E rat ification

Leave it to John Horgan to find a squib on a topic of interest in my neighborhood--and probably yours too.  Roof rats are a common nuisance in B'game.  The hawk I mentioned a few weeks back has not visited again to my knowledge and I miss him.  Here's John's notice of someone who can help

For more than two decades, diminutive Tina O'Keefe has been a godsend for local property owners afflicted with the troublesome presence of vermin. She is Pacifica's own Rat Lady.

As she puts it, she is more than comfortable exterminating the troublesome rodents (including mice). She's been doing it for so long that it has become old hat.

"I've even dealt with a few two-legged rats in my time," she notes wryly, mentioning no names in particular. A permanent (deadly) solution is not involved in such human cases, however.

But the four-legged version is different; it's firmly in her focused cross-hairs. Tiny Tina and her helpful sons, along with their array of traps and other methods, have eradicated an estimated 14,000 of the annoying rodents through her 27 years, and counting, on the job as, officially, Dirty Rats Rodent Removal.

As luck would have it, she also doubles as a real estate agent on the Coastside. As she puts it, "Any house I sell is rat-free." One would hope.

I may give them a call, but if anyone else has any e rat ification tips, I'm all ears.  Pat Giorni's peanut butter suggestion hasn't yielded any results yet.

Comments

[jennifer]

JOE, really? a big tough guy like you---Get with the groove, like Bruce!

I'm telling you, all you need is heavy duty cayenne powder. I have no more mice or rats in my walls, either. The hawk you mentioned that hasn't been back is probably dead because it ate the rat or mouse you poisoned.

BTW, have you ever heard of a cat?

(www.homelesscatnetwork.com)

[Peter Garrison]

There's no problem that can't be fixed with more and better explosives.

To get rid of our rats, I had to get up on the roof and feel along underneath the roof and raingutters to discover a tiny hole. The rats would rummage in the raingutters for treats amd then get into the roof from that hole. After I plugged the hole: no more rats.

You can check under the house and along the sides of the walls as well. Best to plug the holes at night when the rats are out being ratty.

[Joe]

I never said I poisoned anything. I'm using peanut butter and the old fashioned spring-loaded trap.

But no CATS--not gonna happen.

[Tom Hornblower]

I don't have any rats in the house/attic, but I get them occasionally in the detached garage. I use a "Rat Zapper" with lithium batteries (they're stronger and last longer) and simply place some walnut pieces in it (no peanut butter necessary). It's served me well over the years.

[jennifer]

Don't forget those sonar boxes, either. They work really well, no kill, they just repel with a high pitch. I've used one on the roof to keep the racoons away, for about 8 years. It was a bargain.

The cayenne works great in the barely accessible spaces. You just pop open an attic hatch, for example, put down a line of high octane cayenne (available special order at Earthbeam) and blow it around briefly with a blow dryer - use goggles because it stings if it gets in your eyes. Then escape and close the hatch. It works for at least a year.

It also can be put along the edges of a new lawn or inside the perimeter of the foundation where they come in.
Then the birds still have prey that doesn't contain arsenic.

[James]

Not sure if someone already posted this: http://www.smcmad.org/rodent_prevention.htm#1
I had rats in my attic, by way of a small hole (1/4") between my foundation and stucco siding. I plugged the hole up with foam insulation. No more rats!
PS
I also tossed a few green rodent bricks in my crawl space for good measure.