Rat hole and gnawed wood.
Except for a couple weeks last year when they terrorized us, mice have not been that big a deal. Keep crumbs off the floor, make sure to clean the dishes every day, and keep the trash shut tight. No problem, just the occasional mouse here and there. I figured, as long as we’re relatively clean, we’ll never have to worry about rats.
Well, I was wrong. You have to be immaculate. And even then, they still like your warm house in the winter.
Above the front basement windows there was a small gap that I figured rats and mice could get in. I later found evidence — debris from inside had been kicked outside. A couple weeks ago I decided to cram chunks of concrete in the gaps — they fit snugly. No rat was getting in here, I said to myself with self-satisfaction. At that moment as I was crouching there, I felt something hit me in the ass. Then a rat darted between my legs and frantically bounced up and down in front of the former hole. Realizing the hole was gone, it darted in another direction. My neighbor’s dog tried to catch it but it just escaped his claws and ran toward the back yard.
Yesterday as I came home from Fortunata’s, I saw a pile of splinters and a big chunk of wood at the same spot. A fucking rat had gnawed away the wood AROUND the concrete and reopened a new hole. I’m going to have to screw in wire mesh and mash concrete over it.
Then this morning one of my tenants said he caught a rat going through his trash at 6am. Last week it shit on his bed. Not cool.
A friend in Florida recommended “place packs.” I’ve been nervous about using poison because of neighborhood dogs, but he said the rats just take them away and eat them where they hide. They croak and then it just stinks for a week. Awful.
The new presence of rats on my block could be due to all the debris-filled lots being cleared off for new construction in the last few months. Other than that, not knowing much about rodent habitats, I have no other guesses.
Anyone have any helpful info… or rat horror stories?
Jimmy Legs March 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
does anybody know if those ultrasonic things really work? i guess they probably don’t or everybody would be using them. i don’t mind killing off a few rats with poison, but the notion of them rotting away inside the wall is too much to bear.
jenblossom March 10th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
A couple of months ago, I took advantage of the Special Tee Vee Offer and purchased a couple of Riddex Plus units. We have one in the bedroom at the front of the apartment and a second one in the kitchen.
Since installing these new plug-ins, we haven’t seen any mice or other rodents. The plug-in in the bedroom is fine. However, the kitchen plug-in is a literal magnet for roaches. They are no longer crawling across the countertops or invading the silverware drawer, but there are, at times, a dozen or more roaches on, around or behind the Riddex Plus. It’s really kind of creepy, but frankly, I don’t know what else to do. I suppose it’s better to have them in one spot than all over (and I will not use chemicals while the cats are around).
As for rats, we’ve seen exactly one dead one in our back yard, and that was shortly after we moved in. With all of the felines we have around, I think they stay away.
esb March 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
When I first moved into my apartment I could watch the rats chasing each other in games of tag in the empty lots next door. They also found a way into my ceiling, and would run around up there during the night. I would try to scare them out by banging on the ceiling with a broom handle, but then it became a game of me playing tag with the rats as they ran from room to room above me(I don’t think they were necessarily afraid, as they only ever moved a couple of feet). I eventually put poison outside of all of my windows and after a couple of weeks there weren’t any rats on my block anymore. I know it’s cruel, but there was definitely an infestation of sorts, as my apartment backs right on to two industrial lots, which are not groomed. Surprisingly, my neighbors seem to have put up with these rats for years, which I found a bit disturbing – in that their children make use of their back yard, which had rats running around it at all times of the day (there were at least a couple every time I looked out the window).
bri March 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
the ultra sonic thigns don’t work — total waste of money. Jeremy, if you feel like getting/paying an exterminator, Pest Away Exterminating (212.721.2521) is pretty good. I’m total high maintenance so I called them in when I found 1 mouse in my last apt, on the LES. They’re not cheap, but they got rid of the mouse . Also the owner’s really laidback and easygoing and a good therapist for guys like me who freak when they see a mouse… other than that… pick up your mess! :)
Jeremy March 10th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I feel bad about the idea of poisoning them. Rats are intelligent, they feel pain, they feel terror… but they also spread disease, eat through wires and pipes and wood, and shit all over. In the end, I’m worth more than some rats.
Matt March 11th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Heh. Rats goddamn better feel terror and pain.
The only reason NOT to poison them is because then they’ll crawl in your house to die just to spite you with their deathsmell. Well, that and the potential for accidentally poisoning your pets.
I have no sypathy, no matter how smart or how god’s Creaturely they are.
Fuck. Them. In. The. Rattbutt.
kanoa March 11th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
i have had good experiences with Anyhouse Exterminator in bed-stuy. they have a cheezy website (www.anyhouseexterminator.com) but they also have a contract with the MTA. we keep our trash in the big rubbermaid bins with tightly sealed lids, and put it out on the curb in thick contractor bags that keep the rats out. our neighbors however seem to favor the white kitchen bags.
bambina March 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
The plug-in things didn’t work for the mice we have here. There not out of control though so its not that big of a deal i guess. We had more mice in the East Village then here.
morgan March 12th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I don’t have any advice as to how to get rid of rats, but I read a pretty interesting book a little while ago about the history of New York – and in particular Bushwick – as it related to the history/ behavior of rats.
If anyone is looking for an interesting quick read it’s called Rats and it’s by Robert Sullivan (they have it at the Brooklyn Public Library)
Good luck with your infestation
Jimmy Legs March 13th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
aw, they really love this blog over at ny mag:
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/03/bushwick_life_rat_poop_on_your.html
Dresden March 14th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Jeremy, you feel BAD poisoning RATS!!! Wow.
I feel bad NOT poisoning rats. But I daydream killing toy dogs with a nail gun… so, there you go.
SB March 25th, 2008 at 10:57 am
i don’t even know where to begin with my rat horror stories. I used to live on Grand St. & the area was just infested. a guy doing some work around there told me that i lived above one of the biggest rat tunnels he’d ever seen!
walking home i’d see the sidewalks move as the rats scattered under the buildings. these bastards can chomp through anything. make sure to check your yard. the rats actually burrow & make holes in your soil. when you cave their holes in, or flood them out, the rats are too smart to use them again & just make new holes.
my advice? poison in the holes & make the building a very cat friendly place. more cats, less rats.