Rodents

[battersea]

i am building a house in Isaan...not exactly in town and not exactly in the bush either...

there are mosquitoes and flies and a few snakes now and then but there are a lot of rats....

Does anyone know a way of dealing with these rodents. ?

Is there something i can do before the house is finished to repel them or at least help to repel them ?

Does anyone know of any other methods to keep them out ?

[YipYipYa123]

cats ?

[LennyW]

Dogs !

[pigeonjake]

both

[Semper]

Poison?

[RogueExpat]

Flute and a large ditch full of tar.

[loong]

If you have messy workman dropping food all over the place and almost certainly, you do, this will attract the rats from surrounding fields. Pile of rubble, roof tiles etc are attractive places for them to set up home.

When the house is finished make sure that ventilation holes are covered with quality screen so it is not so easy for them to get in.

The Bayer poison pellets are quite good, the ARS pellets, not so much. Obviously keep these away from areas where children can get at them.

Off topic slightly, if you are having concrete floors direct contact with the ground, make sure that it is poured to a good thickness, ideally 150mm and bought in readymix. Thais tend to put a minimal amount of concrete before laying tiles and ants will soon find their way in. You won't stop ants (or cockroaches) completely, but this will certainly help

[TongueThaied]

DO NOT build a wood house -- no matter how much your wife wants it or demands it. Thai women typically dream of a wood house because they are beautiful and she will have a "big face." If you build a wood house, at least you have been forewarned: the rodents will plague you from now to eternity.

I know; I live in a wood house. I am getting ready to build one out of SuperBlock -- I've had enough of the rats. They fight and fuc_k all night in the attic. They have chewed holes in the walls. They chew holes in food packages. They've chewed through wires in both my refrigerator and washing machine (I have no idea why they do this, but it sure is a pain-in-the-ass.). And, they always work at night.

I have killed dozens and dozens of them, but knock one down and another shows up. I have caught a lot of rats on those glue plates. But you can only catch one or two, and the others figure it out and don't go near it. They are pretty smart. I have a poison I have used that killed a bunch of them (pink pellets), but they seemed to have learned about that, too, and no longer eat it. If I wait six months, I can use the pink pellets and glue plates again, because they seem to have forgotten. Also, with poison, they will often crawl off into some hole to die where you can't get at the carcass, then you have to endure the stink until they are either rotted away or mummified.

I have been able to effectively deal with both mosquitoes and ants, but the rats are winning. Just DO NOT build a wood house!

[Shameless]

We had a rat problem and I blocked all the holes in the walls of the roof and solved it, the <deleted>'ing things used to do my nut in at night squealing and running around in circles above our heads on the plaster board. My girlfriend used to say they are only rats they wont hurt you, that used to piss me off even more.

[Crossy]

As with most rodent problems, remove their food source and they will move on. Encourage them on their way with bait or a moggie. If you don't have small children or pets then snakes will also make a welcome dent in the population, they too will move on when they've used up all the rats.

Prevent access if you can, but these chaps can get through tiny holes (and find ones you miss).

[bendejo]

Just curious, a question for you guys out in the countryside: do the house rats attract snakes? Or do the snakes prefer field mice?

[overherebc]

Just curious, a question for you guys out in the countryside: do the house rats attract snakes? Or do the snakes prefer field mice?

Would imagine that either would be acceptable to a snake. Lots of snakes work on Infra red heat reception more than eyesight so if the target is within the "able to swallow bracket" then the snake will have it.

[loong]

Also, with poison, they will often crawl off into some hole to die where you can't get at the carcass, then you have to endure the stink until they are either rotted away or mummified.

That's one of the rare occasions that ants and flies are useful. The ants take quite a time, but will dispose of it eventually. Maggots are a lot quicker.

[VintageTQ]

Slightly off topic, but recently i was food shopping at my local Big C in Rachada - BKK, casually strolling down one of the Aisles when a huge rat ran out from under the shelving stacks across the aisle. I couldnt believe what i was seeing, even my Thai friend who was with me was shocked, yet when he mentioned it to one of the workers there she just laughed.

Unbelievable. I wrote an email of complaint which didnt get answered.

Needless to say i dont buy fresh produce there anymore.

