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I was just going into the kitchen to get a drink, only to be surprised at the sight of 10 very large rats coming out from under the backyard deck (like almost foot-long bodies). Did a double-take and then just burst out laughing because of how completely unexpected the sight was. This is the sort of thing that probably requires professional involvement, right? I feel like there are probably too many to reasonably take care of using traps or whatever. I guess sealing the underside of the deck might be necessary, though that's a shame since, in the past, it's housed animals like chipmunks and lizards which I like 
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Jan 22, 2024 22:14
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| # ¿ May 22, 2024 14:03 |
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Motronic posted:Where you live matters a lot. But they were under there for a reason - either because your whole area is infested and they were just checking things out (best case) or because something attracted them there. That could be under the deck, or it could be a way to access your basement/crawlspace/house and that's what attracted them. Step 1 is figuring that out. I live in a suburban area with a good amount of trees/etc. There's a walking/biking track that runs behind our yard. Like there's the yard, fence, like 15 feet of trees, the path, and then 20-30 more feet of trees before a field. The house has no basement and they've (fortunately) never been sighted inside (doesn't mean they haven't found their way in though, just that I haven't seen them or any signs that they've been here). One thing worth mentioning is that we have two large dogs. The rats are obviously aware of them - they bolted back under the deck the instant the dogs started coming into the kitchen. Is "the deck is good/convenient shelter" not enough reason on its own for them to set up shop there? We can remove one food source (only thing I can think of in our backyard is the bird feed, and it seems to be what they were eating when I saw them earlier), but I'm concerned that if they're getting food from anywhere else in neighboring yards (or elsewhere) it won't make a difference (and I also just really doubt that the bird feed is enough to be feeding all these huge rats, so they've gotta be getting food from somewhere else). I guess the obvious answer is something like "sealing the deck so they can't get in," but not sure how to go about doing that. The last thing I want is to trap some rats in there and then have dead rats stuck under the deck.
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Jan 22, 2024 23:58
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KonMari DeathMetal posted:Bird seed is a super common way to attract all kinds of rodents. Put that stuff in a hard, sealed container to start and then search for anything else they could be interested in. Check around your foundation and wall penetrations for any gaps and seal them up. Thanks! I'll definitely do the bird seed thing immediately since it's a simple fix. Currently it easily falls onto the ground. I'll also check around the house, though I think it's in pretty good shape (we haven't seen anything, at least).
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Jan 23, 2024 01:17
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