After lifting the lid on the grill last night I was surprised to see a rather large rat do a few spinners then bale and scurry under the hot tub deck.

This varmint needs to be eliminated but poison isn't a good option because of the dog and I don't want the rat ingesting poison and then croaking under the deck where I can't reach it.

If I knew it was under the grill I could gas it, I tried that this morning but it wasn't there.

Any tips, tricks or suggestions to GET THIS VARMINT! Firearms not an option except for pellets. Really not a practical option. I need a trap of some kind.

Wait till you think it is back in the grill ,quickly plug any axcess or exit holes .

Then start the grill .

BBQ rat

A box trap is another way to go ,not as much fun but it works .

Johnch

Get some CCI 22 cal shotshells. They are quiet especially out of a rifle. I use them out of a North American Arms pistol and they kill snakes,rats,and mice to about ten feet and don't disturb the neighbors.

Try sprinkling mothballs under your deck.

My home has a ranch style roof, therefore I can't get into the attic. Tree rats plagued us by getting into attic, no matter how hard we tried to find their entrance. Pest control company was unable to solve the problem. I tried the poison that supposedly makes them go to water where they die and had three expire in the attic where they could not be removed. Finally in sheer desperation I put a box of mothballs in the attic through a couple of eve vents and haven't had a rat since.


Mothballs may have to be replaced more often under a deck if moisture is able to reach them, but they are not that expensive.

Mothballs also are good to keep stray cats from "marking" their territory near you front door, etc.

Regards,
hm

Thanks for all the tips guys!

Seamus, we use this trick for mice,rats and Pack rats. Get yourself a 55gal barrel and fill it about 1/3 full of water. next place a tincan with something like peanut butter on it(Carnation type can,both ends intact) and string a wire through the can end to end so that it can "roll" on the wire. Attach the wire to opposite sides of the barrel at the top so the can is more or less centred. Oh yeah, the top of the barrel should be removed! Next place a board of some sort against the barrel so that the rat can run up the board to get to the peanut butter coated tin can.
Rat reaches out to get the bait and leans on the tincan, the tincan rolls over and the rat drops into the water. Any idea of how long a rat can tread water?? Have fun and if you want other ideas, visit the Small Game Hunting Forum and solicit ideas from the madmen there! derf

quote:

Originally posted by hm1996:

Mothballs also are good to keep stray cats from "marking" their territory near you front door, etc.

Regards,
hm

My GSP takes care of the cats and leaves the rats to me.

I had the same problem last winter. never did see the rat but there were was rat poop in my bbq(yuck!!!). I set up a rat trap and a mouse trap under the grill. Two days later the mouse trap disappeared. never did find the bastard but havent had any problems since. We had a rat problem at my work. The boss had a cleanup kid set up about 10 regular old rat traps throughout the shop and cleaned them out. I was really surprised they were that effective.

johnch's idea sounds good and probably works, but you might have to get a new BBQ. I "accidently" cooked a mouse in a toaster one time and just couldn't bring myself to using it anymore. It smelled awful. Another time I had rats coming onto the deck eating the dog's food at night. I went out one night with a shovel and flashlight. The rats froze when I blinded them with the flashlight and I used the shovel to eliminate the problem. Good Luck, Gary T.