If the traps don't work, I suggest better living through chemistry. Warfarin kills them by depleting their Vitamin K dependent clotting factors made by the liver, (they then bleed to death internally). Down side is if they die in the wall of your garage it will stink for a month. If you have kids or dogs make sure you put it up on a shelf only where the rats will get at it.
The cat is a good call, but I hate cats, and they will jump all over your car.

 

You Need a couple of Vtec "Body Guards" like I have

 

Dude if you got a couple of those, there's no wire good enough for any rat to go near

 

thats why I reccomend the cat. Rats will actually leave a warm house, with lots of food when a cat moves in. I purchased a 100 year old house about a hundr3ed yards from a farm. The rats would leave the barn to move into my house in the winter - you could actually see the path they beat into the grass, going back and forth for food. Anyway, we got cat - totally declawed, neutered and about as harmless as an animal could be, but guess what - no more rats! It's also why I reccomend a lethal trap, rather than poison. If y9ou do use poison, you need to understand what will happen. Worforin, the most common poison used (d-con) causes the the animal to hemorage internally. They will become dehydrated and seek water. This causes them to hemorage more and eventually, bleed to death internally. So, look for the bodies near sources of water. I really don't like this method because it doesn't solve the health issue. The real problem with rats is not the rat it's self, its the fleas,ticks and other insects that live on them., When the host dies, they move to another rat. So I really rteccomend the traps. You can check the traps and dispose of the bodies before this takes place.

One of the "advantages" of growing up on the farm. And actually the most humane thing is to not kill them, just convince them it's healthier to move on. So, the cat is the real answer. And, while I'm at the "down on the farm" wisdom thing, a cat improperly taken care off, is just as much of a health hazard as the rat. So if you get a cat, get a full set of shots and care for it properly. ( Last year,in Pa, feral cats were the leading cause, and principal spreader of rabies among the human population).

 

I give her mice sometimes for her to play with. It's pretty fun to watch
She's got claws and takes full advtange of them. One thing though about my cat, she likes to "play" with them more than kill them. She'll bite them and claw the crap out of them. Then let the mice recover their energy and go at it again. Then repeat until the mice just die from the wounds and then she brings the mice to papa as an offering or something. We even had rats in my basment one time. Opened up the basement door for her and made sure the boilers and everything was closed up fine. Put a little bit of seeds and rice on the floor. Within 2 hours she got all 3 of the rats.

Really cant beat a cat when it comes to killing rats. I mean seriously, they'll either eat them, show you where the bodies are, or bring them to you to throw away. No guess work and they enjoy themselves. Get their full set of shots, bathe, flea and tick powder and you're done.

Or you can use loads and loads of sticky traps that surround food in the middle.

 

btw, nzaizar that's one fat cat you've got there

 

Yuck... rats. I had a rat problem behind my old apartment, and the City cited my landlord. The city killed 70 rats in one weekend with a mixture of poison and snap'n'kill traps. Cats were running from these guys, it was like a Dracula movie or something.

Cat is a great option. Traps are a pain the ass and you have to handle dead vermin and if a rat dies behind the wall, you'll have months of gross smells. It's hard to seal the place up because they can get through something so, so, small.

 

Yes, Thank you I am very proud of her I have alot of bird feeders in my yard so we have plenty of Rat and Mice activity and the cats patrol the front yard and JRT's patrol the back yard - Seriously I do use traps but because of the animals I use the cage type that captures them live and I won't post what happens next because people may not like it but it has something to do with these little monsters! They just love to pop their little heads off

 

"WRONG! they do burrow, they can climb. there is even a hybrid breed of rat (called a Alpha Rat) that will chew threw tin, to get at food, etc. The old Norway rat that first came over on the Mayflower has adapted to modern America, In some major cities where D-con and other worforin poisons have been used, the rats have developed a limited immunity."

Then there is the colonial rat called the Marsupial (if you ever saw BadBoys2 you'll get that).

I have a 120lb. Doberman-Husky who is extremely silent and agile. He's very gentle but has a latent aggressiveness and is a natural hunter. This guy has snuck up on countless rats and TWO BIRDS! Of course, he offers up his kills to me as a token of his respect Commonly, when mowing, I come up on dead rats and birds. It is amazing a dog so large can be so silent. I've watched him stalk; he gets down really low and walks in a way so that there is NO up/down movement; just a big black and white shape floating toward the prey. He can even sneak up on cats in the yard.

 

Big ass rat traps and peanut butter work. That is, unless you have a cat.