Oh, rats!

[Night Owl]

The best solution is a .22 with rat shot. Cheap and easy. Lay the trash can on the side and see if you can get it into the can with one shot.

[Mestral]

If you don't want to go with the 22 (remember, effective range on rat shot is quite short) you're back to those traps. You just need to find the right bait to cover the smell of your hand and the other smells on the wood surface of the trap.

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Old wooden trap with peanut butter.

Or maybe butterfinger (see original post)

[Dagobert II]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

OK, Mestral, I'll bite. What is a Westie??

Here's a picture. They were bred as hunting dogs for the Scottish Highlands. They are very assertive and can do definite damage beyond an "ankle bite".

[CenTexDave]

Cute, but I think my cat is bigger than that.

[xzochye]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Cute, but I think my cat is bigger than that.

I have an 18 pound cat so I KNOW he is bigger than that!

[CenTexDave]

My cat asked me to get one of those. Said he hasn't ripped a whimp dog to shreds in a while.

[Imagine]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

oh my....please be careful with that poison, imagine. if the rat dies where another pet can eat it, the pet will eat it ala....an anuryism....and then bleed out.....when you poison a rat or mouse, you also poison anything that eats that rat or mouse.....mac

Thank you, Mac. Yes, this is definitely a concern that I have. And while I have no pets myself any longer, there is an off-chance that Sir Ratley may crawl off elsewhere to die. I'm not quite ready to go to poison. I'm going to give the trap obstacle course until New Year's.

[Imagine]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Those glue boards do work, but you need one for a rat, not a mouse, and you need to bait it. Peanut butter works, or like IE said - something sweet.
And, no, I didn't have rats to experiment with this. When I was in The Philippines I saw people using these and they worked good. Of course, the icky part is you then have to pick the glue board up and get rid of it and the stuck-to-it-critter. It may or not be dead. Some of them probably died of a heart attack, others didn't.

Have rat glue traps scattered around the house baited with his favorite Butterfingers. He won't go near him. But I have caught both myself and my husband on them. In a way, this is a funny situation. I'm beginning to wonder if his IQ is higher than mine.

[Imagine]

I appreciate that helpful advice everyone is giving me, and apparently Sir Ratley and I have given you all something to laugh about. About the Westies: the are cute dogs, but my folks had a terrier when I was a kid, no thanks. I just didn't bond with the breed.

About the high slaughter gun scenario: how do you sleep at night? I'd miss the rat and blow my toe off.

I have two of those electronic pest "keeper-outter" things; he must be wearing ear-plugs or he's jamming to whatever music turns rats on on his iPod because they don't deter him.

I'm going to try sticking with the wooden traps and peanut butter for a few more days. This cold weather may drive him to stick closer to home. One of my problems is that he has no real set pattern except that he doesn't go out in the kitchen. He is one canny critter, hence being dubbed "Sir Ratley."

[sojourner truth]

Rodents follow the walls when they do their dirty deeds. When you place your traps, put them along the baseboard areas, as they use those routes and mark them with their scent so they can navigate in the dark.

We used glue bait traps, poison, and regular "vector" traps at the airport all the time, as the critters would get into the areas we stored our grass seed.Never had one die inside a wall, but it can happen.

The sticky baits work great...but there is the isuue of "disposal" once the little perp is apprehended.

Those electronic devices work about as well as those things that put out a sound to make dogs quit barking...which means not at all...they need to send a thank you note for wasting your money when you but those things.