BG's in my house!

[nedmoore]

First of all I apologize to those as this is not CHL related, but I am sure someone can give me some pointers as this forum has members with a wealth of knowledge from all walks of life.

I have some BG's in my house! It seems that either squirrels or god forbid- rats are coming in through the part that connects the garage to my house (where all the wiring and some plumbing, etc.) travels into the house. I can hear them scampering around in the ceiling between the first and second story. Is it legal to shoot them through the walls? I really feel threatned! LOL. Anyway, any pointers would be appreciated. I was thinking that I will put up some kind of screen or mesh in the garage (entrance to the breezeway) to deter them. I went in the second story attic tonight and saw a pile of acorn shells, do rats eat acorns? Thought about poison but I was worried about em' dying in the walls and stinking up the place.

I do not live in the woods, and have a pretty nice place. Please help!

[asleepatthereel]

Go to Bass Pro or Academy or other such store and get a bottle of red fox urine. Put some on some cotton balls and then leave them up in the attic near where you found the acorns. Also find out where they are coming in and put some steel mesh over the hole. I had some come into my attic through one of the vents on the eave. They had chewed through the screen and set up house in the attic. I put some of the fox urine up there to scare them off, then a couple days later I fixed the hole. I didnt want them getting trapped and dying up there and stinking up the place. Dont worry about the house smelling like urine. As long as you dont pour it out in a large area, you wont be able to tell its there. This will work for just about all rodents because the fox is one of their main predators in the wild.
Whatever you do, dont poison them! A friend did that and had two large squirrels die between the walls. When they started 'getting ripe' the smell was unbearable. He ended up having to cut out a section of drywall, clean up the mess, and replace the wall.

[gregthehand]

+1 to not poisoning. I made that mistake myself once.

[CompVest]

There is a rat poison that drys the bodies up so no smell. That said if you don't plug the holes you will just get more coming in, eating the poison, and pretty soon your insulation will be all rodent bodies!

[Crossfire]

There is a rat poison that drys the bodies up so no smell. That said if you don't plug the holes you will just get more coming in, eating the poison, and pretty soon your insulation will be all rodent bodies!

EEEEWWWW!!!

[Keith B]

If you fnd out it is squirrels, get you one of these

(I guess it would work for rats too)

[HighVelocity]

Here's what NOT to do when you have rodents in the house: http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t ... el+furnace

[KD5NRH]

I have some BG's in my house! It seems that either squirrels or god forbid- rats are coming in through the part that connects the garage to my house (where all the wiring and some plumbing, etc.) travels into the house.

Google "bat exclusion" The trick is to rig screens so they can get out, but not in by attaching a square or rectangular screen on three corners so they can push it out to exit, but can't get under it to get back in. After you're sure they're all out, attach it firmly all around so they don't figure out how to slip under it the other way.You might even try making an outward-pointing cone of 1/4" mesh arounf the wiring with just a bit of space right around the wires, and leaving some pointy bits to discourage them from trying to squeeze back in through it.

If you have proper air circulation, (smells from the attic don't come into the house) make some packets of mothballs in old socks or similar to put up there; most mammals don't like the smell of mothballs.

[Tactical_Texan_CHL]

HV, that was one of the funniest things I've read in awhile! While I couldn't imagine shooting a rodent in the house, somebody else doing it was dog gone hilarious!!! Luckily, we don't have squirrels around me. I know some have been introduced in Odessa, I guess by the home owners who think it would be nice to have them, but they tend to be in the older areas of town with older trees. A friend of mine who lives in an older house in the country club area with tons of trees had squirrels in his attic as well. He took expanded metal grate type metal and screwed it in behind all his attic vents and set live traps in his attic. His attic is really the second half of his upstairs, so it's really easy to get to and check the traps. He caught 4 and has had no more trouble. But if you have the drop down ladder type attic with little or no space, that might not be as easy for you.

[nedmoore]

Thanks for all of the pointers! I guess I will give the fox pee a try too. I thought about adopting five or six cats and just leaving them in the attic! I will post a follow up in a couple of weeks.

[Border Roll]

You can also use Moth balls.Scatter them every where you can,wait afew days,then plug the holes with steel wool and roof flashing

[MrsFosforos]

You need one of these living in your roof -


This guy who left this skin behind took up residence under the eaves of our roof one summer. I'm pretty sure it was a rat snake. Between him and the feral cats we have living around our house, we don't have any varmits.

[locknload]

You can also use Moth balls.Scatter them every where you can,wait afew days,then plug the holes with steel wool and roof flashing

+1 on the steel wool. They gnaw everything with their teeth. They have to, or the teeth get so long that they can't eat properly. They can even gnaw through a steel sewer pipe. So, plain ol' wire mesh isn't a problem for them. However, they seem really irritated by steel wool. Somehow, it irritates their teeth. They are usually full of fleas, so spraying "409" around the area kills off the fleas. Another way to kill them, if you have no water leaks upstairs or in the walls, is to put a few packages of Metamucil cookies, liberally slathered with crunchy peanut butter, around the area, where you found the acorns. It makes them thirsty, as it is highly absorbent. They will go outside, looking for water. Once they drink water, the fiber in the Metamucil rapidly expands in their stomachs and intestines and kills them. No poison to kill house pets, and because pets are larger, they won't be harmed by that amount of Metamucil, if they were to eat it, too. Additionally, if pets come across them, decaying, outside and eat them, they won't in turn be poisoned.