[pjay_in]

I had this problem when I was in Chennai a few years back. Fortunately the rat trap always worked for me. I would put a piece of coconut in the trap and leave it in the kitchen overnight.

Disposing of the rat would have been an impossible challenge for me; but there our watchman (of the apartment) was the saviour. For a small tip he would walk away with the trap and happily do the execution away from my eye. He used to tell me that he would empty the trap into a gunny sack and beat the rat to death. I didn't really want to hear that detail though.

Once you catch the rat in the trap, you can also consider releasing it somewhere near your boss's apartment.

[Gansan]

I have found Mortein Ratkill to be very effective. Releasing trapped rats elsewhere is a bad idea. Kill the pests by immersing the trap in a bucket of water. Else, if you happen to live near a railway track, just leave the trap by the side of the track when a train passes. The noise and resulting fright will kill the rat. I have personally seen this many times.

[350biker]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

I am happy to report that I got rid of the rat last night. It was not a small mouse, it was a big rat.

It seems that the little guy was enjoying Lord Ganpati's blessings and so was difficult to get rid of during the Ganesh Chaturthi period. But his luck ran out after the Ganesh festival were over.

Last night around 4 am I was woken up by the rat's noise. I managed to locate its hiding place.

Believe it or not, I actually shooed it out of the house with a broom in my hand.

I closed the doors of all the other rooms and left only the main door open as an escape path for it. As I shooed it with the broom, it started running but found all the doors closed. It had no option but to run away from the house.

But in the process it gave me a nice demo of its athletic capabilities. I tell you, these creatures can really run fast, jump high and squeeze through the smallest of holes.

Rohan

I dont know how effective this would be in the house, however, I had a similar problem with my car where the rat had chewed into the cables. One of the best solutions for avoiding the rats to REVISIT is to keep a small packet of tobacco in the bonnet. I have kept 2. Trust me even i could not believe my eyes, the rats have yet not come near my car. It seems the raw tobacco gives out some peculiar smell that the rats detest.

Try keeping the tobacco packets (available at any paan shop) in the areas where you feel the rats can enter the house.

[tsk1979]

Why not catch the rat and then feed it. It would become your pet. Give it food every day, and it won't eat your other stuff.
You could also cuddle with it, and make it fat and big so that you can tell your friends that you got a chihuahua. Its really hep to own one, and will get you entry in page 3 parties.
you could also buy a Armani clutch, and carry it around, though as a guy you can look funny carrying around a rat, so convince your wife to do the same?
On sunny days you can put a ribbon on its head, and take it to a swimming pool where the rich and famous lounge with their chihuahuas on the poolside.
If its not good looking you could take an appointment for hair coloring and dye it white with orange and blue streaks. You could tell your friends that you got an exotic primate from Madagascar as a gift from the royal family.
See lots of interesting options without being cruel

[WindRide]

Really!! i thought this was a done deal.
Put fresh coconut in a rat trap. Once the fellow is in, immerse trap in a bucket of water.
Record what happens next and upload to youtube. You got urself your 5 mins of fame.

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@rohan, you shoeed it out, but how will you ensure that it never returns ? You can't keep all doors closed at all times, can you ?

I normally trap the rats and release them in a wooded area behind my office campus. But this praticular creature was very intelligent and was not getting trapped even after a week or so.

Thats why I used this desperate measure of shooing it out of the house when I heard its noise at 4 am. I agree that its not the best way to deal with pests, but this seems to have worked for me this time.

I stay in an apartment on the 4th floor. I have now developed the habit of keeping the doors closed to prevent entry of rodents and mosquitoes.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Why not catch the rat and then feed it. It would become your pet. Give it food every day, and it won't eat your other stuff.
You could also cuddle with it, and make it fat and big so that you can tell your friends that you got a chihuahua. Its really hep to own one, and will get you entry in page 3 parties.
you could also buy a Armani clutch, and carry it around, though as a guy you can look funny carrying around a rat, so convince your wife to do the same?
On sunny days you can put a ribbon on its head, and take it to a swimming pool where the rich and famous lounge with their chihuahuas on the poolside.
If its not good looking you could take an appointment for hair coloring and dye it white with orange and blue streaks. You could tell your friends that you got an exotic primate from Madagascar as a gift from the royal family.
See lots of interesting options without being cruel

The next rat which I trap will be shipped to you, free of cost. Feel free to colour its hair and carry it around as a fashion accessory.

