Advice needed re rats,please.

[Bellywobble]

In the last week or so, we have caught and taken away 3 wild rats which have come into the house! Any ideas on why they have started to come in and how to get rid of them? It is definitely not one rat, with a good homing instinct, as they look different.
Poison and killer traps are not really an option as I have a dog and a kitten. The local ferretarias don't have humane traps, so I'm going to search for one on the internet, but in the meanwhile I'm getting scared to put my feet on the floor! I could put the dog into kennels for a few days, but the kitten is at the age where he needs to be socialised, so that's not an option either.
We do tend to have the doors open all day and often for a while after dark, but I know they are not just coming in through the doors as one actually made a hole through a mossie screen to get in.
We don't tend to have food lying around and we do keep the house clean. We have a pet rat, so I'm wondering if maybe they are attracted by the smell of her. She has had a hysterectomy (97€ worth!), so she's not "on season", and we didn't have the problem last year. There are two houses being constructed nearby, Could that be a cause?
Does anyone know of a good pest control company, (east of Malaga)? Is it worth calling them in, given that they can't use traps or poison?
I have to say that while the pet rat is really rather cute and very tame, these wild ones a vicious little B*****s and do attack, so I'm now wondering if it is safe to let the dog go after them or is she risking a nasty bite!
In a couple of weeks I am having guests to stay who have two very young babies. One of them will be crawling, so I really do need to sort something out as soon as possible.
I would be very grateful for any suggestions.

[Hells Bells]

Hi Kayley, it sounds awful. I'm sure there must be a method of removal that will be safe for your pets. I think there's something called a 'bait station' here in UK which allows the poison to be eatne by the rats but not by the pets. REntokil has details, so I'm sure there will be something similar in Spain.
Rats carry Salmonella and Weils disease, so it's important you get rid of them, rather than trapping them and removing them. I think (from A level Biology), that rats do have a homing instinct, and they may return to the nest, and produce some more little rats.

[Bellywobble]

Helen, I don't know whether to say "thank you" or "oh S**T!"
The link looks very useful.
Do you know how those diseases are transmitted? Is it through direct contact, ie bites or through contamination? Are they diseases the dog can catch?
Do I go to bed now or just stay up worrying

[Hells Bells]

Humans and dogs can catch Weils disease. Caught from contamination from blood or urine. If your dogs vaccines are up to date, he/she should be vaccinated against it.Cats catch it extremely rarely. Human infection usually occurs via swimming/bathing in contaminated water. 90% of cases develop a flu-like illness, the remainder become more seriously ill. Get the pest control out to sort it out properly.

[Fraise]

We got the pest control people out (in UK). They put poison down cos they said that was the only sure fire way to get rid of them. It did work. They said ( I think, it's a while ago now) that rats eat other dead rats,so that's OK then - wrong !! The smell was putrid-obviously we had either killed em all so there was no one left to eat the last one,or we had an inedible one.The smell of putrifying rat lingered for weeks

[Mountain Goat]

Why not make the rats an unusual holiday feature? For vegetarians, just hold on the rats. This recipe looks particularly yummy:

RAT RAGOUT

Rodent
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Wild mushrooms
Juniper berries
Wild Turkey
Mouse sauce
Oil

Marinate skinned tenderized rat in juniper berries, wild turkey, thyme, onions, celery and carrots for 8 hours. Drain, pat dry, sear disjointed rat in hot oil in skillet, add marinade and simmer until reduced by half. Add mouse sauce and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with orzo pasta and cheese bread.

Mountain
(and goats are too tough, so don't get ideas)

[CostaBlanca]

Hi Kayley,

I have fruit rats in my garden and I have seen them ocassionally passing by the terrace to get to a nearby tree. They live on fruit, mainly almond nuts and you can check in your garden if you can see the broken outer shells of the nuts lying underneath a tree where they reside. You could try placing some poison high on these trees out of the way of your pets. I have never heard of them entering a house before and as far as I know they do not carry diseases. Try googling for "ratón de campo" for more information. I am not sure if that is what they are called in Spanish but your local agri-cooperativo should be able to advise you. This is taken from the website of a big rental agency.!!

