Rats living under my deck & hot tub

12 years ago

Hello,

I'm at a loss with what to do with rats that have taken up under my deck and within the housing of my hot tub. When we first bought this house--the people before us left the yard messy (dog poop) and we soon found out the garage was rat infested. We took care of that problem (cleaned the yard, cleaned out the nesting in the garage and poured concrete to cover the wooden beams they chewed out to get into the garage. We lived for several years without a rat infestation--but just this fall started noticing rat droppings in the garage again and recognized that the wooden door and threshold to the garage were rotted out and left a space for critters to get in. We emptied the entire garage, found it nesting in building materials we stored in the garage--we cleaned out the garage (again) and repaired the door...but, now we see that they have taken refuge under our deck and in our hot tub.

It's frustrating because we managed to get rid of them for several years and now are struggling with them again. We do everything else right--e.g., pick up dog poop right away, keep wood piles elevated with no "hiding places," rake the leaves, dump out standing water, covered garbage pails with no holes in them. We are completely at a loss at this point what to do. We've already disturbed their "home" under the hot tub--cleaned it, shop vac'ed the poop, etc. We've done snap traps and found that they eat the food right out of it and escape.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE--if you have any other suggestions, please let us know!

(On a side note--I've seen them and they are *enormous*--the side of a small adult cat!)

Featured Answer

ralleia

12 years ago

I've not had to deal with rats before. Field mice and shrews yes, but no rats.

At this point, I'd be tempted to call in professionals--provided they had some kind of credible guarantee of eradication.

But other ideas that I have:

1) YOU might be doing everything right to deny the rats access to food. But they are getting food and water somewhere. Is there somewhere in the neighborhood that they are feasting? Can you locate it and have the authorities do something about that? (Just be cautious about how you go about this--neighbors who tend to leave edible trash all over can have other rough edges, too.)

2) Could you perhaps install 1/4" hardware cloth and bury the edges to try to EXCLUDE the rats from nesting under your deck?

3) Electrified livestock netting? A zap or two will teach 'em quick.

4) MORE trapping, and perhaps a different kind of trap to throw them off? I've grown to like the Trapper T-Rex traps because they keep my fingers clear of the business end of the traps. Also, you might be able to improve your baiting technique. One the Victor traps that I used to use I would apply the bait to the *underside* of the trigger to make it harder to steal.

Just some ideas, that may or may not be helpful. Like I said, I've never had experience with rats before, just other pests.

Comments (6)

louisianagal
12 years ago
Yes I would definitely contact a professional. Not just to exterminate but to help you find the source etc. What about some (spayed, neutered) cats?
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The concrete slab under my hot tub has started to shift over the years, so it's not level anymore. I was quoted $700 to pour a new concrete base, which included gravel and rebar. That's really the best option, but I was concerned that this price was going to be too LOW! I wanted to make sure they made it thick enough that it wouldn't shift again in 5 or 6 years. I understand money being an issue, but that's really the best solution. Anything else, I think you'll regret in a few years and just end up spending more money to undo it. Otherwise, the next cheapest option would be to build a wooden frame with deck boards (so it won't rot from touching the ground), get it perfectly level, then lay down thick plastic that overhangs the boards, then give it a layer of pea gravel, then fill it with leveling sand. Then cover it with more plastic. My hot tub was going to require 10 cubic feet of leveling sand, which is twenty 50lb bags. But of course that will vary a lot, based on the thickness and everything. I'm not 100% positive that the leveling sand wouldn't wash away, even with the plastic layers. I was TOLD that polymeric sand would be a better choice, but that's just hearsay. It's considerably more expensive, but it DOES say it's rain-safe in an hour and is designed for pool decks, so... maybe. https://www.lowes.com/pd/CasaScapes-35-lb-Gray-Polymeric-Sand/1002635628
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ronalawn82
12 years ago
dlang5365, you probably need to contact a professional; mainly because you do not want the pest to die in an inaccessible area.
One method which works well is the 'snap trap'. The strategy is to secure (glue?) the trap on the deck close to a wall where the rat is likely to run. Bait the trap without setting it; night after night until the bait is taken for three or more nights in succession. On the fourth night bait the trap as usual but set it this time.
You can picture the scene; as soon as all the lights go out Mr. Rat will dart out of his hiding place and confidently make for the bait which he knows is there. Sure enough it is but "What the ....!" might be the last thought to go through his mind.
I tried another method which will work but the rat might die in an a hard-to-reach place. I bought a rat poison which seemed to have oatmeal as the carrier. I got a small receptacle which I filled with wholesome oatmeal (replenished every night) until the mouse was eating it up - again for 3 successive nights. I then emptied the store-bought poison/bait into the receptacle and replenished it each night until it was untouched next morning. I never did see the mouse/mice alive or dead; but the problem was solved.
The pre-baiting technique was developed to reduce the massive rat populations on sugar cane plantations - long ago and far away.
HIWTHI
12 years ago
One cat = zero mice or rats. The rodents just smell a cat nearby and will not come around.
robberscave8196
7 years ago
I too have the same issue with MASSIVE rats, they are indeed the size of a small adult cat and my neighborhood cats seem to give the rats a wide bearth.i have started planting mint, citronella and lemon balm in pots all around the hot tub, supposedly rats don't like mint so I guess we will see! However, I've also put bounce fabric softener sheets in nooks and crannies inside the hot tub cabinet. My largest rat deterrent is my adopted Pitbull. He is seriously the best ratter I've ever seen. He will catch them and kill them which has caused the rats to start to avoid my yard! I'm always going to have this problem because my neighbors have all sorts of junk in their backyard and only mow it 2 times per year!
Janelle Schneider
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
We are having the same problem with Norway burrowing rats. Our neighbors have chickens - and not much we can do about that. Our professional exterminator told us that as long as the chickens are there, so will the rats. We are at our wits end with this situation. The neighbors have cleared their yard completely of hiding places, so that rats feed there, and then nest in other people's yards.

After first spending $5k to retro fit our deck and install aluminum flashing, it wasn't installed deep enough and the rats burrowed under it. Out of desperation we did research into rat exclusion methods in the Midwest around pole barns and grain silos, and discovered an exclusion technique of a "rat wall" using 1/4" hardware cloth, and trenching. A trench is dug at least 12 inches deep, and hardware cloth is attached to the decking with lath screws. It is bent in either an "L" shape or a "U" shape lining the trench, and then the trench is filled in with either dirt of sharp gravel. Now we are gathering contractor estimates for installing this around the perimeter of our large low deck. In the same bid we're also asking for "hatch" areas to be cut from the deck floor to allow us to pop open areas, the exterminator can place bait stations in there, and gives us access to discourage any settling in. Wish us luck.

Rats living under my deck & hot tub

ralleia

Comments (6)

louisianagal

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