My nanny found a dead rat behind a chair in our living room while vacuuming. I'm beyond disgusted. But I'm trying to figure out what we need to do. There is never just one right? Do we call an exterminator or are they just for bugs? Groooooooossssss!
Follow up - we DO have 2 cats! I guess they are lazy! My husband's first thought was that one of them could have brought it in but they do not have a cat door...they do go out in the backyard (we've never seen them jump the fence but who knows maybe they do) but we let them in and out ourselves so I don't see how one of them could possibly have carried a rat in without us noticing! Well...maybe my husband :) But still doubtful, even him.
I have a free inspection scheduled for 1st thing tomorrow morning so we'll see. I admit I'm totally squeamish about this. Give me poop, snot, any other kid-related grossness any day but bugs and rodents, NO THANK YOU!
That very interesting that the first sighting was a dead one. For now, you can just be on the look-out for his little friends. When you see another, time to call a pro who will know the signs and be able to tell if you have residents or just wanderers.
if you call an exterminator they'll charge hundreds J. to put down poison, you can but the kind at home depot that they dont die until they get out of your house
At least its dead!! We had the same problem and we used the old fashion ed snap traps and we caught 4 of the 5 we saw. I too was disgusted and scared because they are so nasty! Just put a few arou d and it will be ok!!
rats and mice like warm, dark places...
behind appliances - refrigerators and stoves...
I would hire someone to come in and check for an infestation. At least it's dead.
When I lived in Belgium - we lived next to a corn field - every time they plowed the fields - we would get mice and rats in the house. After our first year - we got wise...we put stuff (I'm sorry I can't remember what it was) around the house and since our house was made of stone - they didn't chew through it. They would chew through wood - so our landlord put metal at the base of the doors...we also caulked EVERYTHING at ground level.
Hope it's not serious!!!
As bad as this is to say I would tend to think that if a rat just died in the open like that in your house that you probably have a bigger problem then just one rat. I would call an exterminator to be sure that its taken care of to start instead of spending time money and energy trying to fix the problem yourself. If it is just a one time thing then the exterminator will be able to tell you so and you will only be stuck paying for the initial call and if there is a problem then while they are there they can start the process to get rid of them
Sorry this is happening and best of luck
One of your cats could have found it and killed it.
We came home one night and found a dead rat on the floor at the foot of our bed...ewwwwww...it must have come in somewhere and out cat killed it and laid it out there kinda like look at what I caught.
It was a one time deal...we have never seen another rat again *knock on wood*.
Oh, ours is an indoor cat as well no cat door.
Set traps where a cat can't get them and then get a cat, even if outside a cat keeps them out more or less. Our cat is an outside cat and she brings us a 'gift' almost weekly or sometimes more often. We live rural though so open fields are here delight. I would use the snap traps not the sticky ones though. Sometimes they can get out of them and also they don't seem too humane.
Do you own a cat or dog? I ask because we have a killer cat who tends to bring rats to us as "gifts." We have a cat door so the cats can come and go as they please, but of course this also allows her to haul in small dead animals (not limited to rats, although those are her favorites lately - she has also brought us frogs, dragonflies, and bat moths... charming!). YUCK.
Before you freak out too much, check behind your fridge, behind the TV, those kinds of places. If you have rats, you will see rat droppings there. In your pantry, you'll see the corners of boxes chewed through. You may also find shredded paper or other "nesting" materials. Rats can get into a space the size of a quarter, so it can be tricky finding where they're coming from.
All an exterminator will do is put down snap traps or glue boards in the areas where there's evidence of rats. You don't want to poison them, because then they'll crawl off and die somewhere (even inside your walls) and will smell awful. Also, any cats in your neighborhood who are mousers may catch a poisoned rat, and you don't want the cat to be poisoned. (Cats are one of the best defenses against rodent infestation!) If you aren't squeamish, you can put down glue boards or snap traps yourself. Obviously though, then you'll end up with dead (or worse, not-quite-dead) rats that you'll have to dispose of yourself - but even with an exterminator, you'd have to call them, report that there's a rat, and wait for them to come deal with it... so it's up to you.
But first I'd wonder how a dead rat came to be inside the house, and maybe your dog or cat brought it in as a "gift" to you. ;) And if you don't have a good cat, maybe now is the time to get one!
