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April 2012 Moms
mrs+harlow
member
JFH & Laura
mrs+harlow
member
I've been Googling and reading since yesterday humane ways to deal with the rats. I don't feel comfortable killing them. When I was in college, my employer at the time put out glue traps for mice. I came in to work one day and a live mouse was stuck to one of the traps and I was horrified. A client came in and asked me what was wrong. he happened to be an Australian photographer for National Geographic ( he so reminded me of " Crocodile Dundee") and he helped me get the mouse off the trap. I brought it home and nursed it back to health in a shoe box before letting it go out in a park. His name was Fivel...I know I'm a total freak. So I just can't kill these rats.
They don't necessarily freak me out because of what they look like...I'm just worried about the germs they might carry and them damaging the house by gnawing/burrowing. Ok, the big ones that are bigger than the squirrels have two feet long tails kinda give me the hebbie jeebies.
I read that peppermint oil and sandalwood oil can deter them? What about trapping them and taking them somewhere else? With that I'm just worried about if it is cruel to just uproot an animal like that and then have them perhaps separated from the rest of their family? Also worried about coming into contact with germs from trapping them. Do you guys have any suggestions on what to try?
My husband put these sonic deterrent things near where the nest is and I haven't seen any today...but it's been raining so I don't know if maybe they just aren't out because of the rain?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: JFH & Laura
I know you can buy humane traps for small animals. My parents use them to "relocate" animals that get in their house or shed. I think my dad got them at a hardware store years ago but I'm sure you can find them on the internet.
DD1 9.24.06
DS 7.1.08
twins due 9.7.11 lost twin A at
DD2 4.7.12
To be honest. I didn't even read your post about having rats. I just saw JFH's post about how pet rats are cute.
I don't think you are a freak for nursing that rat back to health.
As much as I find pet rats cute, I don't mess around with stray rats. To me, stray/wild rats=diseases and I'd be wanting to get them trapped and as far away from my house as possible asap! I like the idea of the sticky traps vs the ones that crush their little bodies with a spring action contraption though.
I know but the sticky traps are really meant to make them attach to the trap and starve to death.....I think that's incredibly cruel. I called the guy that does our termite stuff...hopefully he has a humane option to sort this situation out.
I don't have personal experience, but I used to work for the Humane Society and their advice is usually pretty solid. Here's a link to some info (sorry I can't make it clicky):
https://www.humanesociety.org/animals/rats/tips/solving_problems_rats.html#_Public_health_concerns
Oh...didn't know that. Figured you'd just catch them on the pads, peel them off, and let them go(away from your house obviously). I am pretty ignorant to all things booby trap. Never had to deal with things like this.
Yeah, the sticky ones are intended to be lethal. But you can get box traps that capture them alive, and you never have to touch or handle them (you just spring the trap).