Rohan

[sidkun]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Why not catch the rat and then feed it. It would become your pet. Give it food every day, and it won't eat your other stuff.
You could also cuddle with it, ...

See lots of interesting options without being cruel

Sorry to rain on your humorous (sarcastic?) take on this, but - been there, done that. As a child, had 3 pet white mice (arguably, they're almost like rats) . They used to run up my shirt sleeve and pop out of my shirt's collar.

[honeybee]

One of our relative's home was literally infested with mice, tiny, small ones at that! We advised him to lure some cat inside the house and let it roam around the rooms once or twice a day. The mice disappeared as soon as they smelt the cat.

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by 350biker

Try keeping the tobacco packets (available at any paan shop) in the areas where you feel the rats can enter the house.

Brilliant, must try this. Though I have not been plagued by rat menace (touch wood),I would like to do *ahem* preventive measures.

Should I buy cigarettes or the paan masala?

[350biker]

Originally Posted by sachinj12

Brilliant, must try this. Though I have not been plagued by rat menace (touch wood),I would like to do *ahem* preventive measures.

Should I buy cigarettes or the paan masala?

No need to buy a cigarette or the paan masala. Simpy buy the tambakoo (read tobacco) available for Rs.5 /- per packet.

I guess i had bought some scorpion brand tobacco and it worked brilliantly

[RajaTaurus]

Guys, I have an unusual Rat problem. I just installed HIDs on my Cedia and the cables are so thin and obviously so tasty. Today is the third time, rats have had part of the cables for their dinner. Possibly small baby rats, that could get through into the narrow gap that is around the cables and they feast on them. Never had this problem before on the OEM (!) cables. Any suggestions please? Sleeving? Smear rat poison on the cable? Change to anti-rodent cable? Any real experience would help.

[honeybee]

Don't think only the baby mice can get through small gaps. Mice are amazing when it comes to squeezing through gaps. You have to see it to believe it.

First, it would be good if you can add some type of covering to the wires, so the wires are not directly exposed. There are some plastic pipes available which a roadside garage would be able to fit on to the wires.

Second, as far as inside the car is concerned, try the tobacco approach. Buy a couple of pouches of tobacco, nick a corner so that the aroma (or smell) can get out and leave them inside the engine bay. You could try sprinkling some tobacco around the affected areas too.

[Blue_V]

Originally Posted by RajaTaurus

Guys, I have an unusual Rat problem. I just installed HIDs on my Cedia and the cables are so thin and obviously so tasty. Today is the third time, rats have had part of the cables for their dinner. Possibly small baby rats, that could get through into the narrow gap that is around the cables and they feast on them. Never had this problem before on the OEM (!) cables. Any suggestions please? Sleeving? Smear rat poison on the cable? Change to anti-rodent cable? Any real experience would help.

Maybe dipping the car in pesticide would help. Just kidding. My father in law faces the same problem. His house is located next to a coconut farm, rats have been eating away at the cushion, making homes in the ac vent etc etc. He kept smearing pesticides everytime until the car started reeking with the smell.

I think you need to put regular baits around the compound so that they are killed outside the car. Keep traps regularly, couple of them atleast.

Or hire a Cat.

[pramodkumar]

my 4 year old dog keeps all the rats away, she kills them and finally barks at them when they are dead, this is my cue to come and throw the rats away, its actually fun to watch the dog catch the rats.

Pramod

[RajaTaurus]

@Blue_V and Pramod,
The Strange thing is, the rats cut only a particular cable for the third time.! Nearby cables are un-touched. Intriguing indeed.