ANIMAL LIFE
Ants are constant visitors to most villas in Spain, particularly as most of our properties are surrounded by gardens. Locally bought ant powders are a good repellent, but it also helps to keep crumbs to a minimum. As most of our villas are surrounded by gardens field mice and fruit rats are also common. These can be kept out of the house by keeping food out of temptation’s way.

Rat repellents (electrical device which emits sound) are now being advertised - no idea how effective they are.

Best of luck,
Maria

[Mountain Goat]

BBC Radio 4 prog. yesterday had some useful anti-rat tips, making the very clear point that the recent craze for wooden decking was increasing rat populations.

Decking is perfect - food crumbs etc. get dropped through, and they are attracted by the constant free food supply. Solution is to have good quality wire netting apparently.

MG

[vrooje]

Rat repellents (electrical device which emits sound) are now being advertised - no idea how effective they are.

Be careful with those -- if they're the type that drive the pest away with an annoying sound that is above the frequency range of most human ears, be aware that:

1) some humans will still be able to hear it. My parents had a similar device intended to drive fleas out of the house. They kept making jokes that they had no idea whether it was working, because for all they could tell, plugging it in just turned a little red light on at the top of the unit. When I came to visit, the first thing I said when I stepped in the house was, "what the h*** is that godawful beeping?" So, it was working, but it was so annoying that I turned it off whenever I was there. I would never use one of these at a vacation rental, because there's a chance a guest (or a guest's kids, which is more likely) would be able to hear it.

2) if it's just out of the range of most human ears, your dog should be able to hear it. Poor pooch!

Hmm... it's funny, I was hungry, now I'm not. Nice recipe.

[Big Sis..]

Oh Kayley... .

How awful,for you

Especially with guest with children coming out.....

There must be a pest control firm near you....

have you a private or communal pool....maybe you should get the pool people to check the water as well????

Please let us know the outcome...

[Bellywobble]

I didn't know about the fruit rats. I think that could well be what they are.
I can't use an electronic device because of the pet rat. I understand they need to be used constantly for a month, and I can't farm her out for that long.
Ros, we have got a pool, very close to the house. What might be wrong with the water?
Mountain Goat-I hate cooking at the best of times!
I've decided to call in the heavy mob. The local company are closed for ferria week, but I've contacted rentokil who are going to send someone on Monday. It's expensive as they are talking about an annual contract, but at least if I know someone is checking up regularly I can stop worrying about them.
Thank you all for your helpful advice, I'll let you know how it goes.

[CostaBlanca]

I didn't know about the fruit rats. I think that could well be what they are.

I've decided to call in the heavy mob. The local company are closed for ferria week, but I've contacted rentokil who are going to send someone on Monday. It's expensive as they are talking about an annual contract, but at least if I know someone is checking up regularly I can stop worrying about them.
Thank you all for your helpful advice, I'll let you know how it goes.

You might have to think about removing any source of food ie almond trees if you have them and/or any tree where they hang out that might be close to the house. Looking at the Rentokill site, there are various options available for getting rid of these pests. I wouldn´t rush into a yearly contract with them until you see how effective they are at the outset. You could try to arrange their visits outside of rental periods! Even though some of my guests must have seen them in my property (often seen crawling along the telephone cable from one tree to the next), they have never made more than a passing comment. Spotting a snake is another story, even though they are harmless!

Suerte, Maria

[Big Sis..]

Hi Kayley

I know that rats can pass on something through there urine some disease in pools etc....

Ive Just looked back at Helen Bs posting Weils disease I think.....She might know more about it..

Not trying to scare you
but I think it needs looking into Im sure your pool man can test and all the chemicals he uses should do the trick......

Hope you get it sorted.....

[mpprh]

Hi

just a word of advice :

Of course these rats are jolly nice animals, but don't show the photos on your brochure / website !

Peter

[Big Sis..]

Hi Maria

You could try to arrange their visits outside of rental periods! Even though some of my guests must have seen them in my property (often seen crawling along the telephone cable from one tree to the next), they have never made more than a passing comment.

Couldnt work out if you meant the Rats or the rentokil men