[overherebc]

It seems that no matter where you are in the world you are never further than 20 feet from a rat. Can't remember where I read or saw it. Maybe in thailand it's 10 feet.

Lesson is

Don't kill snakes

[JurgenG]

As with most rodent problems, remove their food source and they will move on. Encourage them on their way with bait or a moggie. If you don't have small children or pets then snakes will also make a welcome dent in the population, they too will move on when they've used up all the rats.

Prevent access if you can, but these chaps can get through tiny holes (and find ones you miss).

What kind of snake ?

And how do you "adopt" a snake ? For cats and dogs, no problem I will always find a neighbour who have one who's looking for a new home, but a snake ?

[overherebc]

As with most rodent problems, remove their food source and they will move on. Encourage them on their way with bait or a moggie. If you don't have small children or pets then snakes will also make a welcome dent in the population, they too will move on when they've used up all the rats.

Prevent access if you can, but these chaps can get through tiny holes (and find ones you miss).

What kind of snake ?

And how do you "adopt" a snake ? For cats and dogs, no problem I will always find a neighbour who have one who's looking for a new home, but a snake ?

I suppose there might be a market there, but as you say, how the hell do you sit down and convince a snake that 'here' is a good place to live and you can have all the rats you want.

[bendejo]

Slightly off topic, but recently i was food shopping at my local Big C in Rachada - BKK, casually strolling down one of the Aisles when a huge rat ran out from under the shelving stacks across the aisle. I couldnt believe what i was seeing, even my Thai friend who was with me was shocked, yet when he mentioned it to one of the workers there she just laughed.

Unbelievable. I wrote an email of complaint which didnt get answered.

Needless to say i dont buy fresh produce there anymore.

Big C asked me to forward this to you:

Please stop sending us messages of complaint. They fill up our email boxes and put unnecessary stress on our system.

There is no cause for concern, the rats incur you no extra costs and are so large they can be easily seen, so you’ll always know where they are and there should be no further complaint.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Seriously, though, I think letters/emails of complaint never reach the people who would actually act upon them (meaning actions other than sending them to the trash).

[jubby]

you'll probably get a Stray Cat taking up residence around the garden if its big enough. We've always had them although they were never invited. they keep a distance and feed themselves. never seen rats in our House but we do get the occasional Weird looking Mouse. Those Glue Mats seem to be quite effective although they do leave you to put the thing out of its misery.

all in all its probably less of a problem than in a City anywhere in the World

[YipYipYa123]

if you have a snake,capable of eating dozens of rats .........

im not sure i would want that either

what size would the snake be after a year or two ?

[loong]

if you have a snake,capable of eating dozens of rats .........

im not sure i would want that either

what size would the snake be after a year or two ?

I don't think that there is such a thing as a snake that will eat dozens of rats. Most snakes, depending on their age will eat between once a week and 4 times a year. A couple of snakes will not have much effect on rat and mice population, especially considering how quickly they multiply.

Maybe having snakes around will act as a deterrent, I don't know.

If you don't want rodents around, remove/protect their food source.

[bendejo]

The Brits had a problem with snakes in Fiji back in the glory days, so they brought mongoose from India to get rid of them. After the snakes were gone the mongooses (yeah, I looked up the plural ) went after anything they could catch, and these guys are quick. Who can say what no longer exists on those islands.

[battersea]

Thanks for the idea about the mongoose....................excellent.

Thanks for all the help everyone ....

[fforest1]

If you use the glue pads (which work well) after you catch them you can pour cooking oil on the rats and they will get free from the glue pads.

I guess if you lived in a house you would have to kill the rats after you caught them.

I had a few rats in my apartment so I let them go down the block.

Whether they can live covered in glue and oil thats any ones guess.

Yea for the glue pads because Thai rats are very fast and smart.

Edited August 11, 2012 by fforest1

[travelmann]

It seems that no matter where you are in the world you are never further than 20 feet from a rat. Can't remember where I read or saw it. Maybe in thailand it's 10 feet.

Lesson is

Don't kill snakes

Does that include the top of Everest

[AyG]

Rats can be pretty determined. I had one that ate through the metal screen where a waste water pipe entered the drain, climbed up the pipe and chewed through the plastic to get into my kitchen.