Rat in House: Chances for Disease?

[rcox81]

I threw away a drain cover in a shower and a couple days later I saw a medium sized rat running through the house.  I couldn't find him until I caught him in a trap about 2 weeks later.  I have no idea where he was hiding all that time.  The trap was safe, and I let him loose out into the street.

 

Real question is, what are the chances for disease?

 

I did a little research on the internet and it looks like Hantavirus is not a big problem in Bangkok.  Still a little concerned, though.  Has anyone spacifically heard about rat diseases in Bangkok?  What are the proper actions to take to make sure there are no problems later.

[tonytigerbkk]

Have you tried asking Thai Visa's resident rodent expert 'Roland Rat'.

I believe he will be on line later, so he may be able to help you.

[mrtoad]

You should be happy that a great Rodent has visited you.

I think Rats get a bad press really.

Have a chat with Roland Rat

[tonytigerbkk]

You should be happy that a great Rodent has visited you.

I think Rats get a bad press really.

Have a chat with Roland Rat

 

Hi Kevin,

Didn't know that you were acquainted with Roland.

[mrtoad]

Lol, Roland is da Man. Yeaaaaaaaah!

[Brit_Doggie]

Smile be happy that you caught the rat and released him/her onto the street for him to now go frequent a neighbours house will they be happy unlikely,fortunately for you it is rare that a rat can get a disease from humans.

[tonytigerbkk]

Smile be happy that you caught the rat and released him/her onto the street for him to now go frequent a neighbours house will they be happy unlikely,fortunately for you it is rare that a rat can get a disease from humans.

 

Unless the rats live in Khao San Road.
 

[mrtoad]

Smile be happy that you caught the rat and released him/her onto the street for him to now go frequent a neighbours house will they be happy unlikely,fortunately for you it is rare that a rat can get a disease from humans.

 
Unless the rats live in Khao San Road.
 

The rats on Khao San are the cleanest living creature there.

[Thainess]

Extreme high risks of disease from rats, especially in a tropical country like Thailand. You can catch bubonic plague, Weil's disease, hantavirus, and many other potentially fatal diseases from rats. Google "diseases from rats" to find out more. Suggest you find another place to live before it's too late!

[Crossy]

Extreme high risks of disease from rats, especially in a tropical country like Thailand. You can catch bubonic plague, Weil's disease, hantavirus, and many other potentially fatal diseases from rats. Google "diseases from rats" to find out more. Suggest you find another place to live before it's too late!

 

Nah, just make sure it's cooked properly and it's good to go :)

 

 

Seriously, where there's one rat there's many, time to get the rat man in to deal with the beasties.
 

[mrtoad]

Why all this hate for Rodents?

[smileplur]

 

Seriously, where there's one rat there's many, time to get the rat man in to deal with the beasties.

 

 

I certainly second this.  Do you even know the rat you trapped is the same one you saw?  No, you don't.  There is never just one rat!!!  That's a fact you can take directly to the bank.  You have a rat problem on your hands, but you aren't aware of the magnitude of it.  They will appear again.  Don't be shocked by it.  There are many, many threads on this forum (and many others) about how you can deal with this situation.  Hopefully, the problem isn't out of control yet.  Try some of the solutions you find when you search.  You should try to get rid of them as quickly as you can.  Living in an apartment building, this is probably an impossible task because they aren't just in your place. 

 

As for disease and health, you don't have anything to worry about.  I live in a townhouse.  So, my living room, dining room, and kitchen are on the ground level.  Rats ... Yes, they are here.  I can get rid of them for a while, but they always return.  I don't worry about them nearly as much as I do some of the other things I have seen at my house.  I probably fear the Reticulated Python the most.  I'm not too fond of the family of tookay geckos that live in the car park in front of my house.  The noise doesn't bother me.  The fact that they can jump and bite me with a grip that won't let go until submerged in water and unable to breathe ... yeah, that bothers me.  Did I mention the Python?  The other snakes also scare the hell out of me, but I don't know what they are called.  The snakes eat the rats.  The geckos attract the snakes.  I'm witnessing the entire ecosystem of the open field I live next to invade my home.  It's not fun.  Don't worry about the rat!
 

[ATF]

TooKay cannot jump and bite you. They will only bite if you grab them. Pythons won't harm you but they may eat your small dogs and cats. Just give them a constant supply of dogs and cats and they'll be happy.

 

I used to have two 15ft Pythons, one Burmese and one Reticulated. They were like babies but had to let them go in a National Park because the neighbors kept complaining about their missing cats.

[iancnx]

Run Forrest, run!

[slipperylobster]

Why all this hate for Rodents?

 

Wiping out 1/3 of the human race, for starters.

[rhythmworx]

An old pal of mine eat a sandwich whilst fishing, he didn't know he had traces of rats piss on his hands.

 

He was dead 4 days later, Leptospirosis aka weil's disease.

[Diplomatico]

"Real question is, what are the chances for disease?"

 

Rats are pretty resilient creatures - I'd be surprised if it caught anything dangerous from living in your house.  

[neverdie]

Why all this hate for Rodents?

