I have lived in the same home for 27 yrs. Nothing has changed! There is just furniture in my basement, absolutely no food. The basement is "all of a sudden" infested with rats. I have set 6 traps... I have only one trap left. Now I must find the rats in the other traps. Yuk! Why... all of a sudden? I'm afraid to used poison as I have a dog & a cat. Please, if anyone can help? All night long they are in the furnace ducting... having a rat party & keeping me awake.

You say what kind of rat these are, but if you are like me, a rat is a rat, and meant to be outside, not inside.

Check these sites out:

Rat Fact Sheet
How to Get Rid of Rats - Rat Control, Rat Poisons, Rat Trapping, Rat Trap Bait, Rodent Control, Mice Control, Rats, Mice, Rat Traps, Rat Snap Traps
How to get rid of rats

There are sonic devices that are intended to drive away rodents, insects, and spiders... you can get them at a hardware store for $20. They're not going to affect your pets (so long as you don't have pet mice... it'll say on the package what kind of animals will be affected), and you won't have to worry about any of the messy clean-up.

They might be attracted to the stuffing in your furniture.

Boy... sounds like you might need some professional help. The methods that are typically used are standard snap traps or rodenticide bait stations. The bait stations are generally placed in locations that pets do not have access to, and by design... they should only permit critters the size of rats and mice to enter the internal chamber that contains the bait. There are many baits that do not cause secondary poisoning (poisoning a dog or cat that eats or chews on a rodent that has ingested bait) but it pays to be careful. Also... using bait can cause rodents to die in areas that are hard to get to for removal of the carcass. I would recommend getting some professional help to control the infestation as well as inspecting and sealing any access points to prevent future trouble.
1. Standard snap traps
2.

Thanks all for your help. I have pdsed;one sonic pestchaser,8 sticky traps & have another 4 snap traps set. Can still hear the partying. I do not know what kind of rats they are. I live on a small island, the only local hardware store told me that we seem to have an infestation on the island. He has never ever sold so many rodent products. The option of professional help is extremely expensive, as I must pay for the people to come on a ferry that leaves the main island at 5:30 am, and they can't leave the island until 6:10 pm. So I would like to exhaust all other possibilities. Does anyone know if this is a cyclic problem? How do they get here? If I eliminate my problem, other than lots & lots of sonic pestchasers, is there a way of being pest free? I have read a wonderful site put out by Seattle/King County Health Dept. & found out they even eat dog feces & come up through your toilet, & they carry the Hantra disease. Thanks again.

P>S>... I forgot to say that; in B.C. a store must have a "pesticide" license, so no-one has one on the Island, and to make matters even worse, if someone had a license, they must pay dearly to bring products onto Island, as products must come on a '''Dangerous Cargo" ferry that runs 3rd Wed. of every month. It is illegal for even us to transport poisons, fuel, propane... etc in our own vehicles.

If you see any visible holes-stuff them with cheesecloth from the hardware store-they can't chew through it. My friend opened up a business and had to take a health class-this is what the guy told her. He also said rats can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter.

I would use coarse steel wool rather than cheese cloth to plug openings.

MissK , I think you meant hardware cloth. It is a steel mesh of 3/8" boxes. It would work too but harder to fit into the hole. Perg, keep using the traps but screw them down or tie off with wire. Little guys love peanut butter and raisens.

Isn't there an official you could talk to about your problem? I just feel for you-that's got to be awful. There's got to be something somebody can do to help you.

Thanks Ballengerb1-oops hardware cloth-yeah that's it.

It helps to try to think small when it comes to looking for access points for rodents. Mice can fit through a hole that's no bigger than the diameter of a dime and rats can squeeze through a hole the diameter of a quarter. If you can slide a pencil under a door... mice have no trouble getting under either. Wherever their little heads will fit... the body will follow. They need two things to survive just about anywhere... harborage (a place to live) and forage (food to eat). If you can deny them these things... provided they aren't tending little ones... they'll naturally move on to greener pastures. Maybe you could start a compost pile in your neighbor's yard. Just kidding!

Do you know anyone that has cats? Borrow a couple of cats and they will be in rat heaven!

Most cats are no match for 6 rats. Isn't this how Rat Terriers got their name? Anyone have a Rat Terrier?

Ha Ha-true. Rat terrier would be better. I have also heard yorkshire terriers would be good for that too. Matter of fact-any type of terrier. But I don't know... at least two cats might work. Seriously pergammano maybe you could find someone. Anything is worth trying at this point.

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Originally Posted by pergammano

I have lived in the same home for 27 yrs. Nothing has changed! There is just furniture in my basement, absolutely no food. The basement is "all of a sudden" infested with rats. I have set 6 traps...I have only one trap left. Now I must find the rats in the other traps. Yuk! Why...all of a sudden? I'm afraid to used poison as I have a dog & a cat. Please, if anyone can help? All nite long they are in the furnace ducting...having a rat party & keeping me awake.

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I had a big mouse problem, I mean they were every where even my bed! I brought electronic devices that sends a high pitched sound that drives the mice crazy.Well in a couple of days they were all gone. But you have to buy a couple and plug them into the wall. The bigger the room the more you have to plug in. They kind of look like night lights.

The only problem I see with the ultrasonic device is that it chances the mice away. Unless you leave the devices plugged in forever the little guys come back with their new hoard. It may sound cruel but in my house the only good mouse is a dead mouse and rats are even harder to kill. I used a sonic device to get rid of ground squirrels in my yard and it worked great. My neighbor now reports a swarm of ground squirrels have taken over his yard for no reason. That will be our little secret for now.

Thanks, all of you! I did find a food source, I think, that I didn't know about. I have 3 acres & I found a demised deer. I buried it yesterday, after sprinkling it with "Wilsarin" because I am told rats are now immune to "Warfarin." I also learned that rats & mice have flexible rib cages, hence can get in anywhere as you suggest. My best rat trap so far is a large, tall bucket, 1/2 filled with water, 2 board ramps up to it. Inside I have put a ring of peanut butter, just out of reach, they lean over to get the p.b. fall in & can't get out.It is gross, I'm sorry, but they eat each other. (Sorry, forgot to mention that I covered the carcass with chicken wire weighted down with rocks, buried about a foot & half deep.) I am sure no other animals will access it. So, RATS BEGONE.. my bucket & board method is surpassing all modern methods. Thanks

Take the rat traps and a piece of plywood maybe 2 foot by 2 foot and screw the traps down to the plywood. Put about 4 per traps per piece of plywood. Bait them up and leave the boards out in the area you are seeing sign of the rats. Do not forget to check the traps at least twice a day after you first set them out and just before you go to bed. Do this for about a week or two and continue until you get rid of them. Make sure to tie the bait onto the trap. I used to use a chunk of dog food covered in peanut butter and tie it on with a bread twist tie...
This works great in conjunction with plugging the holes they come through. You should be able to get a good nights sleep in a week or so...
Good luck and let me know how you made out...