I had rats in my house for about 9 months. i live in eastern CT. i think there are 3-4 rats left to remove. it used to be easy to catch them, put a snap trap out, clean them up in the morning. that worked for 2-3 months. now they have figured me out. they have mutated into "SUPER RATS". nothing works anymore here the list of stuff i have done.

6 glue boards,
16 snap traps,
a live cage trap,
2 poison boxes ( i have dogs)
cameras to track their activity( this is how i know there are 4 left)
finally i rigged a pellet gun with hobby type remote control to fire when i see a rat in the line of fire on the camera.

the gun has been the most effective lately with a kill every 2 months. it is an embarrassing kill rate. but they have quited down their rattivity as they turned in to super rats. one is blind in one eye, one is bigger then the others, one has three legs, and the last has one has a short tail from me grabbing it and pulling it off.

I'm here looking for a solution to my problem. any help - suggestions would be great help thanks

what do you guys think of a ferret?

A Rat Terrior maybe, or how bout a bobcat hehehehe

I would use a cage trap and wire the door up. Keep feeding 'em until they get used to it and than lower the hammer. Rats are neophobic and it takes them awhile to get accustomed to new stuff.

I'm a super smart rat specialist , because I do live in the land were rats know all the tricks , fix all the holes and leave one open , place a blind set there , no bait no nothing , hide the trap in the ground and bed it down so it's not to wobble , also clean up all your dog crap each and every day because this is what there eating and causing the problem ,

x2

thanks guys. i have done all of the above... except for cleaning the dog crap. ive had live cage trap set for 6 months and nothing at all, every type of bait you can imagine. also had snap traps wired not loaded trying to lure them in. they wont go near a terex or board trap. i also had posion box out for 4 months and not a nibble. any ideas about a ferret? lol

Have you tried bodygrips yet? They will not touch your food, if they have a food source that has not killed them yet:) If you can find out what they are eating try using that for bait. You can also try nesting materials for bait. Take away as many food sources as you can. If you can get them feeding on something just give them enough so that they have to compete to get the bait. Ferret may get lost or stuck in a wall causing more harm than good.

Ferret may get lost or stuck in a wall causing more harm than good.

I know of a cat that was turned loose in an attic for mice that died and I did the removal and clean up , it was bad maggots coming threw the floor into the living room.

If you've tried everything else will Pesky's foothold idea work. I haven't used a #0 in like forever but I used to nail 'em as a kid.

Use the Rat Zapper.

They never seem to wise up the to electronic ones.

Oh ya I was checking out one of them rat zappers just a few days ago , I've never used one but my eyes were just bugging out of my head , I didn't buy it so now after reading them words zapper ,I'm sure I will drive like 20 miles out of my way just to get one or three , I was thinking taking them apart then putting the zapper part into a 3' hunk of 6" black pipe , make it so it takes 3 rats at a time , could just add it to the landscape on a job , it would smoke some chipmunks Forsure and no bait needed , no bait means less raccoon action

Try and take a bucket and fill it ¾ of the way with water and put some oats it. The oats will float on the water. Put a ramp up to the bucket. When the rat jumps in he will drown. Grease the side of the bucket

Lots of great suggestions but part of the problem is they know you are after them. I think I would pull out for a few weeks and the come back and hang some bacon 5 - 8 inches off the ground and let them eat it, do this in several places then after they have established and eating station per say then bed some number o long springs under the bacon. During the few weeks pull out seal up most of the holes leaving the most used ones open, clean up all dog crap and make sure you have no other food sources close by like bird feeders. I think I would also put some number 50 coni's over the holes left open but not set until you set the traps under the bacon.

Another tip (s): when I am trapping rats I try and use only one type of trap and use it heavy in a short time they wise up to that trap then I switch to a much different looking trap and location again till they wise up then switch again to something that looks much different. Use different baits in the sets and see what they like. I have found that junk food sometimes works wonders. Also try snaps in weasel boxes this sometimes works good.

I am a big fan of the rat zappers and sold and installed many of them in restaurant accounts in my Pest Control days. I always sold them at the end of a rat job, installed the lil flashing red lights where they will be noticed and used them for future rat problem detection. They were always a great upsell during and after the rat job.

I have read a lot of good advice here just hit em hard with all you got. I have always tried to exclude the entry ways and try to trap them all out inside until they are nothing but a memory.

Rick Federation is right keep em guessing and you will eventually see an end.

you guys rock! by the way they dont leave the house anymore. so it makes it that much more difficult. i think establishing a feeding area is the best idea. if i can find a zapper i'm on it. thanks again

i did a mini experiment. oatmeal dont float for very long. lol but your idea is good, maybe packing peanuts

.....first put a wad of toilet paper in the barrel/bucket,(will float) add oatmeal on top, works great.

...willow...

.....should have said after adding water, then add toilet paper etc.

.....willow...

.... put a wad of toilet paper in the barrel/bucket,(on top of the water it will float) add oatmeal on top, works great.

...willow...