How to get rid of rats and mice
We live in an older house and we have mice and rats in our garage and attic (accessible from garage by just climbing up, no ceiling).
About a month ago we cleaned out all of the stored food in the garage and hired a pest service to set traps, and we've caught 3 rats and 1 mouse. Now there's absolutely zero food in the garage, the traps haven't caught anything in over 2 weeks, yet we still hear scurrying above our heads and in the garage when we're quiet in the house. My guess and from reading the internet is that the rats/mice are going out to find food and coming back to our place for shelter... which makes sense because our neighborhood has over a dozen feral cats patrolling.
My questions are..
Is there a DIY way to get rid of the rats/mice safely, effectively, and non-toxically? We have a young child and a pet. Do those ultrasonic sound emitting things work? Peppermint oil?
If not DIY, what kind of service should we contact? The pest guy we hired was pretty low budget, he only set traps and pick up traps, no cleaning and no sealing up the house (I think due to liability, what if a rat dies in the wall he sealed up...)
Neither my husband nor I have the stomach to go up to the attic with a flashlight to catch the critters, but we want them gone!
Thanks!
Parent Replies
After finding the rodents' access points, you need to set (buy or make) exit only doorways so once they leave for evening snacks, they cannot get back in for midnight naps.
I've had mice twice and honestly, it's a bit difficult, but I suspect the most eco-friendly DIY way to eradicate mice is to trap them in your attic with mouse traps. You can use peanut butter so it's completely non-toxic. I'm not sure if peanut butter will attract rats, but it definitely attracts mice to the trap. The first dead mouse in the trap may break your heart (it did mine), but if you are committed to getting rid of them, this is a low-cost way to do it that doesn't involve bringing any toxins into your home. And if you follow the instructions on the trap, it's easy to set mouse traps yourself. You do not need to pay someone to do it for you.
We hired Clark Pest Control. They set up traps and did exclusion work, which means sealing off all possible entry points. They were very thorough. They'll find problem spots you e overlooked. It was totally worth the money.
Call your county's vector control. We live in Alameda County and a guy came out (for free) and examined our house, gave us advice about rats, left us with suggestions and some pamphlets. Very helpful.
Get a cat... even if it is an outdoor one. Apparently cats let off smells that scare rats and mice away. I've heard that there are rat problems in our neighborhood, but we have two cats and there are several feral cats strolling around, and I have not seen a rat on our street ever.