dog food, rats in the basement, the secret fix?

keithhr

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I've got a dog that sleeps in the basement, is fed down there and had a garbage can filled with dog food. One day 3 years ago I found that the lid had been eaten through(plastic) by rats. I cleaned out under the house, put her food in a metal can and then proceeded to trap 79 of them over the last 3 years, going for months at a time without seeing any traces of them. Recently there has been more activity with them going up a pipe to under the bath tub and the bathroom wall. I won't bait them, the traps are seeming less effective and the glue traps aren't working any longer. They are getting bigger. My dog is old and her legs are failing and the answer seemed to be putting her down, closing off he basement and getting a cat. The exterminators that I contacted were of little help, one guy offered to set traps and bait saying that baited rats that climb back into walls will only stink for one week. I told him I've been trapping them for 3 years, and the next guy told me he would rat proof my house and I said what about the rats that were already there. Both had no answers or guarantees, each offering to do a specific service with nothing guaranteed or implied and then it hit me. I was out grocery shopping and it occured to me that I could make their little lives miserable. I went and got a large container of Cayenne pepper (red pepper) and sprayed wd40 over pipes and vertical surfaces followed by liberal doses of cayenne everywhere those little suckers had paths of access around the garage and on pipes etc. Well, it's been 6 days and not a sound has been heard (knock on wood). If they sniff or walk on the ground pepper, life becomes real interesting for them. I just had to share this, I may have actually hit on something that works( more knock on wood)
 

Double_A

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This is gonna sound sick, but I wonder what those guys taste like with hot pepper? Skin them, clean them, flour them and sprinkle on some hot pepper, Deep fry em.

I imagine somebody on this board could say it they've eaten rat. My dad whose been through the depression told me as a kid, "you get hungry enough son you'll eat anything"

Sorry don't mean to hijack your thread.

GregR
 

zorba

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There was a tv program by the BBC that had some people on board a reproduction of captain Cooks ship, sailing around Asutralia. The woman who was cooking for the group said that the original 18th century sailors would eat the mice and guess what they tasted like chicken /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 

BuddTX

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I cannot speak about the rats . . .

I am sad for you, that you are even considering "putting down" your elderly, sick dog.

Growing up, I had two dogs at different times that had to be put to sleep. It is a very sad time, because your dog is really part of your family.

This IS NOT a flame, or a critizism, but rather a general comment for all reading this.

There is strong evidence that Dogs, like humans, respond very favoribly to A LIFETIME OF proper exercise and high quality diet.

While different breeds vary in their physical needs (shitzu vs border collie for example) most dogs require speed and duration far greater than what most humans can provide "on the leash" or "in a backyard".

Providing your dog, daily, proper exercise and superor nutrition, for his or her entire life, will, stactictly, increase your dog's active years, just like in a human's.

Also, while we are told over and over that "grocery store dog food is the best and only" thing we should feed our dogs, there is a growing trend to feed dogs better dog food, even beyond the "premium" dog foods that we can buy at petsmart or petco.

Don't misunderstand me, Eukanuba (for exaMPLE) is, in my humble opinion, much better than kibbles and bits or Old Roy, but, we have better options available to us in 2003.

There is a whole world of ultra premium dog food, products that one cannot get at even a petco or petsmart, and "home cooked foods" and the "RAW and BARF (Bones and Raw Food).

I am sure that there is bad stuff out there too (for example, people not understanding the BARF diet, and just throwing their dog a raw chicken), and people trying to make a buck by "developing" some ultra premium dog food, with no science or research, but just a slick ad campagin.

Like I said, this mirrors human research, if we exercised as a socity, and ate better, and did not abuse our bodies by smoking and drinking and eating crap, we would live, AS A SOCITY, longer, helathier, lives.

I do not claim that this is the best, or only "best" dog food, but I feed my girl:

Old Mother Hubbard WELLNESS Baked Dry dog food combined with home cooking, and at least one hour, off the leash, running with 4 other dogs, exercise, every day.
 

MR Bulk

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Deep post Bruce, and I agree. I had to put a couple of dogs down, went in with the vet (wife would have no part of it) and held them dearly for the last times while I felt their lives ebb from their bodies. Not a thing I want to think much about but this thread forces it.

We have a 14-year old toy poodle now who is totally cataracted in both eyes and completely blind, but I will NOT put her down unless and until she can no longer eat by herself. She is healthy in all other ways except for a little hip problem (can no longer jump up into bed to sleep with us) and finds the paper just fine to do her business.

I better stop here before I think about it too much (and also get accused of hijacking this thread, sorry KeithR!).

As to Keith's problem, it is nothing that can't be fixed via a li'l visit from me with a couple of my high-quality adult European airguns (sorry Craig!). It is the most humane and efficient way, and they don't go back in between the walls to stink for "only a week"...

There, back OT once more.
 

BuddTX

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Charlie,

Non dog owners do not understand this, but it hurts dog owners, as a group, to put their dog down, and we, collectively, as a group (I know that is redudiant) do not, as parents, ever want to put down our childten.

I do not care if you ar 14 years old or 95. We still see them as our child.

Hey, you would be interested in this. In Pet Fancy Magazine They have ad's for foam triangle setups that one can set next to their bed, so that a elderly dog can still climb up a bed.

You could probably build one for 5 or 10 bucks, a foam triangle for your dog.

Charlie, hope this post helps you and your wife.

