Vent: There's A Rat in Mi Kitchen

mb314

What am I gonna do?

All 80s UB40 references aside, I am mortified and appalled that this f*&%ing rat is so brazen in our laundry room/kitchen.  I want to cry.  I just noticed the first sign of an intruder on Thursday, and we were out of town Friday - Sunday.  Well, last night, that little s$%& was running around the kitchen like he owned the place.  DH is calling an exterminator today to see how big our problem is and to make a plan, but I just want to cry.  I barely slept last night, I was so skeeved out.  I've had mice before in my NYC apartment, but I've never had rats (and didn't expect them in my house in Tennessee!). 

Googling "rat in the house" comes up with all sorts of scary references to diseases and destruction - something I really don't want to deal with while pregnant and with a toddler.  I saw it this morning (I thought they were supposed to be noctornal) and I screamed, making DS cry and the dog freak out (and then she wouldn't eat her breakfast, which will just give the rat more to eat).  Ugh.

Anyone successfully (and swiftly) deal with a roden problem like this?  I need success stories because reading online has me thinking that we'll be fighting an infestation even in November when we'll have a newborn. 

Thanks for letting me vent - I'm too mortified to tell any of my RL friends.  I don't know if they would come over my house. 

wildflower75

I'm so sorry you are going through this... I saw a mouse (in my NYC apartment) last week and can't wait to catch that f*&#er!!! Good luck!!

KMW08

I've never had rats that I know of. I do have mice right now as all of my cats have disappeared (live on a farm, it's pretty common of cats to eventually run off). 

My BIL had a rat at his old house, they ended up buying a rodent trap from westlakes/ace hardware and trapping it & exterminating it themselves. Thankfully they only had one. Until you get somebody out there, the best thing to do is NOT leave any food around. Take your trash out daily if it this is possible. BIL realized his was a rat when a tbone-bone was drug out from his trash can, he knew it was bigger than a mouse that would be able to do this! Also don't leave anything on the counters that the rat can easily get into (bread, fruit). 

Good luck! I hope you're able to get somebody there asap and get the problem taken care of.

mb314

wildflower75 said:

I'm so sorry you are going through this... I saw a mouse (in my NYC apartment) last week and can't wait to catch that f*&#er!!! Good luck!!

@wildflower75 They used to come up through my stove in NYC.  The best method I found was to catsit for my sister for a week or so - she would catch a  mouse or two, and then I wouldn't see another one for like 6 months.  Good luck with your mouse.  I would so much prefer a mouse to a rat!

turtles7

I know how you feel! I felt so violated when I found out we had mice in our house. We've placed sticky traps all over our house with peanut butter and been able to catch them in less than 24 hours after seeing them. Another way is to put a bucket of water in your kitchen. The bucket needs to be deep enough where they can't jump out when they fall in. My mil has caught 24 mice during the past month with this month. Good luck!

wildflower75

turtles7 I wish sticky traps with peanut butter worked for me.. these NYC mice are too smart for that! I will try the bucket of water tonight!!!

mb314 Thanks!!

missnacholover

Yuck!  BUT, it happens. 

One night, we had a mouse in our kitchen.  I went to open a cabinet to get out a trap and a cockroach was staring at me.  I almost insisted we move that very night.

Celticlass6

I'd be freaking out too! I was feeling dirty because we recently had ants in ours!

An extermination plan is a good one, but you should also look for any small hole or crack that he could be getting into your house. Those suckers do not need as much space as you'd think! My aunt had mice in her kitchen and they found a really tiny hole by a pipe where they were getting in. She put a brillo pad in it to block it off.

ssstephanie214

Another vote for borrowing a friend's cat until it kills the rat/finds whatever hole it's coming out of or hiding in. I frequently lend my cat out for this purpose. He loves it!

Also the snap traps work a lot better than stickies. ...so you're never dealing with a live but injured animal. I hate sticky traps. The water bucket reminds me of that David Sedaris story so I'd never try that either.

KatieOz920

Oof, sorry to hear you have to deal with that I've never had a rat in my house, but we've had mice (>_<) I totally freaked out about it. They kept coming in until we worked out how they were getting into the house (it was through the small crack under the storm door leading to the basement). We kept finding them in the bottom of the garbage can. Neither my husband nor I could kill it so he drove it like 2 miles away and released it into the woods (We're not really wimps, we would have set traps but they were usually alive in the bottom of the bin) Hope they get rid of it soon for you!

mb314

The exterminator just came and we have a plan!  A mixture of poison outside only, in dog and kid-proof boxes, traps inside and methods to keep them from coming back in again.  Fingers crossed we get rid of him (them?  Oh I hope not them) soon! 

joshua+rebecca11

Glad to hear you have plan!!
Don't freak out too much, having a rat/mouse problem doesn't make you a terrible house keeper or mean your house is filthy...rodents will go anywhere there is food - clean or otherwise. I'm sure you'll get it taken care of soon, it sounds like your exterminator is thorough! Good luck!

so72409

GAHHHH!!!! I would be freaking out, too.  We just caught an elusive mouse that had been defying our traps for several weeks.  Caught her and the next morning we hear squeaking.  UGH. babies.  My DH literally destroyed our kitchen cabinets trying to find them....several hours, a jig saw, and two holes in my cabinet floors  and they were finally out.  It took me nearly 2 days to return my kitchen to order, but it's better than having baby mice....

wildflower75

Hey there! I've been wondering did you catch the rat yet?
We've caught 4 mice in the past 2 weeks! It's annoying that we can't move our fridge, stove or washing machine to see if that is how they are getting in! It's NYC and plus there is construction going on behind our apartment... I'm just praying that they are all gone by the time the new baby is here!!!

mb314

Thanks for checking @wildflower75.  Do you own or rent?  Is your super helpful?  Can you landlord pay for an exterminator (if you rent)?  Our super in NYC was a huge joke (he was high all the time), and our landlord hated us because we were rent stabilized.  I quickly learned it was easier to take care of things ourselves.  Anyway, good luck!   Being 6 months + pregnant isn't the time to get a cat, but they are effective!  At least when they kill a mouse, you can consider it natural selection. 

Ugh, we've caught 3 rats in the kitchen - the last one this morning.  It's been an ordeal and a huge stress.  We've stopped cooking in our kitchen - relying on takeout (and there are limited options where we live, most of which are gross) and the Whole Foods hot bar.  All of our food is in the fridge or in tightly sealed containers in the cupboard.  This morning I had to make DS eat his breakfast on the front porch while DH disposed of the rat.  F-ing awful. 

DH and I spent the weekend sanitizing our kitchen in hopes that we had seen the last of them - no such luck but at least we sanitized.  We moved the fridge and the oven to clean under there (and confirm it was tightly sealed) and fixed our back door which had a gap in weather stripping that could have allowed them to come in.  We're thinking that the dish washer may be where they're gaining access, but that's not something that can be easily moved.  We have had an exterminator come 3 times already, so we're on top of it, and even though I have moments of hopelessness about the situation, it will be resolved.  It has to be. 

We have plans this weekend where I would love to get a sitter, but I can't have a sitter in our house when a rat may come out!  Nobody would ever sit for us again! 

wildflower75

We rent and our landlord is somewhat helpful but the exterminator hasn't been able to move those big appliances... Guess we should try again... Hey at least they are getting caught! Both yours and mine! Hopefully for good!!