 
Wiping out 1/3 of the human race, for starters.

If only we ( bilderberg group) could control which third got wiped out.........perhaps you may never have made it thus far, little hard shell creature.

Many Yachties have cats to keep the rats at bay....... do you have a pussy on ya dhow missta lobsta?

[HUAHIN62]

Why all this hate for Rodents?

Unfortunately/fortunately for you Thai's like frogs more than rats for dinner. 5555

[HUAHIN62]

_{Buy a big Detol and disinfect the floors and work surfaces in the house. Go through the cupboards and check for dung, if you find any disinfect everything inside the cupboard. Use bleach to soak your pots, pans, cutlery and plates in. If you contract any disease after that it will be bad luck. I must commend you on not killing the poor lost soul.}

[sae57]

 

Why all this hate for Rodents?

Unfortunately/fortunately for you Thai's like frogs more than rats for dinner. 5555

 

Rats are actually quite popular up here in Isan. You can buy them in the markets, splayed open on display if you're too squeemish to catch them yourself. Taste like... Well, anyway, they taste horrible, if you ask me.

--S

[mrtoad]

Why all this hate for Rodents?

Unfortunately/fortunately for you Thai's like frogs more than rats for dinner. 5555

Fortunately for me, I can differentiate between a frog and a toad. I'm sure most Thais would also know the difference when coming to what they are going to eat.

It's good to be a toad.

[DGS1244]

Weils disease comes from being contaminated by the urine of female rats, how do you tell the difference?. Yes there has been cases in Thailand, it starts of with flue like symptoms and if the person is fit and strong he/she is likely to cover fairly quickly. The young and old are the vulnerable ones. When I lived in Bangkok we had some tenants who insisted in leaving food out for Soi dogs, hence a lot of rats around. I bought large rat traps and set them out, caught on average one per week for some time, gives you an idea of how inundated Bangkok is, including one in my lounge ceiling space, could hear it running around until it got caught. Used a sticky mat, would not do that again, the stench was almost unbearable.

[Paulzed]

Sounds like nu yang for dinner at your place tonight

[Suradit69]

You should be happy that a great Rodent has visited you.

I think Rats get a bad press really.

Have a chat with Roland Rat

 

In some places they are assumed to be the reincarnation of ancestors ... or something like that ... so unless some dearly departed relatives are out to get you, there shouldn't be a problem. If Mr. Rat was white colored, it's considered an auspicious sighting unless you wake to find him gnawing on your toes, in which case, not so much.

 

[Alan653]

When you released it did it have it's original or photocopied passport with it. It's the law you know.

[crazykopite]

Had a friend many years ago who worked in the sewerage systems of the UK for many years, caught some form of virus from rat pee and sadly died a few months later I would suggest getting rat poison from your local Tesco it comes in the form of pellets the rat consumes it and takes it back to the nest think it cost 30/40 baht a packet I would suggest you then disinfect the areas where you came across the rat as a precaution there is a big difference between a pet rat and one that lives in the drains

[sunshine51]

^^^ Reads as though your friend contracted leptospirosis.

It is a bacterial infection that can be carried by many animals

however rats are the main vector. When the rat takes a piss

to leave a scent trail to follow later the piss contains the

leptospira bacteria and it can easily infect a human via a

cut on the foot. hand etc. In many places where rat infestations

are huge & common many people contract leptospirosis and

quite a lot die due to delay in treatment. Google Leptospirosis

and also check the CDC page that will also be presented on

the same page.

 

Rats in the floods dead or otherwise are not a good sign for

wading in the flood waters.

 

RIP to your friend.

[antsrule]

Having a cat works well. Even if the cat is well fed and does not chase the rats, the rats will leave if they smell cat urine. Better if the cat does not interact with the rats. So do the detol thing mentioned above then get an unneutered male cat. They will stink up your entrance but they are not a health hazard as long as they have a clean litter box and THAT IS ESSENTIAL! Start with a 6 month old male. He will become a close and clean friend. Feed him good quality dry and wet food. Do not discipline a cat. They do bad things to send you a message. Usually the problem is that you haven't cleaned the litter box so they sh.t on any drain they can find. They rip up your toilet paper because it is fun. They like to sleep on paper or cardboard. They are still way better than rats

[ATF]

Having a cat works well. Even if the cat is well fed and does not chase the rats, the rats will leave if they smell cat urine. Better if the cat does not interact with the rats. So do the detol thing mentioned above then get an unneutered male cat. They will stink up your entrance but they are not a health hazard as long as they have a clean litter box and THAT IS ESSENTIAL! Start with a 6 month old male. He will become a close and clean friend. Feed him good quality dry and wet food. Do not discipline a cat. They do bad things to send you a message. Usually the problem is that you haven't cleaned the litter box so they sh.t on any drain they can find. They rip up your toilet paper because it is fun. They like to sleep on paper or cardboard. They are still way better than rats

 

I'm not knocking your post but my experience of cats in Thailand is they are too frightened to catch rats. Some rats are huge. Cats would prefer to go for lizards and birds.

 

I've only ever seen dogs kill rats. Your experience maybe different of course.