Need help with fancy rats...

I have a problem with squirrels (fancy rats) getting into the attic of my detached garage/workshop. I've tried every tactic I can think of and nothing has deterred these little crack heads. The latest attempt is using one of those ultrasonic sound devices with led lighting and I think they just invited their neighbors over to sit around and laugh at me. Any ideas?

 

My daughter and I shoot them, and their little cousins the chipmunks after they ate through the main wiring harness on my Honda Accord. We keep 22's in the garage so when we see them, we shoot them. I've also hung corn over a large galvanized tub filled with water. They fall off and drown. If you don't have dogs to worry about, you can also strategically place rat poison. As you can tell, we hate those critters. They cause major damage and if you leave them in the attic, they will chew through any exposed wiring, creating a fire hazard.

 

Have you been able to identify how or where they are getting in at? What measures have you already tried?

 

Unfortunately I don't have that option living in a neighborhood with houses close by. Believe me, I would if I could.

 

Yes...they are chewing through the facia. Every time I patch/cover their entry point, they make another one. I have turned off the power from the house to the shop to prevent any fires.

I've tried all kinds of things they supposedly hate like ammonia, Apple cider vinegar, moth balls, some store bought granular stuff with strong mixed scents (don't remember what all was in it) and now the current mentioned above (led light with ultrasonic sound) nothing has worked so far.

 

I have the same problem with my house. They made a hole to get in. I trap them and then drown them. You can also run a generator and close the doors that will gas them. I have a friend that does that. Note that it has to be a none attached garage.

 

Attach square wire mesh to fascia? Covering access and entry points. Fairly cheap product you can put multiple layers that you can cut to fit with tin snips and attach with a staple gun.

 

That does work. Friend had the same fancy rat problem.

 

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/6-best-squirrel-recipes-ever-pics/

 

The hardest part is determining exactly how they are getting in. Once you know that, you can trap them and seal the access. Steel wool works well to seal the entrance, as does dense spray foam. I use stainless steel wool so it doesn't stain the building if it rusts.

For traps, I use a small live trap baited with a big glob of peanut butter and some breakfast cereal with nuts squashed into the peanut butter. Once you trap them you can decide how to dispose of them. It is not a good idea to seal up the access before you remove the critters because they will look for another way out and possibly get inside the garage or living space.

 

I had squirrel problems as well. I can’t shoot them in my neighborhood LOL I found their entry point and fixed everything I could. They still were trying like crazy to get back inside. I figured out that there was babies in my attic. Once I get them out of there they didn’t try as hard. Activity increased for about a week once I got them out. But they finally got the hint.

 

Just turned it into a club for them

 

The only thing you can do that will work is to shoot them. They are destructive little monsters and I despise them. They have caused me an enormous amount of trouble. The advice from 'animal control' was to buy a BB gun.

 

Try this!

 

Tried mouse traps, rat traps. The little bastards are too smart.. and too fast. Only found tufts of tail fur. There is no arguing with a bullet.

 

The building is wood siding and the little craps are climbing up on the corners to get to the hole in the facia.

 

Yes. I'm afraid they are nesting and settled in for the winter.

 

Some folks eat them fancy rats....

 

Cayenne Pepper? Dust the siding a couple feet up, make a paste & slather the corner, heavily dust around the entry hole.
Jalapeño juice to make the cayenne paste.
Get those trays with the blue pellets in it for killing mice. Leave that upstairs inside. Works great on the mice - if the tree rats don't take them, mix in peanut butter.

Going to have some bodies to clean up, but short term issue to long term solution.

 

go to your local bjs or home depot. they have these inexpensive go pro like cameras around 20 bucks. buy 4 and canvas the perimeter to see what the route is to the shop and where they are getting in at. set up sticky mouse traps all around that area and enjoy drowning them.

at a couple hangars I've visited in the past there has been great success catching starlings using those super sticky rat traps along the entry points .you can bait them to the trap with those green poison cubes or peanut butter. just don't get your arm hair stuck on the trap. use dou le sided tape uf needed to stick the traps vertically.

 

Not this folk. Lol

 

This is true. They are harboring up right now. Your fix to elimination is going to be a multi prong approach. Keep in mind that squirrels get up everyday and go to work and at the end of the day they want to come home to a warm place to rest for the night.

1) Put mesh up mid morning after they have left the nest for the day. This way you do not trap them in the attic which would lead to greater problems.

2) Use pepper caulk around their walking zones in and around the nest area. Its safe, but effective. The pepper confuses them. If it gets on one, they usually carry it back to the nest inadvertantly which infects the nest and gets on others. The confusion makes them nervous and sends them looking for another place to harbor away from your home alive.

3) Use noise makers near the nest as well as Birds of Prey statues. This only works for a short time until they figure out its a bluff.

4) Put some tufts of hair near the nesting area of attic (human, dog, cat) whatever you can gather up or a combo of all three. This lets them know danger is near and makes them nervous making them seek harbor elsewhere.

5) Throw some stinky underware near the nest.

6)Combo all the things up and you will be successful. One thing by itself will not work.

Note: If they have babies none of this will work. They will stay till the death and cause you greater damage than you would by leaving them alone to grow and leave nest.

 

What!! Guess that cancels out possum...

 

Coyote pee. The outdoor coax cable we use at my job now has that scent added to it and it seems to do a pretty good job keeping them away, or at least stops them from chewing on it. Previously, squirrels were one of our number 1 causes for damaged cable.

 

These worked for me. They are NOT throw away traps. Add more peanut butter and keep smashing !

$24 Large Heavy Duty Rat Traps - Instantly Kills with Powerful Steel Spring - Quick Set-Up - Hands-Free Disposal - No Chemicals - Washable - Reusable - Durable (8 Pack)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071418KR6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

In urban areas where you cannot shoot, use a good pellet gun. I covered all my freeze blocks with expanded metal at my last home. One summer, I wiped out the entire colony with hav-a-heart traps, about 12 squirrels, over 3 months.
Make it your job, not a past time.

 

Parent's have a neighbor whose wife traps them. She puts them in her car and relocates them to some park in the country a few miles away. Over time she has basically eradicated them. And this is in a wooded area.

Note: It is illegal to move wildlife in some areas. Crazy but true.