Bruce
 

Mark2

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It's very sad to put a beloved pet down, be it a dog, a cat or some other animal. Those moments are not easily forgotten.

And now something to think about: Rats are very smart and fun animals, and if you treat them right, like you treat a dog or another pet, they become very attached to you. They make very good and interesting pets. They feel pain and fear and joy like our dogs and cats. We are the Masters of Repression & Illogic, aren't we?
 

BuddTX

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I found a link to dog bed ramps:

Elderly dog Bed Ramps

vert.jpg
 

keithhr

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My dog is a 100 lb, shepherd-lab mix that is beginning to fail physically (her legs are going) I had spinal surgery in late February, and while still physically strong, I can no longer lift a dead load such as this from the ground. The condition of her(whether she can walk) will determine when and if I have to do this(I don't want to have put her down). So, fellow dog lovers, fear not. Back to the point of my thread, it has been 6 days and no signs of any rat activity, maybe I'll have to market this concept, rats may hate cayenne pepper in it's purest form. If they walk on it, they clean themselves and have a truly nasty experience
 

Quickbeam

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Keith,

Sounds like you've stumbled onto something. If there are any holes to be filled, fill them with steel wool. They won't gnaw through it.
 

James S

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My inlaws had some little carpeted stairs made. Even their oldest dog has little problem getting up the 3 steps to get into her favorite chair or the bed /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have also have had to have a dog put to sleep. It was horrible, but she was fading fast and was just going to suffer out the last few days anyway. As difficult as it was, it wasn't because she was inconvenient or required too much care, she was very very sick. Still, wouldn't have given up the years of happiness for those moments of sadness for anything. She was a TERRIFIC dog! I grew up with her.

Now, back on topic. The only way to get mice or rats out of the house is to find out how they are getting in and block it off. It's on ongoing battle, but it works. There are guys that specialize in this kind of service, they will patch all the holes in the foundation, cover anything else with screen and then you have to trap or kill any that are left inside. You have to close up every little hole from the downspout to the chimney. It's an ongoing battle, but you can fix the problem that way. Depending on where you live, there is no way to keep them out forever. Even the tightest house on the prairie will eventually find itself home to a field mouse which will probably die in the wall somewhere. Just the way life is.
 

keithhr

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The downstairs door stays open for the dog, my approach at this point is to try to make coming into my garage something unpleasant, 6 nights and no indication they are around.
 

_mike_

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Re: dog food, rats in the basement, the secret fix

Instead of wd-40 (which evaporates) depending on what fire hazards exist you may try more of a grease like product. Also, rats and mice follow the urine trail left by those before them. Use only metal containers for food storage, I use galvanized garbage cans, they come in all different sizes. The wd-40 and pepper may be screwing up their ability to follow the urine trail. They'll eventually wise up and find different routes.

Something to consider is that rats are good diggers. If you see holes without mounds, those are rat holes not mole holes. Mole holes have mounds of dirt over them ... rat holes do not. So if you see 1"-2" inch holes near your foundation, they could be digging their way in. Get something heavy, brick, big rocks, whatever and cover the hole. I usually stuff some poison down the hole before covering it. Theory being, they find food before getting inside and hopefully take it back to their den, feed it to their young and die there not in your house. Granted they may just dig around it, but they may not if they are getting food which is what they are after anyway.

Also, go around and see if there are openings under your house. To plug them I use metal cut to fit from coffee cans (I drink lots of coffee) as long as it's not in a place that needs to look good. Around pipes, steel wool ..... coarse works well as it cuts them more if they try to pull it out. Kind of like using razor wire.

I also use those big rat traps with bread as the bait. I use the ones that are all copper and wood, not the ones with the plastic bait holder as I have never had good success with the plastic ones. Anyway, the idea is to "moosh" the bait into the little copper bait holder so the rat has to tug it a bit and spring the trap. Placement is important, try to figure out what their paths are and place the traps around their established routes.

Once you have basically eleminated them, you will need to always keep at least the traps out. Eventually others will move into the neighborhood. The traps will get the scouts and you'll be able to keep them from becoming a major problem.

Rodent type pests generally start becoming more of a nuisance when the weather turns cold as their food supply has run out or is running out. For me it's winter time. They are also drawn to bird feeders for the obvious reasons, maybe not yours ... maybe your neighbors. Also, they will get into pet food bowls left oustide and steal from there. But they eventually start expanding their search for food as they keep reproducing and need more food and offspring seek their own places to colonize.


These suggestions are ones that have worked well for me for dealing with rats.

Mike
 

Tomas

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Re: dog food, rats in the basement, the secret fix

Your only other choice with the rats is to give up trying to kill them and try to make them pets. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

-

I firmly believe that rodents and roaches will win eventually.

It won't be SkyNet and a bunch of Terminators - it'll be a coalition of rats and cockroaches ...

T_sig6.gif
roach1.gif
 

keithhr

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Re: dog food, rats in the basement, the secret fix

Mike , thanks for the suggestions. I've been trapping them for 3 years now and they are trap wise, I'm just hoping the pepper made them decide to just go elsewhere.
 

hideo

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Re: dog food, rats in the basement, the secret fix

keithhr, could be worse--my neighbor persists in storing dog food in his shed and there's this beautiful cinnamon black bear who has torn the door off it twice now ... got a close look at him when he tipped over my composter

beautiful roach graphic, tomas--haven't seen one since I left St. Louis and moved to 9000 feet in CO--pack rats however, are a major problem here

hideo
 
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