Oh Debby,sorry to hear that!! Do you have a lot of palm trees,and pampas grass around your property??That's where they like to live,ya know,and then if said trees are close to your house,they get in your attic etc.Hope you get rid of them soon.
Kathi

My uncle, former auto machanic, told me to tie/secure a sheet of original scented Bounce fabric softener under the hood.... somewhere where it wouldn't get caught up in any moving part. He says critters HATE the smell. So far no more rats ripping up the engine compartment of the SUV.

I can't stand the smell of bounce fabric softener either.

Okay, so the scurrying around I hear in my studio bathroom ceiling is possibly a rat (or rat family)??

We've been renovating our one bathroom in the house and have been using my external studio bathroom daily so we've only noticed these sounds the last few weeks. My husband swears he heard a sort of hiss (do rats hiss?), I've heard squeaking, and our dog has been going crazy around the perimeter of the studio (especially the area by the bathroom). We know something is in there, and there is a good size hole on the side of the building that came from the original owners doing some creative plumbing/wiring (that I admit we should have fixed months ago).

So if there is already a critter(s) that have taken up residence, how do you evict them? I don't believe in poisons and would rather scare them/lure them away. Would the fabric softener sheets work even though they're already in there?

Thoroughly bummed we didn't prevent the problem to begin with...

Don't worry, there's no shortage of rats, but it's nice for you to consider it might be another critter and that you don't want to add poison to the food chain!

Rats will leave a greasy mark at the hole, and you can see them pop out at sunset. A cat/dog on guard at the exit is an affirmative indication, just like you've seen. Rodents can squeeze thru a skull-size opening as small as a dime, so you need to find all the openings. Make a one-way funnel out of wire mesh, and check the other forums for suggestions. They can do a lot of damage, so don't delay.

and of course, a good mouser will make quick work of them! =^,,^=

Rats are noisy. They sound like elephants in the attic to me. We had them in a townhouse apartment we lived in years ago. Filthy, filthy critters.

Possums hiss, but before you start poking around make SURE it's not a skunk! You can call your county ag commissioner to see if your area has a county trapper that could take care of the problem for you.

The one way funnel sounds great - I'm pretty sure there's just the one large access point so we could rig it up there. I'll check the other forums for more ideas too.

I know, I've heard of possums hissing and we've definitely had them in the yard at night before. But the sounds in the wall/ceiling sound like quick scurrying motions (& definitely a bit of noise) - really makes me think rat. Would a rat not hiss? Have never seen a skunk around here, but would really not want to mess with one!

Of course this is all going on in the middle of our bathroom remodel...but I agree, better to get it taken care of sooner than later!

My husband was mentioning setting a trap with food bait outside the hole...don't know how I feel about it. Maybe a live trap could work. Wouldn't want to take the chance that it's some other furry critter.

My husband and I set a spring-loaded trap in our attic when we had roof rats once, and then we heard it go off. The rat was screaming for about an hour, hurling the trap around the attic as it tried frantically to free itself. Finally, in desperation, we called a pest extermination company, but by the time they came out, it was dead. It was a very unpleasant experience.

On a happier note, we used one of those sonic plug-in devices in our garage, and it drove out the rat that was living in there. We've not had a problem since, and that was a number of years ago. The unit appears still to be functioning properly.

Yeah, I thought rats were cute until they got into my garage storage area, and set up a hotel. Now I detest them!!! There was poop and pee EVERYWHERE and I mean everywhere. There was a solid line of feces rat-height along the whole wall over the counters where they walked, they gnawed nests into the carpet and lined them with poop, they ate the drywall, they ate 1/2 a GOLFBALL, they ate a nest into my $1500 sleep number mattress, and on and on. I eventually caught about 14 adults and youths. I had to throw everything out because it was either chewed or peed on, and I had to steam clean both the walls and carpet to get the smell out. This in about 4 weeks of rat families.

The best traps are the black plastic jaw ones sold at Lowe's. They kill them immediately because they are really strong, and you just take the whole thing and open it over the trash cash, and the rat is gone.

The glue traps are horribly cruel, the electronic zapper doesn't work, and the wood snappers often miss. Get the black jaw ones!!!

Carla in Sac

Our county vector control man came out and told us to set mechanical traps in the attic baited with peanut butter. Be sure to tie about 6" of heavy cord to the trap and then to a nail driven into a stud, so the beastie cannot run away with the trap. He walked around our whole house looking for any holes the size of a quarter, which we patched or sealed. We got one big one. Good. You are paying for the County Vector Control service through your taxes. (Check your tax bill.) They will come out to your home if you ask. They were very helpful.

Debby: The green bars work really good in certain places, but a car engine isn't one of them. Plus I really don't want a rat/mouse dying in the back of my glove compartment after eating some poison...... BTDT.

Last night right before sunset I was outside with my dog and he was super curious about the plantings in one of our raised beds. I let him shove his face in the dense santolina bush and wouldn't you know something scampered out toward our studio bathroom! (where the hole in the stucco is) It seemed small - smaller than a rat...I'm wondering if we have mice after all. We've had evidence of them off and on since moving here so it would make sense that they'd possibly have found their way into the studio walls.

I think we're going to set baited mouse traps outside the hole and see what happens. Hopefully we'll get the little critters out of there and then we can finally patch it up. I'm crossing my fingers it's mice and not rats...guess we'll find out soon enough.

My poor dog is going to need a vacation after all the crazed hunting he's been doing! Though he probably loves it too :o)