good story), and a 44 mag on one that made a mess in the tack shed.''
----------
Holy Macro Man.. remember me not to touch your airplane....:D
-------------------------------------------------------------
Jim...
Peanuts and a COORS... Geez man, you would have caught me too with that kind of bait..;)

You Guys crack me up...keep them coming

Cheers

Bruno
 
Rat catching

I have been following this thread and restraining myself from relating this tale but I feel the time is right.

I have a German Shorthair Pointer. He has free roam of the house except at night when he sleeps in my Son's bedroom. He has a plastic kennel in the office. By his kennel in the office is his bowl of kibbles...he eats when he wants to. The office is open to the hallway ( small ranch style house).

The dog ( Winston) had been expressing an unusual interest in the area under the office desk to the point of becoming quite annoying.

One night, I awoke to the sound of kibbles acrunching... first I thought it was the dog but then it dawned on me that he was in my Son's bedroom with the door closed. I stealthily crept out of bed and entered the hallway....with each step the crunching stopped....I would pause....the crunching commenced...then I threw on the light and raced to the office...nothing.

In the morning I went on the hunt. Down on all fours, with Winston's help a target area emerged....the bookcase next to the desk. I assessed the weight of the bookcase and figured I could swing it out from the wall. At this moment, my wife emerged from the bedroom and questioned why a naked man and his dog were pulling on the bookcase in the office.

At that moment, the biggest rat in the whole wide world ran out from under the bookcase and made a dash ( 10ft) across the floor to the other bookcase pursued by a 50lb dog whilst my wife was jumping up and down screaming! The rat went under the other bookcase.

Putting on my bravest builder/pilot face, I calmed my wife and then got a couple of pieces of sheetrock from the garage to block the exit from the office into the rest of the house. So here I am trapped in the office with the dog and the rat. My wife is safely on the other side of the sheetrock worshiping my bravery.

I moved the other (smaller) bookcase and off goes the rat again....across the floor, pursued by dog, screaming wife etc and back under the first bookcase.

It was time to unload the bookcase. I passed all manner of books over the sheetrock to my wife ( including a copy of "Rat Catching for Dummies). The dog was lingering. I used more pieces of sheetrock to corral the bookcase so if he ran again he would be in the open. I swung the bookcase out from the wall 45 degrees but the little sod stayed under it. I looked at my magnificent dog.....his tail vertical, ears forward, totally alert. " Get him, Winston!" I said...Winston leaned forward, lifted a front paw and went into a perfect point! No, that's not what I meant....anyway, his contribution was done. He had pointed and now I had to finish the job.

I took a fishing net and slipped it along the side of the bookcase. Then I moved in from the other side and the rat ran into the net. Now pocket knives and water were involved in the eventual demise of the rat but I would rather not elaborate on that here. My next dog will be a Boxer!
 
Rat Catching Story

Great story, that was good entertainment tonight!

This thread is cracking me up!
I have mice problems at my hanger but I don't think I will ever completely get rid of them since it is so difficult to seal under the hanger door. I just try to keep all food out it. It does look like the shocking traps get some of the best reviews in the quick search I did. I know others around here that have used them and really like them.

I think Doug has a great shot at a new series like "Swamp People" but we can call it, "RV People" where we strive for the biggest rat in our garages and hangers.
 
how old was the rat

Tim,

I think you could have claimed him on your taxes as a dependent. Great story and thanks for making us all laugh.
 
Mouse Stories

The thread has prompted me to tell you all my RV and mouse stories. A number of years ago three of us all in 4's were traveling to Oswego for their RV flyin and on the way we stopped in Sherbrook Quebec for fuel. While getting fuel we were ramp checked by Transport Canada, (good experience, nice gentleman) so we were standing talking to him when I noticed a mouse running from the hanger about 150 feet away on a bee line for our aircraft, he ran to one of the other guys aircraft, up the tail wheel spring and into the fuselage. It was like "thank God you're here, I've been waiting to escape". We tried everything to get him out but were unsuccessful, so we departed. Our next stop was Oswego, so if the EAA chapter hanger there has french speaking mice this is were they came from.

Joe Hine
RV4 C-FYTQ
 
French Mice

Joe
'' french speaking mice ''

Now Joe ,you're talking Super Mice...The best quality around..;)

These won't go for a COORS...if it's not Bordeaux...forget it

Cheers

Bruno
[email protected]
 
i am going to spare you my rat stories and congratulate you all for STAYING ON TOPIC!!!!!!!!!! well done. VAF RULES AGAIN!!!!!!!
vaf.gif
 
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